If you are a car dealership owner looking to improve your marketing and sales strategy, you may be interested in Facebook Ads. But this platform is vast, so you don’t know where to start. We’ve created this guide to help you get started and we’ll cover why Facebook Ads are helpful, the various types, and best practices to keep in mind when you launch a campaign. 

Why Should Car Dealers Advertise on Facebook?

According to Meta, nearly one third of car sales will happen online by 2035. As it stands, more than half of customers are already comfortable negotiating, pricing, and financing vehicles without being in-person at a dealership.¹ There simply is no arguing the fact that the world of online shopping has penetrated the automotive market, and dealerships will need to keep up with the trend in order to maintain and grow sales. 

With customers now online, dealerships need to meet them where they  are with advertising. While commercials and mail-outs may have been trends in the past, digital platforms—like Facebook Ads—currently offer the greatest potential for car dealers looking to access a pool of leads. Meta makes it possible to leverage their machine learning technology so you can reach customers looking for specific makes and models in your region while also interacting with existing customers to maintain loyalty. Overall, Facebook Ads offer car dealers the chance to reach an interested audience at a fair price, with a high ROI because of targeted campaigns that generate valuable leads. 

Types of Facebook Ads for Car Dealers

There are numerous types and formats available for Facebook Ads, so let’s break them down to give an understanding of what you’ll be aiming for²: 

• Dynamic inventory ads: This technology allows you to input your inventory into the ad platform to offer customers up-to-date vehicle information when they are presented with an ad carousel. This type of ad is proven to more than triple conversions compared to static versions. 
• Lead form ads: These allow customers to fill out information, providing you with a contact list of warm leads that can connect directly to your sales software. 
• Video ads: These are intended to help raise brand awareness, which is less important in the car dealership industry than in some other industries, but they can be useful if you are promoting a special deal or set of services. 
• Image and text ads: These are the most common, fundamental types of ads that present customers with a static image and set of copy. Although they are the most basic, they are proven to be effective. 

5 Best Practices for Facebook Ads to Keep in Mind

With so many capabilities and a seemingly endless audience to reach, it’s important to actually develop an effective strategy if you want to see results. Here are some key areas to focus on when developing Facebook Ads for car dealers

1. Make Sure Your Imagery Fits All Specs

Your ads will be a visual experience, so make sure they are the correct aspect ratio for the site to avoid stretching and shrinking. Customers will not click on ads that look incorrect.³ 

2. Optimize for Mobile

Orient your ads for a mobile experience, not just desktop. Many consumers primarily use apps on their phone rather than logging in on a computer, and sometimes the image requirements can vary by device.³

3. Create a Call to Action in Your Image and Text Ads

When you have an image and text ad, create a clear call to action so the customers who are interested in learning more know exactly how to find additional information.³ 

4. Create Ads for the Right Stage of Your Marketing Funnel

Facebook Ads offers immense capabilities, but make sure you have a clear sales and marketing plan before investing in ads. You need to advertise to customers at the right stage of your funnel, whether it’s increasing brand awareness or retargeting users who visited your website. These details will inform which ads you create and how you approach them, so have a clear strategy in mind going into the process.² 

5. A/B test your content

Create multiple versions of your ads to see what performs best and test it over time. This will teach you what resonates with your customers and which segment of your base is most successful. Gaining this additional information will help you be more efficient with your ad spend moving forward.² 

Work With ACV Auctions to Boost Your Business

As you look to grow your car dealership, do it with the best inventory out there. Reaching potential customers won’t be effective if you don’t have the vehicles to back up their interest. With the online auctioning platform ACV Auctions, you can access used car inventory from your desk or phone. Each vehicle is individually inspected by our team and comes with a detailed condition report, so you know exactly what you’re bidding on. Learn more and get started with us today. 

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Sources

1. Meta. “Automotive.” Facebook.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/business/industries/automotive 
2. Oranim, Ro. (2022). “Everything you need to know about Facebook Ads for car dealers.” Fullpath. Accessed January 15, 2024. https://www.fullpath.com/blog/facebook-ads-for-car-dealers/
3. Falin, Vlad. (2022). “Facebook Ads Best Practices.” Tailwind. Retrieved January 19, 2024. https://www.tailwindapp.com/blog/facebook-ads-best-practices