FACEBOOK

AUTOMOTIVE
PLAYBOOK
for Dealers
Resources that can help you
drive profitability
 Automotive retail is changing at an
unprecedented rate. Mobile devices
have fundamentally altered the way
consumers research and purchase
vehicles. Dealerships need to adapt
to meet the expectations of today’s
mobile savvy car shopper.

AUTOMOTIVE
Change is hard, but with it platform during their
comes enormous opportunity. research, and 80% of them
Embracing the shift to mobile visited a Facebook property 2.

RETAIL IS
will empower you to connect This type of reach—coupled
with auto consumers and with our Facebook products

MOBILE
build life-long relationships in and solutions—will assist you
new and innovative ways that in driving your dealer
will pay off in both the short objectives all the way from
and long-term. raising awareness of your
dealership to moving metal
Facebook is one of the world’s
off lots.
largest media platforms with
over 1.52 billion people We’ve created this guide
globally who access Facebook specifically for the dealer
every day1. Our platforms community. It provides
enable you to reach real the key essential resources
people with the right message for running successful
at the right time to influence automotive campaigns
your key audiences. A recent across the Facebook Family
survey of people who of Apps and Services so that
purchased a vehicle within the you can improve your
past 6 months revealed that business results.
87% of them used a discovery

Facebook data, January 2019

1

GFK 2017 Auto Path to Purchase (commissioned by Facebook)

2

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 2 3

 4 KEY STRATEGIES
TO DRIVE SALES
This playbook is organized into 4 industry-proven strategies.
These strategies will not only give you a distinct way to think
about your marketing efforts but will help you extract the
utmost value from our partnership.

They include:

WHY BUY HERE REACH READY-TO-BUY

CONSUMERS
Build your dealership brand

218M
and differentiate yourself Dynamically deliver VIN specific
from your competitors messaging to prospects to drive
sales against your inventory
BUILD CUSTOMERS
FOR LIFE DRIVE PROMOTIONS
AND EVENTS
Use your CRM database
to communicate with your Amplify important dealership
people access Facebook in
consumers about what matters moments using Facebook’s the US every month3
most to them in order to retain event-based ad unit
and capture new customers
3
Facebook data, Jan 2019

We can’t wait to partner with you and help drive your

business forward!

Best,

Bob Lanham
Head of Automotive Retail

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 4 5

CONTENTS
4 key strategies to drive sales 04

Before we begin 08

Full funnel approach to drive sales 12

What to buy: 4 strategies for dealers 14

Why buy here—Dealer brand strategy 15

Ready to buy­— Drive consumer actions 23

Customers for life—Build customer loyalty 31

Events—Promote your tentpole event 39

Appendix 46

Platform overview 48

Facebook ad types 50

Major tools 54

Additional resources 56
 Having a Facebook Page affords
you a host of opportunities when
it comes to connecting to your existing
customers, potential customers and
your surrounding community.

1. Build community value and

your dealership’s brand

BEFORE
2. Run advertisements that drive awareness
and sales for your dealership

WE BEGIN 3. Execute, monitor and review

content performance

4. Set specific permissions for others

to help manage your Page

Chance are you already have a Facebook Page

for your dealership. However, if you do not have
a Page for your dealership, you’ll need to create
one in order to launch an advertising campaign.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 8 9

 CAMPAIGN AD
START HERE: STRUCTURE
SET UP YOUR
1. CAMPAIGN 3. AD
FACEBOOK PAGE
This is the foundation of your This is what your customers
Next, set up your Business advertising efforts. When you or audience will see. In this
Manager account for your decide to run an ad, start with section, you will choose your
dealership. You can think the campaign. Next, choose ad creative, which may include
of Business Manager as an an advertising objective. things like images, videos, text
organizational tool. It helps The objective you choose and a call-to-action button.
advertisers run and track their defines what you want your Learn how to make design ads
ads, manage assets like your ad to achieve. It is important that work.
Pages and ad accounts, and add to understand what each
an agency or marketing parter objective accomplishes for If you would like more
to help manage your page and your advertising. For example: information about all of the
accounts. Getting more qualified above, you can also look
people to your website via through the Beginner’s Guide.
Once you have created an Ad It walks you through each
the conversion objective, or
Account in Business Manager, you section and provides a more
reaching everyone in your
will use Ads Manager to actually in-depth explanation of the
database with a set frequency
launch a campaign. Campaign Ad Structure.
via the reach objective.
Launching a Facebook campaign Now that you are familiar with
can seem like a daunting task but 2. AD SET the Ads Manager, it is time
this playbook will help simplify to execute the 4 strategies
the process by breaking down In this step, you specify the
mentioned in the beginning
the “Campaign Ad Structure” audience for your ad using
of this guide that have been
into 3 parts. Facebook’s targeting options.
designed, tested and proven to
You can define your audience
help drive business results for
by choosing characteristics
your dealership.
such as location, gender,
age, website and/or database
retargeting and more. You are
also able to set your budget,
flight schedule and choose
your placements.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 10 11

FULL
Dealerships need to market their brand just
as much as their auto inventory. Facebook’s

FUNNEL
full funnel approach will help dealers
execute single or multiple concurrent

APPROACH
strategies to help increase their
advertising effectiveness.

SOLUTIONS TO DRIVE In other words, we have results versus just running

OBJECTIVES FOR seen that when a dealership

executes an upper funnel
one strategy.

YOUR DEALERSHIPS
Ready to get started? The
or “Why Buy Here” brand
descriptions that follow
strategy, while at the

FROM AWARENESS
provide a step-by-step guide
same time running a lower
to help you execute across
funnel “Ready to Buy”

TO PURCHASE
the 4 dealership strategies.
or “Customers for Life”
strategy, they see greater

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 12 13

 1

WHY BUY HERE—

DEALER BRAND STRATEGY

The focus of the “Why Buy Here” strategy is to

build your brand equity with potential customers
and convince them to purchase from your
dealership. 78% of potential customers who plan

WHAT
to purchase a vehicle within 3 months don’t know
where they will buy 4. This is your opportunity to be

TO BUY
proactive and convince this audience why they need
to buy from your dealership. Running this strategy
alongside the “Ready to Buy” and “Customers for
Life” strategies will help improve overall results
THE 4 STRATEGIES versus running one strategy independently.

FOR DEALERS

78%
of potential customers who plan to
purchase a vehicle within 3 months
don’t know where they will buy4
4
Mintel Car purchasing report, June 2018

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 14 15

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION yy Languages: If targeting different languages, you must have
1 | Why Buy Here—Dealer Brand Strategy ad creative that speaks to those languages

yy Detailed Targeting: In this section, you can select more

specific demographics, interests or behaviors of your
target audience
CAMPAIGN
Objective Targeting suggestions:
Reach: This is the only objective that allows you to reach a large
-- Dealer address + 10 mile radius or franchise ZIP(s)
audience with a controlled frequency. This objective mirrors
that of a traditional media campaign, which allows for easier -- Dealer address + 10 mile radius or franchise ZIP(s) > age
comparison of effectiveness and efficiencies.
-- Dealer address + 10 mile radius or franchise ZIP(s) >
Campaign Name interest (ex: sports, cooking, etc...)
We suggest you use the name of the strategy and/or a date -- Website remarketing > all visitors
(ex: Why Buy Here 2019). This will allow for easier sorting in
Ads Reporting. -- CRM database lookalikes (ex: customers by brand,
model, etc.)

AD SET
Connections
Ad Set Name
We recommend you leave this to the default setting
To allow for easier reporting, we suggest you create a name that
identifies your target audience (i.e., Address + 10 miles_A25-54) Pro Tip: You will notice a “Save This Audience” button at
the end of this section—this will help you expedite future
Page campaign set-ups using the same audiences
Choose the dealership Facebook Page that is being advertised
Placements
Audience
yy Use the Facebook default to “Optimize for Cost Per Result,”
yy Custom Audience: Is not applicable here, leave this which allows the system to find your target audience
area blank regardless of what device they use
yy Locations: Select the geography you would like to target yy Edit placements allows you to specifically select the devices
(i.e., city, nearby ZIP codes, etc.) and placements you want the ad to appear. Keep in mind, the
yy Age: Select a specific age range you would like to target, more placements you select, the more opportunities you’ll
if applicable have to reach your target audience and achieve your business
goals which is why we suggest you leave the default above.
yy Gender: If you would like to target a specific gender,
select here

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 16 17

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

Budget and Schedule

yy Optimization for ad delivery

-- 2 drop down choices will be presented—make sure to

select “Reach”

yy Bid Control: This section is optional.—we recommend

leaving blank and allowing our algorithm to manage

yy Budget and Schedule: We recommend selecting “Lifetime

Budget.”—this allows you to define a total budget and
timeframe for your ads to run

yy Frequency Cap: We recommend selecting 1 to 2 impressions

every 7 days for this particular strategy

yy When You Get Charged: Leave “Impression” as the default

yy Ad Scheduling: It is recommended to run ads “all of the

time” versus “on a schedule” for better results

yy Delivery Type: We suggest to leave option as “Standard”

AD
Ad Name
We suggest you use the message of your ad

Create Ad or Use Existing Post

yy Create Ad: Select this option when you are creating a new ad
from scratch

yy Use Existing Post: Select this option if you create an ad

from a previous post that exists in the News Feed of your
dealership’s Facebook page

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 18 19

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

Identity
Confirm the dealership’s Facebook Page (and Instagram handle
if applicable)

Format
Based on the ad type you selected to execute, you will be
directed to add images, enter text, add a URL (website address
where you want the user to go if they click the ad), and add a
“call to action” button.
If you have any questions at any time on what each section is, Text section
simply hover over the gray “i” ( ) to learn more. You will also
notice that as you complete each required section, your ad will
be populated to the right so you can see what it will look like.

Conversion Tracking
Set up both conversions below to help develop
accurate reporting:
yy Facebook Pixel

yy Offline Events URL

Review and Confirm Headline section

News Feed link

description

Call-to-Action button
SUMMARY:
This strategy is focused on driving awareness and
differentiating your dealership from others. This
method is typically compared to traditional advertising
campaigns (radio, TV, etc.) in terms of
cost effectiveness and audience reached.蘒

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 20 21

 2

READY TO BUY—
DRIVE CONSUMER ACTIONS

This strategy uses advanced machine learning to

capture prospective in-market shoppers who are
actively researching online. Automotive Inventory
Ads automatically show the dealer’s most compelling
inventory to the right audiences—driving them to
vehicle detail pages, lead submission forms or other
areas you prefer. With this integration, you can make
sure that your most relevant vehicles are shown to
potential auto buyers—allowing you to focus on
closing the sale.

DYNAMICALLY DELIVER VIN SPECIFIC MESSAGING TO

PROSPECTS TO DRIVE SALES AGAINST YOUR INVENTORY
There are 3 key steps to set up Automotive Inventory Ads:

STEP 1 Set up your catalog

(contact your website provider for this)

STEP 2 Implement a pixel

STEP 3 Create an automotive Inventory ad

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 22 23

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION Audience
2 | Ready To Buy—Drive Consumer Actions You can promote your Automotive Inventory Ads to two
different audiences:

yy Retargeting: This audience consists of people who have

CAMPAIGN actively researched inventory on your website

Objective yy Broad: We suggest this audience selection. This includes

people who’ve expressed online interest in your products
Catalog Sales: A vehicle catalog is required for the Automotive (or products similar to yours), even if they haven’t visited
Inventory Ads to build the creative your website
Campaign Name
No Exclusions
We suggest you use the name of the strategy and/or a date
This option is suggested, your inventory will be viewed by both
(ex: Why Buy Here 2019). This will allow for easier sorting in
website visitors and broader in-market audience
Ads Reporting
Create a Custom Exclusion
Catalog
Only select this option if you want to exclude visitors who have
In the drop-down menu next to Catalog, select the catalog that
taken specific actions on your website
contains the vehicle inventory you’d like to promote
Custom Audience

AD SET We recommend to leave this section blank

Ad Set Name Location

To allow for easier reporting, we suggest you create a name that Select the geography you would like to target (ex: dealership
identifies your target audience (ex: Automotive Inventory Ads) address, dealership franchise ZIP codes, city, etc.)

Age
Vehicles
Leave default (18-65+)
This section allows you to filter the specific vehicles you would
like to promote. We recommend leaving it on the default setting
Gender
to promote your entire inventory
Leave “All” selected
Offer
Languages
This is our Offer Ad unit. Please make sure the selection is set
to “off” Leave text box blank

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 24 25

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

Connections AD
Leave as is
Ad Name
Placements We suggest you use the message of your ad (ex: Automotive
Inventory Ads)
• Use the Facebook default, “Automatic Placements,” to
optimize for the best cost per result. Automatic Placements
Identity
will allow the system to deliver to the right people regardless
of which device or platform they use Confirm the dealership’s Facebook Page (and Instagram handle
if applicable)
• Edit Placements allow you to specifically select the devices or
platform that you want the ad to appear. Note: Automotive Format
Inventory Ads do not run in all placements
Select “Carousel.” This will allow the rotation of multiple
Budget and Schedule vehicles from your inventory to display in the ad

yy Budget and Schedule: We suggest selecting “Daily Budget” Text

with a budget between $50–$100. This is based on your
yy Text: We suggest inputting a general message. This will be
market size and will need to be reviewed on a monthly basis
seen by your target audience at the top of the ad
yy Optimization for Ad Delivery: Select “Conversion events”
yy Catalog
-- Conversion Window: Select “7 day click
-- Catalog Cards: Select “Single image”
or 1-day view”
-- Creative Tools: Gives you the ability to customize how
-- Event Type: Select “View content”
your images appear in your ads
-- Bid Strategy: Select “Lowest cost”
-- Headline: Clicking the “+” sign will allow you to select
yy When You Get Charged: Leave “Impression” as the default copy from a specific field of text within your catalog

-- Ad Scheduling: This section is unable to be changed with -- News Feed Link to Description: Same as above
a daily budget
yy “See More” URL: This will appear on the last card of your
-- Delivery Type: We suggest to leave this option carousel ad. It can be a different URL than the one you are
as “Standard” promoting in your ad’s initial call to action. FYI, if you’re
using Instagram as a placement, the last card of the carousel
and the “See More” link won’t be shown

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 26 27

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

yy See More Display Link: This selection is optional

yy Call to Action: Choose the action you want people to take

when they see your ad. We suggest the “Shop Now” or
“Learn More” button

yy Deep Link To Website: Do not use. This will replace URLs

within your catalog, which we want to avoid

• Mobile App

-- Leave this section blank

yy Multiple Languages (optional): Use if you are creating ads in Text section
different languages

yy URL Parameters (optional): This option is not required for

this particular campaign

yy Conversion Tracking: We suggest that you set up both

conversions below so you can develop accurate reporting of
track website and offline behavior:

-- Facebook pixel

-- Offline events
Headline section
Review and Confirm
News Feed link
description
Call To Action button

SUMMARY:
Since this strategy is focused on targeting
people who show intent to purchase, we
recommend to focus on the “cost per view”
or “cost per click” metrics.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 28 29

 3

CUSTOMERS FOR LIFE–

BUILD CUSTOMER LOYALTY

This strategy focuses on people who you already

know–current customers or people who have been
in touch with your dealership at some point. You
have already gathered information on this audience
and included them into your CRM database(s).
Utilizing Facebook’s re-marketing platform provides
you the ability to match those in your CRM database
with those who use our platform. It can prove to
be one of your most valuable advertising and
marketing tools.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 30 31

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION -- Prepare a File with Your Customer Data: Identifiers are
3 | Customers for Life—Build Customer Loyalty used to match your customers to people on Facebook.
To improve your potential match rate, include as many
identifiers as possible in your file. Data will be hashed
prior to upload and will not be stored after the upload
CAMPAIGN is finished. Note – to protect privacy, all data we have is
anonymized and aggregated
Objective
-- Add Your File
Reach: This objective allows you to reach the entire database
you are targeting with a controlled frequency ·· Click the Original Data Source drop-down to specify
where the information in the file initially came from
Campaign Name
·· Choose whether you’ll upload your customer file as
We suggest you use the name of the strategy and/or a date a file (.txt or .csv) or copy and paste it
(ex: Lease Maturity Dec 2019). This will allow for easier sorting
in Ads Reporting ·· If you choose to upload, click Upload File and select
your customer file. If you choose to copy and paste,
do so in the “Paste your content here” field
AD SET ·· Tip: You can download our data file template to help
Ad Set Name our system map your data more easily. Just click
“Download file template” to use it
To allow for easier reporting, we suggest you create a name that
identifies your target audience (i.e., Lease Maturity_Dec_2019) ·· Give your audience a name and description if you
want to
Page
·· Click Next
Choose the dealership Facebook Page that is being advertised
-- Since you are using your database, you will not need to
Audience use any more of the targeting options in this section:
Custom Audiences: If you have uploaded databases before,
·· Locations
simply start typing the name of that database and it will
appear. If you are new to Custom Audiences, please follow ·· Age
the next steps:
·· Gender
• Create New > Custom Audience
·· Languages
• Customer File
·· Detailed targeting
• Choose the drop-down selection titled, “Use a file that
doesn’t include LTV” ·· Targeting suggestions

·· Connections

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 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

Placements

yy Use the Facebook default to “Optimize for Cost Per Result,”

which allows the system to find your target audience
regardless of what device they use

yy Edit placements allows you to specifically select the devices

and placements you want the ad to appear. Keep in mind, The
more placements you select, the more opportunities you’ll
have to reach your target audience and achieve your business
goals which is why we suggest you leave the default above

Budget and Schedule

yy Optimization for Ad Delivery: 2 drop-down choices will be

presented—make sure to select “Reach”

yy Cost Controls (optional): We recommend leaving blank and

allowing our algorithm to manage

yy Budget and Schedule: We recommend selecting “Lifetime

Budget.” This allows you to define a total budget and
timeframe for your ads to run

yy Frequency Cap: We recommend selecting 1 to 2 impression

every 7 days

yy When You Get Charged: Leave “Impression” as

the default

yy Ad Scheduling: It is recommended to run ads “all of the time”

versus “on a schedule” for better results

yy Delivery Type: We suggest to leave this selection

as “Standard”

AD
Ad Name
We suggest you use the message of your ad
(ex: Lease Maturity Dec 2019)

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 34 35

 ADS MANAGER EXECUTION (CONTINUED)

Identity
Confirm the dealership’s Facebook Page (and Instagram handle
if applicable)

Format
Based on the ad type you selected to execute, you will be
directed to add images, enter text, add a URL (website address
where you want to user to go if they click the ad), and add a
“call to action” button.
Text section
If you have any questions at any time on what each section is,
simply hover over the gray “i” ( ) to learn more. You will also
notice that as you complete each required section, your ad will
be populated to the right so you can see what it will look like.

Conversion Tracking
Conversion Tracking: Set up both conversions below to help
develop accurate reporting:

yy Facebook Pixel Display link

yy Offline Events Headline section

Review and Confirm News Feed link

description

SUMMARY:
This strategy utilizes your CRM database(s) to
engage with current and prospective customers.
This can be compared to direct mail or email
campaigns for effectiveness. Once you compare the
costs and results, you should be able to see why this
strategy is very popular among dealerships.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 36 37

 4

EVENTS—
PROMOTE YOUR
TENTPOLE EVENTS
This strategy covers events your dealership hosts
and/or sponsors. Whether your dealership
is hosting a sales event or sponsoring a community
event, you can promote your event using this
easy-to-execute strategy.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 38 39

 EVENTS PROCESS
4 | Events—Promote Your Tentpole Events

STEP 1
The first step is to create an event for your dealership’s Page via
the computer: Text section

yy From your Dealership Page, click Events in the left menu

yy Select the “+ Create Event” button

yy Fill in the following:

-- Event Name: The title of the event

-- Location: Input your address

Display link
-- Description: Tell people more information about
the event Headline section

-- Date & Time: Indicate when your event will take place

yy Type and select keywords that are relevant to your event

so that it can be better recommended to people who are
interested in that topic (example: Food Festival)

yy Choose who can edit and post in your event and then click
Create. You’ll be taken to your event, where you can invite
guests, upload photos, add a cover photo or video, share
posts and edit event details

STEP 2
Once your event has been created, you will need to reach your yy You can target people based on gender,
target audience: age, location and interests. You can
yy Click “Boost Event” from your event page also target people—and their friends—
who’ve liked your Page
yy Choose Reach More People
yy Choose your budget and schedule
yy Select your audience
yy Click Boost

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 MEASURE TO
PROFITABILITY,
NOT PROXIES
You’ve set the strategies into action, and now you These measurements can help you determine the profitability of
your ad spend on Facebook as it relates to sales. Setting up the
want to know how to measure and understand
two conversions tracking tools we suggested in each strategy will
success. We know that it is important for you allow you to measure both in-store sales and digital proxies.
to align your advertising efforts with your sales PIXEL-BASED CONVERSIONS
objectives. Facebook provides you the opportunity Are actions that happen on your website as a result of your
ad, including page views, leads and offline conversions? We
to measure the offline return on your ad spend.
attribute these actions to your ad if someone viewed or clicked
We can tell you how many people saw your ad, on your ad within a certain period of time, as defined by your
attribution window.
how many saw your ad and clicked, and of those,
how many came into your dealership to purchase a
vehicle or service their automobile.

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 MEASURE TO PROFITABILITY, NOT PROXIES
(CONTINUED)

OFFLINE CONVERSIONS
Are real-world outcomes that occur as a result of your ad?
To help you understand the effectiveness of your ad
campaigns, Offline Events matches interactions from your
physical dealership with metrics from people who saw or
clicked on your ads. To set up offline conversions you need to
set up offline events .

FACEBOOK ATTRIBUTION (ADVANCED)

Once you have both pixel-based and offline conversions
set-up, you can start to look at the impact of your ads across
publishers, channels and devices. Attribution is the process of
assigning credit to touchpoints along a consumer’s conversion
path. Understanding which of your ads should get credit for
leading a consumer to take action can help you understand
their effectiveness and make more impactful decisions for
future planning and optimization.

It’s very important that you measure both pixel-based and

offline conversions together instead of separately. It’s also
important that you measure the success of the strategies
executed together. These strategies are designed to work in
tandem to help drive each other’s performance.

Applying a holistic measuring approach allows you to not only

measure those who viewed and interacted with your ads, but
also those who viewed and didn’t interact but still visited your
dealership and purchased. This approach can help give you a
comprehensive view of the success of your advertising efforts and
an understanding of the profitability of your ad spend to sales.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 44 45

 APPENDIX
Platform overview 48

Facebook ad types 50

Major tools 54

Additional resources 56

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 46 47

 PLATFORM OVERVIEW

FACEBOOK passions. This makes Instagram a highly relevant environment to

inspire action. Share your dealership’s story or showcase your cars,
yy Facebook for Business gives you the latest news, advertising supplies and/or services. And, because Instagram uses the same
tips, best practices and case studies so that you can best use powerful advertising tools as Facebook, you can set up, run and track
Facebook to meet your business goals. campaigns the same way you do with Facebook ads.
yy Visit the Automotive Hub. yy Instagram for Business: Find resources to help engage
yy Facebook Terminology: Facebook connects brands with the and inspire people visually with your brand’s story on Instagram.
people who matter to them in order to produce real business
results. Learn about the terminology we use related to
marketing on Facebook.
MESSENGER

yy The ability to stay connected no matter where you are makes

discovering new automobiles easier than ever. With 63% of people
INSTAGRAM discovering new cars online and 42% of 18–34 year-olds discovering
them on mobile, Messenger opens up a highly personal, direct way to
yy Auto marketers have long used print and TV advertising to interact and drive the business outcomes that are important to you5.
tell visual stories. Instagram enables you to use these same
yy Get started with Messenger for your business here.
skills to marry rich and engaging visuals in order to reach
current and potential consumers. People come to Instagram
to share moments and seek inspiration through videos and
photos. They connect with friends, family, brands and personal

5
Source: Facebook internal data, US, Q3 2018. ** GfK 2017 Auto Path to Purchase
(commissioned by Facebook).
AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 48 49
 FACEBOOK AD TYPES

Our ad solutions give you rich ways to tell your dealership’s yy Carousel: Carousel ads allow you to feature multiple images
story and to drive real business results with ad formats that are and include an optional off-site link or Call-to-Action (CTA)
engaging, informative and native to the mobile experience. button which might link more information, a “get a quote” or
directly to your website. You also have the option to use video
Ad Formats: or multiple CTAs.
yy Video: Video ads bring businesses to life on mobile through
yy Slideshow: Video is perfect for grabbing your audience’s
sight, sound and motion. When attention is short, video
attention but can be difficult to produce if you have limited
can be highly effective at instantly engaging your audience.
video production capabilities. Slideshow ads allow you to
Create videos that show new car models, behind-the-scenes
easily turn still images into video, bringing your dealership to
footage or driver case studies in order to raise awareness
life through sight, sound and motion.
about your dealership.
yy Instant Experience (formerly Canvas): Instant Experience
yy Facebook Stories / Instagram Stories: Connect with auto
is a full-screen experience that opens after someone interacts
consumers in an immersive environment and extend your
with your ad on a mobile device. Within the experience,
reach beyond the Facebook and Instagram Feeds. People
people can watch videos, swipe through photos in a carousel
tend to use Stories to show and express life’s moments as
and fill out forms to test drive the featured auto.
they happen. This goes one level deeper than the highlights
typically posted in Facebook and Instagram Feeds. yy Lead Generation Ads: Facebook lead ads make the lead
generation process easy. Auto consumers can simply tap your
yy Image: An image ad gives you the opportunity to promote
ad and a form pops up—it’s already pre-populated with their
your inventory with inspiring imagery and engaging copy
Facebook contact information and ready to be sent directly to
using a clean and simple format.
you. They get the information they want, and you generate a
yy Collection: Collection allows dealerships to connect with qualified lead for a test drive or auto service appointment—all
their audiences by pairing a prominent video or photo with in a few simple taps.
4 related product images directly in the Facebook mobile
yy Messenger Ads: Messenger ads help people start
News Feed. Clicking anywhere on the ad leads people to a
conversations with your dealership and personalize your
full-screen, immersive experience showcasing your products.
customer’s experience by enabling 1:1 communication.
Tapping on a product will take people directly to a product
detail page on your website.

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 APPENDIX: 2 | Facebook Ad Types (continued)

yy Offer Ads: Facebook Offers allow you to promote discounts

that your customers can then redeem in the dealership.
Whether you offer a percentage off a total purchase, a vehicle
service or free products and/or upgrades, offer ads can help
you increase conversions and drive dealership traffic.

yy Page Post Engagement: Page post engagement ads

help you understand the kinds of stories and content your
audience likes. This enables you to create more of what they
love, extend your Page posts beyond your Page and inspire
people to take action with your dealership.

yy Event Responses: Create an event from your dealer’s

Facebook Page, then spread the word about it with Facebook
event response ads, assuring that you make your event a
success. You can choose the audience who may want to come
to your event based on location, age and interests.

Because we care about your feedback, we’ve innovated and built

solutions specifically to address the past feedback and desires
of our automotive partners. The following updated tools and
solutions have been specifically tailored to help you maximize
your advertising efforts across the Facebook Family of Apps and
Services, as well as to answer your unique dealership needs.

yy Automotive Inventory Ads (formerly Dynamic Ads):

Automotive Inventory Ads allow you to import your entire
vehicle inventory to Facebook and automatically promote the
most relevant vehicles to each person in your audience. It also
helps ensure that you are only showing vehicles with the right
price, color and other specifications based on your currently
available inventory.

yy Marketplace: Marketplace is now used by 800 million people

and is emerging as one of the most popular places to buy
vehicles online. More than 20 million people click on vehicle
listings every month.

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 MAJOR TOOLS

It’s important that your advertising on Facebook and Instagram  To add the Facebook pixel—or ensure it’s added to your
be aligned with your other marketing efforts. From account website—start here. To learn more, visit the Facebook
planning to the metrics you’ll measure, you want to be sure pixel page and take our Facebook pixel Blueprint
to leverage the same processes and best practices in order to eLearning course.
make for an easy comparison between channels.
 Implement the Facebook SDK and App Events to your mobile
As you plan your campaign, we have tools to help you through app here. To learn more, visit the Facebook SDK page.
this process.
 Get started with offline conversions here. To learn more,
Automotive Blueprint visit the Facebook Offline Conversions page.

Take our recommended eLearning courses—specifically Set Up for Measurement

designed for dealerships—in order to quickly bring yourself
When planning any successful marketing campaign, you
up to speed on our platforms and terminology.
need to consider key metrics for success. Did your ad
Audience Insights campaign drive awareness for your brand? Did it drive
additional sales on your website? Did it increase foot
Learn more about your key audiences.
traffic to your dealership? We have a suite of people-
Creative Hub based measurement tools that will help you answer
these questions and measure the true value from your ad
Get inspired by best-in-class auto creative and explore campaigns—no matter the objective. Learn more about
formats, mock-ups and ad concepts. Facebook’s measurement solutions here.
Implement the Toolkit In sum, no matter what your business goals may be, the
The tools in this toolkit—the Facebook pixel, Facebook Facebook Family of Apps and Services has solutions that track
SDK, App Events and offline conversions—enable you to real people across devices and channels throughout their
measure, target and optimize your campaigns on your entire purchase journey.
website, store and app, as well as use the actions people
take in your app or on your website to build audiences for
your ad campaigns (and that of your dealership).

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 54 55

 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

BEST PRACTICES OVERVIEW Brand Best Practices

How to Drive Action Online, in Stores and in Mobile Apps Facebook’s platforms are great places to raise brand
awareness. This course will show you how successful
Whether you’re promoting test drive sign-ups on your integration of Facebook’s tools can build brand awareness
website or sales in store, this course will introduce you to and ensure your message reaches your desired audience.
products that can help drive your business objectives.
Intro to Facebook Pages
Successful Campaigns
Having a Facebook Page is an important step in creating
Have you ever wondered what makes a successful Facebook an online presence for your business. Learn how Pages can
campaign? This course will enlighten you to the inherent help you easily connect and communicate with customers—
possibilities of our platforms and help you learn the integral anytime, anywhere. Understand the importance of your
role campaign goals play in many Facebook success stories. business’s presence on Facebook, especially on mobile.
Advertising on Facebook Learn how to post content that engages your customers
and prompts them to take action.
This beginner’s guide to advertising is designed as a tool
for advertisers who are just getting started with Facebook,
need a tactical overview of brand or direct response CREATIVE CONSIDERATIONS
advertising or want to better understand how our
Sources for creative inspiration:
platform works.
Facebook IQ Creative Effectiveness
Bring Your Business to Life with Instagram Stories
 Get the latest insights, studies and resources pertaining to
Learn about Instagram Stories and how they work,
creativity and mobile from Facebook IQ, so that you can
understand how to use Instagram Stories as part of your
best develop your next thumb-stopping campaign.
marketing campaign and explore how businesses are using
Instagram Stories and Instagram Stories ads to reach their Ad Policies for Content, Creative and Targeting
full funnel business goals.
 Familiarize yourself with the ad review process and how to
appeal it. Learn why an ad may or may not be approved, as
well as what content is acceptable for your ad’s headline,
landing pages and more.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 56 57

 APPENDIX: 4 | Additional Resources (continued)

Creative Hub: Bring Your Ideas to Life on Mobile FACEBOOK AD POLICIES

 Get inspired by the work of your peers and easily create, Facebook ad policies aim to keep our platforms safe for people
iterate and share your mobile ad designs in order to to connect with friends and businesses.
maximize their impact on Facebook and Instagram.
The following guidelines are in place to help ensure we’re
Creative Inspirations for Businesses creating the best experiences for people on our platforms, as
well as to facilitate better engagement and retention:
 A look at the various ways businesses have creatively
hacked simple images, product photos and existing videos Advertising Principles
to produce stunning mobile-optimized ads on Facebook
and Instagram. These are the principles that guide our decision making
when it comes to advertising across the Facebook family of
Free and Simple Tools to Create Facebook Ads on Mobile apps and services.

 Creating and editing images for your ads doesn’t Limit Text Overlay in Image Ads
always have to require heavy production. There are
In order to keep ads as high quality and engaging as
many time-saving tools and apps on your mobile phone
possible, our Ad Policy restricts how much text can be
that can help you turn your product photos into beautiful
included in the photo or thumbnail of an ad. To avoid
ad creative.
receiving an ad text warning, follow these guidelines.
Winning with Video on Mobile
Brand Assets
 Video consumption on mobile is increasing at a drastic
Before using Facebook or Instagram branded assets in
rate. Learn how to use video to tell your brand’s story.
your ads, always refer to our Brand Assets Guide. The
This course examines creative considerations for designing
following sites let you download the proper assets and
video specifically for mobile.
provide info on how to use them: facebookbrand.com,
instagram-brand.com.
UNLOCK INSIGHTS Branded Content
yy Facebook IQ
Branded content on Pages is content originating from a
yy Audience Insights Tool Page owner that features third-party products, brands or
sponsors that are different from the Page owner. When
yy Automotive Insights to Go posting permitted branded content integrations, Pages
Utilize Facebook stats to fuel your strategy and must use the Branded Content tool to tag the featured
spark creativity. third party. Branded content on Pages is only allowed
from Verified Pages. To learn more, visit our Branded
Content page.

AUTOMOTIVE PLAYBOOK FOR DEALERS | 58 59

 APPENDIX: 4 | Additional Resources (continued)

Ad Review Invalid Pixel

We review ads before they go live. This process can take Check that your pixel is installed on the page correctly and
up to 24 hours. If you feel your ad has been in review for that you are receiving data. If you are unsure if your pixels
too long, please reach out to your Facebook contact or are firing properly, download the Facebook Pixel Helper for
fb.me/adpolicies for help. Google Chrome. Download here.

To learn about all the ad policy requirements, read our To learn more, visit the Facebook Advertiser Help Center,
Advertising Policies and take our Ad Policies for Content, Facebook Ads Guide and Facebook Advertising Tips.
Creative and Targeting course.

MORE TOOLS TO STAY CONNECTED

TROUBLESHOOTING
Client Support Portal
Troubleshoot common delivery issues.
Have questions about your Facebook ad? Submit
Budget your question to our client solutions team at
facebook.com/business/clientsupport
The system works best when it has room to optimize for
and we’ll respond within one business day.
and prioritize your business KPIs over clicks. Ensuring
you have adequate budget allows the system to learn and Facebook Blogs
optimize for conversions over clicks.
yy Facebook Business News Blog
Targeting
yy Instagram Business News Blog
Making sure your audience is sufficiently large enough
yy Facebook IQ Blog
enables our system to optimize delivery. It’s also important
to be sure your audiences do not overlap at the account, Automotive Updates Newsletter
campaign, ad set or Page level. Learn more here.
Stay informed about the latest tools and features in order
Relevance Score to help improve your automotive objectives.
A low relevance score on your ad indicates that your Automotive Blueprint Pages
content is not faring well with your audiences. A low
relevance score will also impact your delivery negatively Stay up-to-date on new courses, course updates, how-to
and indicates that you should try different creative or videos, tips and tricks and success stories.
target a different audience. Learn more here.

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