Social media platforms are one of the key tools your auto business should be using to reach customers in the modern world. It’s unlikely today that many people will walk into your dealership without having first done some research online. More than half of people use a smartphone to find information before buying a vehicle, according to Car Buyer Journey.
Others use desktop computers, laptops and other devices to find what they need. If you’re thinking about how to generate car sales leads in the digital age, you can’t miss out on using platforms like Facebook ads for car dealers.
In 2017, Facebook introduced new discovery tools designed specially for the auto industry. Their dynamic ads for auto allow both dealers and manufacturers to upload their catalogue and add details such as the make, model and year.
Their smart ad system will then automatically create Facebook ads for car dealers to target the best audience with the products that they will most be interested in. These ads can help your auto company collect more leads, always presenting the best vehicles to your audience. This gives you more time to focus on sales because you don’t have to spend as much time collecting leads. Read on to find out more about how to generate car sales leads using Facebook.
Benefits of Dynamic Ads for Auto
Facebook ads for car dealers offer a range of excellent benefits for auto businesses. It’s an easy way to set up your advertising strategy on Facebook and start collecting leads with less effort. If you’re not sure whether to use them, here are some great reasons to do so and learn how to generate car sales leads online.
Save Time
When you run a business, you have so much to do. You can’t afford to waste time on anything because lost time is lost money. So you don’t want to spend any more time than necessary figuring out how to generate car sales leads. One of the ways that Facebook ads for car dealers will save you time is that you can easily scale your ads. The system will generate an advert for each of your vehicles without you having to create them individually. You’ll have more time to focus on converting leads into sales because Facebook ads for car dealers take car of things for you.
Always Present Relevant Ads
The smart techniques used by Facebook ads for car dealers take the effort out of configuring your ads. Facebook will automatically show people relevant adverts based on their interests. This helps you avoid annoying people who aren’t currently interested in what you have to offer. You’ll also be able to target the people who have shown interest in buying a car. This is how to generate car sales leads online without annoying people.
Set Up and Leave
Having to babysit your adverts isn’t something that you want to do. The less you have to do, the more time you have to do other things. Facebook ads for car dealers are simple to set up and then leave to run on their own. Create your ad campaigns once and start bringing in leads, without having to pay attention to them all the time. Of course, you can check in on them when you need to and learn more about how to generate car sales leads.
Works on All Devices
These days, everything needs to work on mobile devices, as well as on desktop computers. If you’ve made sure that your website is responsive, you need your Facebook ads for car dealers to work across various devices too. Facebook’s cross-device platform ensures that the right advert is served up to the right person, whether they’re using a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer. This is something you might miss when thinking about how to generate car sales leads online.
Special Features for Auto Companies
Facebook has also introduced new features designed just for auto traders to help them figure out how to generate car sales leads. They have a locator feature to allow people to search for car dealers near them. Facebook has partnered with Driftrock to help people to manage their dynamic set of locations. The Canvas tool allows you to create full-screen experiences. You can also communicate with people to set up appointments and test drives through direct messaging. These tools all make Facebook ads for car dealers even better.
How to Get Started with Facebook Dynamic Ads
Getting started with Facebook ads for car dealers isn’t difficult. With just a few short steps, you can have your ads up and running. Here’s what you need to do.
- Install the Facebook pixel or mobile SDK
This step makes sure that your website or app can communicate with Facebook ads for car dealers. Facebook pixel goes on your website, while Facebook SDK and App Events coordinate with your mobile app (if you have one). These tools provide inventory reports.
- Create and upload your catalogue
Add your vehicles to a catalogue with relevant information. You can include things like price, make and model, location and availability. These things will be put into Facebook ads for car dealers and used to present the best ads to your audience.
- Create ads
Set up a template for your adverts that will dynamically choose images and information from your catalogue. The Facebook ads for car dealers that are presented will be based on actions that people take on your website and app, using Facebook pixel or the mobile SDK.
Make the Most of Facebook Dynamic Ads
To learn how to generate car sales leads with Facebook ads for car dealers, you need to know how to make the most of them. It’s easy to get started with the basics, but there’s more that you can do to put your money to good use.
Set Everything Up Correctly
You need to begin by making sure you get everything set up correctly. The basic steps above should get you started, but you also need to pay attention to the finer details. If you want to learn how to generate car sales leads using Facebook ads for car dealers, it’s important not to rush. Using the Facebook pixel and App Events, you should check that you set up your events correctly. Choose the right conversion events to enable your Facebook ads for car dealers to target the right people to help you fulfil your goals. Some of the events you can choose include ViewContent, which you can put on product pages, or Purchase events for purchase or confirmation pages. You also need to associate your events with your product catalogue.
Remember that not all the conversion events will work for you. As an auto dealer, you’re unlikely to be selling your vehicles online. You want to encourage people to get in touch with you and come into your dealership using your Facebook ads for car dealers. You’re less likely to have an “add to cart” option.
You need to have a product catalogue to make your dynamic adverts work. After setting up your catalogue, you should check that it’s working properly. First, check that your product images meet Facebook’s content guidelines. If they don’t, they won’t appear in your Facebook ads for car dealers. Make your square carousel ad images 600×600 pixels and single image ad images 1200×630. Use high-quality images for the best results.
Keep your product catalogue up to date by checking it regularly. You don’t want to advertise products that you no longer have or show inaccurate information. Show products that you have in stock and make sure that prices and other details are correct. If your stock changes a lot, you might want to consider scheduling updates. You can do this if your product feed is located on another server or website. Assign a unique identifier to each of your products to improve your Facebook ads for car dealers too.
Another way to organize and optimize your adverts better is to create product sets. You can make groups of products that go together by category, price range, theme or perhaps discount. For example, you might create a product set for SUVs, mid-range cars, or family cars.
Customize Your Facebook Ads for Car Dealers
You have a few different options you can use to customize your Facebook ads for car dealers and have control over the creative aspects. Start by using quality images that are the right size. You can encourage people to click or tap on your add by adding creative touches like overlays with prices and discounts. When you make changes to your Facebook ads for car dealers, Facebook recommends doing it during a low-traffic time because it can affect how your ads are delivered. They also recommend directing people to your mobile app if you have one.
Target the Right Audience
Of course, getting the right audience is vital if you want your adverts to do well. Facebook will do a lot of the work for you, but there are still some things that you need to do. Using re-targeting, you can choose which people who visited your site to target with your Facebook ads for car dealers. Broad audience targeting allows you to target people who haven’t visited your site.
With re-targeting, you can choose from a range of options. For example, you can adjust the period for which you target people. You can segment your audiences based on their last action on your website to send them ads at the most timely moment. Broad audience marketing will help you find new customers who haven’t yet visited your site. Find your target audience using location and demographics. You can tailor Facebook ads for car dealers to new people by giving them copy written to target them. People who have been on your site already and those who haven’t are likely at different stages in the buying process. So it makes sense to target them in different ways.
Make use of Facebook ads for car dealers and you can start bringing in more online leads. Pay attention when you set up your ads to get the most from them.
