Brand Manager,
Dealers United
In today’s digitally
dominated world, it is more important than ever to meet potential auto shoppers
where they are online.
And it is no shocking
secret that today’s savvy consumers (as well as their moms, coworkers, and best
friends) invest their time on social media.
In fact, the average
person scrolls through about 300 feet of mobile content on social content…
daily. That’s equivalent to the size of the Statue of Liberty!
With every swipe of the
thumb, dealers have the opportunity to get their brand on valuable visual real
estate. But what separates the average from the best converting ad campaigns is
strategy.
Specifically, leveraging
different social media ads intentionally, with thoughtful messaging throughout
the auto buyer journey.
According to Cox
Automotive, auto shoppers are only in-market between 89-95 days.
This means that your
dealership must strategically take an auto shopper from awareness to
consideration to conversion in a limited amount of time — or just hope you get
lucky.
Most advertisers are only
delivering 1-3 messages to the shopper, hoping it’s at the right time and with
the right message.
But by intertwining an
omnisocial strategy throughout “The Auto Buyer’s Journey,” dealers can engage the
right audience, with the right message, at the right time, every time, on the platforms shoppers are spending time on.
Let’s follow an example of
an auto shopper avatar, “Jen,” as she goes from initial vehicle research to
ultimately converting at your dealership.
Jen is 36 years old. She
just moved to your area after welcoming her new baby, and she is interested in a
hybrid or EV since she will have a longer commute to work. Jen has never been
to your dealership, isn’t in your CRM, and has not visited your website.
Since the average person
today has eight social media apps and spends 2.5 hours on social per day, we can
assume that Jen is on social media. In fact, her most-consumed apps are
Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. (Fun fact: Pinterest reaches 80% of moms in
the US.)
In her downtime, Jen
starts doing research for hybrid vehicles on third-party sites. After a little
investigating, Jen decides that she wants a new Toyota Prius between $28k-31k.
Bringing
Awareness To Your Dealership
We now know that Jen is an
in-market shopper in your PMA who is browsing for a new Toyota Prius and uses
multiple social media apps. So, where do we start? What message, on what
platform?
Well, we certainly could send Jen ads with your Toyota
Prius offers at this point. But if you immediately start showing “sales-y” ads
to Jen before you even have had a chance to introduce your dealership, it’s like asking someone to marry you before you even know their name. And
that’s just… wrong.
Next time Jen hops on her
social apps, you first want to capture her attention with ads that tell her
more about your dealership.
These ads should include
“Why Buy From Us” messaging that humanizes your brand and influences Jen
to want to purchase from you - instead of your competition.
Winning
the “Consideration” Stage
Once Jen is aware of your
dealership and engaging with your
Awareness ads through Views, Likes, and Video Watches, it’s time for the second
layer of messaging: Consideration.
In this stage, you want to
accomplish three things: 1) Encourage Jen’s interest in the Toyota Prius, 2) Inform
her about current specials, available inventory, and your Pre-Order program,
and 3) Continue to show that you are the best dealership for her.
With these ads, Jen can
click through to your SRPs or website, which will trigger an event back to the
social ad platforms that she’s a warm prospect. So now you can place Jen and
others like her into new ad audiences with lower-funnel messaging.
Now we’re going to start
showing Jen relevant live inventory that your dealership has on the lot. (Did
you know? Dynamic inventory ads are supported across Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, TikTok, and Pinterest!)
If she engages with your
ads and lands on a VDP, you know once and for all that Jen is ready to buy.
But if Jen leaves your
VDPs without converting, it’s crucial that we retarget her to keep your store
top-of-mind until she makes a decision.
With retargeting
campaigns, “sales-y” ads are a priority. Retarget Jen with the exact VINs she has viewed or messaging based on the last website page she visited, such
as Financing or Trade Evaluations.
Then, don’t forget to
continue messaging Jen about what sets your store apart. Customer testimonials,
awards/accolades, and your involvement with your community are sure-fire ways
to build trust with Jen through retargeting.
Once Jen is the proud new
owner of a Toyota Prius, how can we attribute that unit sale to your social
media campaigns to PROVE it?
Nearly all social media
platforms have a tool for measuring offline conversions, or sales, by securely
uploading a list of recent customers into each platform.
Using data like the
shopper's name and phone number, users are matched back to social media
profiles, and you can see if they engaged with one of your social ads before
they bought!
This will give you
immediate insight into your return on ad spend and cost per unit sold, so you
can stop guessing and start making better decisions with your advertising
dollars.
Now that Jen is in your
CRM as a successful sale, you can run service and promotion campaigns to her.
You can immediately start
re-engaging Jen with service and tire offers to ensure she becomes one of your
loyal customers — instead of a defector.
Plus, you can add Jen to a
simple “Customer Nurture” campaign, where you periodically reach her with
Customer Appreciation messages or invites to local events.
It’s crucial to nurture
these relationships even after the sale. You never know the connections one
person can bring!
By now, you understand the
full spectrum of interactions in the auto buyer journey. There are so many
opportunities to optimize each touchpoint to drive a potential buyer (and
everyone they know!) into becoming a raving fan.
Social media is a digital
marketers playground: internet users spend an average of 147 minutes per day on
various platforms. Moreover, 63% of car buyers are discovering new vehicles
online, and 86% of shoppers want to engage with brands post-purchase.
From prospecting and
retargeting to nurturing the relationship (and revenue) post-sale, these
strategies will help your business get the most out of your advertising budget.
If your business isn’t
leveraging digital marketing across the marketing funnel, your local audience
is one click away from giving their business to your competitor.
To identify the most
effective social strategy for your local market and advertising budget, generate a MarketAnalyzer report! This free tool will not only provide audience size and
demographics for your area, but it also will calculate a suggested budget and
return on investment for each social platform.
Check it out at https://app.dealersunited.com/analyzer#/.
Molly Dennehy (Brand Manager, Dealers United) has evidenced effective digital marketing strategies across six different industries. Now, she brings her diverse experience and creativity to automotive dealers. From audience targeting, campaign set-up, and content creation, Molly is passionate about sharing new and innovative ways to drive results.