Leading to the Dealership: How to leverage social media to drive more leads

Organic social media is great for building your brand, but paid social media is how you turn interest into action.  For car dealerships, using your own customer data to power ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram is the key to getting the best results. It lets you stop guessing and start showing highly relevant ads to people who are ready to buy.    

How Does Your Customer Data Make Ads More Powerful?

Your lists of past customers and current leads are your most effective advertising tools. When you use this data in your ad campaigns, you can get more leads for less money.    

• Targeting People You Already Know (Custom Audiences): You can upload a list of customers from your records—like those with a lease ending in the next 90 days—and show them a specific ad for new lease specials.  This makes your message perfectly timed and relevant.   

  
  

• Finding New People Like Your Best Customers (Lookalike Audiences): You can take a list of your best customers and ask Facebook to find new people with similar interests and behaviors.  This helps you find high-quality prospects who are more likely to be interested in what you offer.   

  
  

• Avoiding Wasted Ad Spend (Exclusion Lists): It's just as important to know who not to show ads to. For example, you should exclude anyone who just bought a car from you from your new car sales campaigns. This saves you money and avoids annoying a happy customer.

These strategies are implemented using a combination of customer information collected by your dealership in addition to social media pixel tracking.

Simple, High-Impact Ad Ideas for Your Dealership

Here are a few straightforward ad campaigns you can run using your customer data:

• The "Lease is Ending" Ad: Create an audience of customers whose leases are expiring soon. Target them with an ad that highlights easy return options and shows off new models they might like.    

  
  

• The "Time for a Trade-In" Ad: Use your service records to find customers who own older, high-mileage vehicles. Show them an ad with a special trade-in offer that compares their current car to a newer, more reliable one.    

  
  

• The "You Looked at This Car" Ad: If a customer viewed a specific Toyota Camry on your website but didn't inquire, you can show them an ad on Facebook featuring that exact car.  This is a powerful way to remind them of their interest and bring them back to your site to take the next step.   

  
  

• 360 View Ad: Provide users with a 360° view of the vehicle using images of the most popular models through swipe posts. When targeting users that are close to making a purchase, we have seen images perform better than videos. Check out our case study here.

  
  

By using your own data, you can make your paid social ads smarter, more efficient, and more profitable, helping you fill your showroom with qualified buyers.