Facebook is a critical marketing channel for car dealerships. With nearly 2 billion active users worldwide, it’s easy to understand why social media is so impactful. Facebook offers dealers a unique opportunity to reach both current and potential customers quickly and affordably. 

Facebook ads are unique in that they target actual people. The cookie-based advertising of many other ad platforms means you’re limited to showing an ad in a specific browser on a particular device, but Facebook gives you the power to track and reach your audience no matter where they might be. 

For most of us, Facebook is a part of our daily routine, and we’re logged in on multiple devices. Do you spend more time browsing Facebook on your phone, desktop, laptop, or tablet? No matter where or how we access our Facebook account, all activity is tied to our individual profile. This means we see your ads across different devices, so you can always deliver the right message at exactly the right time.

Why it’s valuable for dealers and automotive groups- 

Facebook also gives dealers the ability to expand beyond your core audience and reach other potential customers who share similar interests. Through profile information (like demographic data and content that someone has liked or shared), activity on connected websites or apps, and information shared with Facebook by other advertisers and marketing partners, Facebook can identify people who are likely to have an interest in your ad.

This allows for more granular targeting and more effective, relevant ads, and a higher ROI. 

By connecting your inventory feed to your Facebook page and Facebook Business Manager, you can target and re-market specific vehicles based on the persons’ behavior. If someone clicks on an SRP or VDP for a truck, you should always retarget them by displaying the same VIN specific truck or by (people also viewed) similar body styles in their news feed. It’s all about reach and frequency, right? 

Why use Facebook Ads? Doesn’t Facebook have enough money? Shouldn’t we get all our reach for free? I know it’s frustrating that Facebook has changed the visibility of Pages but there are still some very compelling reasons to use Facebook Ads. Here are 5 of my favorite reasons.

5 reasons why you should use Facebook Ads-

#1 Inexpensive

Facebook Advertising is one of the cheapest forms of advertising out there. There are a LOT of choices these days on where you can advertise – magazines, banner ads, Google Adwords, Twitter, LinkedIn, direct mail, radio, TV, local events and more. LinkedIn can range from $2-15 per click and some of the other options are not as easily trackable.

#2 Highly Targeted Traffic

Facebook can target some pretty amazing keywords but there’s much more to the targeting! Here are a few things you can target by:

Demographics – age ranges, college education, home owners

Local area – either zip codes or a radius (10-mile radius minimum)

Job titles – this has recently been

Fans of another page – this is only available for certain pages but you can show your ads to the fans of other pages.

Income level – if you know your perfect customer is in a higher income bracket, you can narrow your audience down and use your advertising budget to reach your best audience.

Behavior – people who shop for organic food for example, or people who own a certain type of car, or shop online. This is HUGE!

#3 Easily trackable marketing – track leads and sales

One of the best things about Facebook Ads is that you can track exactly how much it costs you to get a lead or a sale. To do that, you must use the Facebook Pixel on your website. Better yet, when you test 2 different ads, you can see which one leads to better cost per conversion. Now you are saving money on your advertising!

#4 Promote your best content where people are hanging out

There are over 2 Billion people logging into Facebook every month and on average people are spending 20 minutes on Facebook every time they log in. You work hard on your content. Why not make sure people see it? So, you first post your content on the Facebook Page, wait a couple of hours at least to let it get some organic engagement, then give the post a boost. I have a full Facebook Boosted Post strategy that I use and I don’t spend too much money on boosting posts but get great cost per link click to get more traffic to my website. Typically, I’m boosting my posts to my website visitors (also known as retargeting) because I get cheaper cost per clicks that way. But you can also choose keywords to become more visible with people who are interested in that type of content.

#5 Stay top of mind with a warm audience

It’s easier for your business to get repeat customers rather than brand new customers. So why not spend a little of your marketing budget on getting in front of your current audience? The good news is when you are re-targeting your ads, your audience is much smaller and it’s very inexpensive to reach them. Even if you are emailing your customers or posting organically, people miss your content. How good is your email open rate? Even if it’s 20%, you could be missing 80% of your customers when you just send one email! You can combine your Custom Audiences to make the audience size larger.

There is no secret formula to building a successful business or a successful digital marketing strategy. Both take planning, hard work, dedication, and execution. By implementing an effective marketing strategy, you can give yourself a distinct advantage in your marketplace. Your business name will be seen more, you will earn more clicks from potential customers, and that adds up to more revenue.

If you want your business to start growing quickly, you need to ensure your social media and digital marketing is on point. Contact us today and ask for our case studies! We do this all the time and would love to show you exactly how! Give us a call at 314-879-4049 or click here to send us a note. Thank you for all that you do! You are appreciated! 

The post How to sell more cars advertising on Facebook in 2020 appeared first on DealershipNews.com.

I talk to so many GM’s and GSM’s who say, “We have videos on YouTube, what are you talking about Benny?!” You are correct, you do have videos on YouTube, however the pre-packaged, robot voice videos the manufacture gives you, does nothing to separate your dealership from the competition. Let’s do a side by side comparison, and you decide which type of video would be more beneficial for your dealership’s brand and more influential to shoppers currently in the market for a vehicle.

-Chevrolet Quick Tips

–Local Dealership’s Safety Features 

YouTube’s reach is unparalleled and reaches more auto shoppers than streaming, cable TV, social media, and broadcast television. It’s all about reach and frequency, right? YouTube is uniquely positioned to help both brands and consumers with their experience, enabling them to connect in smarter, more meaningful ways.

Video marketing is no longer a trend, it’s mainstream. Internet users spend an average of 15 hours each week watching digital video, and Cisco predicted that video will make up 82% of all internet traffic in 2021. If you haven’t started investing in video marketing, you’re already behind the top companies in your industry. Not only are internet users consuming more online video than ever, they’re changing the rules about creating video and content. If you’re still not sold on creating a video strategy for your dealership, keep reading. 

YouTube is the ultimate video shopping tool for auto shoppers. Over 75% of auto shoppers say online video has influenced their shopping habits or purchases. 97% of auto shoppers performed an action after watching a video, and 40% searched a dealership’s inventory! I’m sure you’re not going to be upset if you get a 40% lift in VDP views, would you? 43% of shoppers reported visiting a dealership after watching a video of a vehicle they were considering. These are powerful numbers! 

The videos consumers are watching are created by brands just like yours. Life is about learning and experiences. People want to learn and experience your brand. Advertising and the car business have been a match made in heaven for many, many years. They go hand in hand, like cereal and milk! For years, dealerships and automotive groups have adapted their marketing mix to meet changing consumer behavior patterns.It’s time to put your car videos on YouTube and make that transition again! 

Automotive searches and sales are highly correlated. Are you showing up on Google every time someone is searching for priority models in your area? If you’re not sure, do a quick search on Google. Like I said earlier, YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google and is owned by Google. What are the other benefits of having a successful video strategy? It allows you to increase your exposure and viewability across desktop, mobile, tablet and connected TV.  

The media world and platforms are ever changing, but one thing never changes, audiences. Identify your audience and own them! Yes, digital marketing is a complex eco-system, but you know your audience! It’s time to successfully capitalize on these opportunities and close more deals in an ever changing marketplace. Target your audience behaviorally and geographically by city, state, county, even down to the zip code. 

in 2018, several digital marketing trends, strategies, and platforms are still going through evolution and reaching customer engagement levels not possible before. Digital marketing is customer focused. There are only a few digital marketing agencies, knowledgeable and experienced enough to enhance your brand, generate a consistent flow of leads and help you achieve your goals in 2019. 

In closing, I’ve been able to create a winning digital marketing formula that helps your brand stand out, stay relevant, and move more units, among growing competition in automotive online advertising. Take your time, look around, research, ask a lot of questions, and learn all there is to know about new trends in digital marketing. 

I hope you found this piece informative and are able to take away some actionable tactics to drive more sales at your rooftops. Please let me know how I can be a resource for you in any way. I do this all the time and would love to show you exactly how! 

The post Car Dealerships and Automotive YouTube Marketing Strategy appeared first on DealershipNews.com.