When did you last buy a car? If it was in the last few years, your decision-making process likely looked a lot different than it might have 10 years ago. People no longer spend time researching cars inside a dealership and, for the most part, show up to the lot with their preferences already vetted. In fact, the average car shopper today only makes two dealership visits when shopping for a vehicle because they’re arriving mentally prepared to make a purchase.
So where are these car shoppers doing their research? Online, of course. Specifically, car shoppers are using their mobile device more than ever before to help guide them to the dealership lot. In fact, more than half (56%) of automotive internet shoppers conduct research on a mobile device.
This new behavior represents a huge opportunity for auto businesses. Each of these interactions on mobile gives auto companies another chance to become part of someone’s purchase consideration. 64% of car buyers are undecided at the start of the process – but you can’t wait for car shoppers to find you. You need to make sure you are meeting customers where they are discovering, proactively reaching people with the right message at the right time.
At Facebook, we’re focused on building value for people and businesses. And in automotive, that means building tools to support the evolving needs of the industry. Facebook has identified the need to connect car shoppers to personalized online experiences during the research and discovery process, which is why we were excited to announce a new tool tailored specifically for automotive late last year: Dynamic Ads for Automotive.
Car buying is a highly personal and customized shopping experience, yet there is a desire for automation and scale in marketing. To meet these specific automotive needs, Facebook tailored its dynamic ads solution to specifically help dealerships reach more car shoppers, with the right vehicle, at the place they are spending the most time.
Dynamic Ads for Automotive are tailored to people who are in market for a vehicle. Before this automotive-specific offering, marketers had to rely on a product that was built for a retail and ecommerce environment. The product didn’t take into account automotive-specific factors, such as the fact that consumers do not purchase vehicles online. Tailoring this product to perform functions such as VIN-specific targeting required workarounds that proved challenging. Dynamic ads for automotive changes all that.
Manufacturers and dealers can now upload their entire catalog of vehicle inventory with relevant details such as make, model and year, and then show the most compelling inventory and features. It then automatically generates ads that show the most compelling inventory to the right audiences, driving them toward vehicle detail pages, lead submission forms or other valuable places. This automation happens by placing a Facebook pixel or SDK on your website, which will then gather the shoppers looking at the VDPs, connect that signal to your product catalog, and serve that user the generated ad with the exact car they were looking at on your website (down to the model, trim and VIN).
After a one-time pixel and product catalog setup, Facebook does the rest of the work to deliver and optimize your ads. The system determines which specific car someone sees by taking into account the intent signals of that person both on and off the Facebook family of apps, as well as with audiences that demonstrate similar characteristics as that individual. So we’re able to dynamically show the right car ad to the right person, leaving time for you to focus on closing the sale.
We know that auto faces unique challenges when it comes to personalized advertising at scale, and at Facebook, we are always thinking of news ways to partner with the automotive industry to find solutions. Click here to learn more about dynamic ads for auto.
Take a deep dive into Dynamic Ads for Automotive by attending Gabrielle Garrison’s session at Digital Dealer 24, where you’ll learn the benefits of the product and the implementation process – so that you’re able to dynamically show the right car ad to the right person, leaving time for you to focus on closing the sale.
About the Author
Gabrielle Garrison is on Facebook’s Automotive Global Sales Team where she helps dealerships and dealership partners scale their marketing efforts to sell more cars on Facebook and Instagram. With 8 years in the media business, Gabrielle has held positions in all aspects of the advertising space ranging from radio to traditional media and currently digital media. An alumnus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Gabrielle got her start in advertising helping small businesses in Tampa succeed in their marketing objectives, and later moved to digital advertising for eBay.com helping brands such as Progressive, Ford, The Chrysler Group, Ronald McDonald House and State Farm just to name a few.