Volkswagen
Audi
Peugeot
Ford
BMW
Mercedes
Renault
Volvo
Skoda
Toyota
Citroen
17 December 2024
Car Ads on Facebook: How can you exploit them for your dealership?
EUROCOC team
17 December 2024
8 min read
Facebook is undoubtedly one of the most widely used social networks for advertising and, in recent years, has also become a key tool for car dealerships wishing to promote their vehicle ads to a wider audience.
Thanks to the wide range of services offered by the Meta network (the company that owns both Facebook and Instagram), it is possible to create vehicle ads not only on Facebook, but also on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shop.
In this article we will look at how a car dealership can exploit car ads on Facebook with the aim of increasing its sales.
Before going into more detail on this topic, let us remind you that through social media ads you could also sell vehicles from another European country. However, in this situation, we strongly advise you to include the certificate of conformity among the documents you provide when buying, as it will be required by the DMV for re-registration. One of the easiest ways to obtain this document is via the service offered by our EUROCOC website.
Promoting Car Ads on Facebook
Promoting car ads on Facebook has become a common practice for many dealerships. As soon as a new vehicle is launched on the market, a large percentage of web users find out about it via their mobile devices and social media interactions.
Specifically, 39% of users learn about the initiative on their mobile device, while 44% do so through social media and messaging services and 32% through advertisements within the same social platforms.
Facebook Communication Strategy
In order to promote the launch of new cars, Facebook recommends adopting a communication strategy targeted at your target audience.
A key first step is to create short and engaging content. These should be able to immediately capture users’ attention, stimulating curiosity and interest in the new car model.
It is also important to use a diverse variety of content placements. Facebook offers several options in this respect, including the main feed, stories and in-stream ads.
Each placement has unique characteristics and can reach audiences in different ways. For example, stories offer an engaging and temporary visual format that can stimulate a sense of urgency, while in-stream ads can capture users’ attention while watching videos within the social platform.
Another key element of a good promotion strategy is the organisation of contests and the distribution of prizes. These incentives not only increase interaction with content, but also create a sense of community and involvement among participants.
Contests can be structured in various ways, such as photo contests, car-themed quizzes or simple prize draws, all aimed at stimulating the interest and active participation of one’s audience.
Finally, it is very important to create opportunities for insight and interaction. Facebook offers several functionalities that can be used for this purpose, such as chats, augmented reality and interactive stories.
Chats can provide a direct channel of communication between the brand and potential customers, while augmented reality can offer immersive experiences that allow users to virtually explore new cars without having to physically go to the dealership.
Finally, interactive stories can include polls, quizzes and other forms of direct engagement, thus making interaction with users more dynamic and engaging.
Facebook Ads
Facebook Ads is an ideal platform for placing advertisements, especially for car dealerships. Showing your car fleet on Facebook increases the visibility of your vehicles and allows you to interact with new potential customers.
Facebook advertising campaigns can be customised with different types of content such as videos, images, carousels and slideshows. These elements can make the advertisements much more attractive and engaging.
Such an approach fosters deeper experiences with brands, improving the connection with users and increasing the likelihood of getting sales.
By using Facebook Ads, you can also reach very specific audience segments, optimising your return on investment and maximising the impact of your ad campaigns.
How to Create Car Ads on Facebook?
Automotive vehicle ads work in the same way as other single or carousel ad campaigns on Facebook, Instagram and Meta’s Audience Network.
However, instead of manually creating an ad for each individual vehicle, you can generate a campaign that automatically uses the images and details in your data catalogue.
First of all, you need to set up a catalogue containing your vehicle inventory. If the goal is to direct buyers to your website, it will also be important to integrate the Meta pixel within your online portal.
To create and configure a Facebook ad for the automotive sector:
- Go to Ad Management.
- Select ‘Sales’ as the campaign objective.
- Activate the ‘Use a catalogue’ option.
- From the drop-down menu, select the catalogue containing the vehicles you wish to promote, then click ‘Next’.
- Choose the destination to which you want to direct people after they have clicked on the ad: this can be your website or a page on Facebook.
- In the ‘Promoted Vehicles’ section, select a set of vehicles to be promoted within the ad via the drop-down menu.
- You also have the option of clicking on the ‘+’ icon in order to add other vehicle sets or to create a new one. A vehicle set is a small group of cars in your catalogue, which will be used within the advertisements.
- In the ‘Audience’ section, you define who you want to see your advertisements. For example, you can include people who have recently visited your site looking for a car, or exclude people who have made purchases in the last period.
- You can also configure your advertisement with the aim of reaching a wide audience, so as to show the most relevant offer in the catalogue to the people most likely to conclude the purchase.
- Choose the placements, budget and schedule for your advertisement, then click ‘Next’.
- In the ‘Advertisement configuration’ section, select the image format you wish to use and complete the relevant details. The automotive advertisements support carousel, single image, video and collection formats.
- Finally, Ad Management allows you to add an overlay on the ad to show the offer price, the discount percentage or add a slash on an amount to indicate that it has been lowered.
What are the Advantages of Car Ads on Facebook Marketplace?
Car ads on Facebook Marketplace offer numerous advantages for dealerships, making this channel a very important option for promoting their vehicle inventory.
One of the main benefits is the broad reach that Facebook Marketplace is able to provide. With millions of daily active users, the platform offers a large and diverse audience, allowing you to significantly increase the likelihood that your ads will be seen by potential buyers and thus generate conversions.
Another advantage is the ability to precisely target your ad audience. Facebook uses an advanced machine learning system capable of analysing user behaviour and interests, presenting vehicle ads to those most likely to be interested in their purchase. This not only increases the relevance of the ads, but also the overall effectiveness of the ad campaigns.
Facebook Marketplace also allows dealerships to benefit from local visibility. The platform allows listings to be targeted to a specific geographic area, which is particularly useful if you aim to reach potential buyers in the vicinity of your dealership. This can, in fact, translate into more visitor traffic to your showroom, both physical and virtual.
A further positive aspect of Facebook car ads is the integration with other tools provided by the platform itself, such as Messenger. The moment a user sees your ad, he or she has the possibility of contacting you directly via Messenger or visiting your website to get more details. This ease of communication enhances the customer experience and facilitates the sales process.
Finally, the ability to monitor and analyse the performance of different ads via Facebook metrics is another great advantage offered by this platform. You have the possibility of obtaining detailed data on views, clicks and interactions with your ads, thus enabling you to continuously optimise your campaigns and aim for the best possible results.
Conclusion
In the field of dealer marketing, Facebook is, therefore, a very important tool for car showrooms that want to increase their online visibility and sales of their vehicles. Thanks to Facebook Ads, Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shop, it is, in fact, possible to create targeted and engaging campaigns, thus reaching a wide and diverse audience.
The use of engaging content, different placements and contests with prizes helps to capture attention and stimulate interaction. The ability to precisely target and monitor the performance of campaigns also helps to optimise the results that can be achieved.
Finally, integration with tools, such as Messenger, facilitates communication with potential customers, making the sales process even more efficient.
Dealerships that decide to make the most of these opportunities have the chance to increase their sales, as well as to create a stronger connection with their customers.
