The popularity of social media and its ability to connect businesses to consumers on a personal level makes it a robust platform for dealers’ digital marketing strategy. When used intentionally, social media can be a great source of lead generation.
Although other platforms are useful as well, Facebook offers the most advanced and effective advertising options. Facebook also gives you the most access to users as the most popular social media channel. Specific types of ads available through Facebook advertising include:
- News Feed ads, the most basic and fundamental type of Facebook ad. These are cost-effective and allow you to uniquely target your audience while increasing your social media presence. Typically, the goal with this type of ad is to increase “likes” and engagement on your Facebook business page. Depending on the goal of your ad and the call-to-action you’ve selected, you can track the traffic and conversions to your website that come from the ad. With 1.5 billion people using Facebook every month, there is a huge potential to reach customers in the market for what you sell. Plus, ads appear on Instagram (owned by Facebook) for even more exposure.
- Dynamic Remarketing ads allow you to be even more strategic by connecting your website inventory feed to Facebook. Using a Facebook pixel, you can advertise to people who have already shown interest in your site and viewed particular units. These tailored ads, custom to individual Facebook users, encourage them to revisit the purchase they were considering.
- Event ads let you target users in specific locations who may be interested in your dealership’s event. Take targeting a step further by focusing on users who have expressed interest in specific unit types and brands that are being sold at your event.
- Lead Generation ads are the most results-driven Facebook ad type. These include a contact form directly on the newsfeed that users can fill out without being redirected to your site. These ads can be tailored with custom questions to better meet your advertising goals. The forms can be integrated with your CRM or downloaded directly from Facebook – either way, making it very easy to follow up with the leads you’ve collected. Several options for call-to-action within this form are available, including “Get a Quote,” “Schedule a Demo,” “Sign Up for Emails,” “Register for Event,” and more.
It’s important to remember that generating leads through social media is also possible to do without spending money on advertising. Social media provides an additional avenue for businesses to share content, tell their story, and make personal connections with customers. The content that your dealership shares through social media posts could vary from sales-related (showing off new inventory in stock; advertising a sales promotion) to customer-focused (promoting an event; congratulating customers on a purchase); to posts that are just for fun (sharing your Employee of the Month; re-posting an industry-related article). Using social media as a business is all about showing customers who you are and fostering relationships with customers who choose to connect. Connections and relationships with customers in the market for your products lead to store visits and sales.