Absent Audience Syndrome

Tired of spending hours writing out Facebook posts for your dealership and only getting two or three “likes” or only a handful of views on a video?

Well, lucky for you – I’m here to help!

I’ve been working in the digital marketing industry for a little over a decade now and 99% of that time has been primarily focused on helping dealerships sell cars with Facebook ads and promotions. Sadly, even after this long in the business, I still see dealerships making the same mistakes day in and day out. Posting to an absent audience. Using copy-and-pasted content from the OEM. Posting videos with zero context whatsoever. If you’re ready to generate ROI on Facebook, start with these three tips:
First and foremost, if you’re posting without an engagement budget, you’re literally wasting your time. It doesn’t take long to see which pages are utilizing an engagement budget and which ones are not. Facebook is a “pay to play” social media platform and if you’re hoping your dealership is being seen by in-market shoppers just randomly scrolling – you’re sorely mistaken. Take some time and energy away from the endless sales posts and make yourself a Post Engagement ad in Facebook Ads Manager. Your posts will reach more customers, get more engagement, and have the potential to lead to some sales.

Secondly, if you’re even considering hitting that “Boost” button, step away from the computer. The Boost button might get your post some easy likes, but it’s not reaching the people you want to be reaching. Boosting a post simply blasts it out there to the audience network of Facebook bots and random people who have liked your page or similar pages. Point blank, it’s a waste of money. Connect with a Digital Marketing Agency (Like Dealer Authority) that has access to 3rd party data and can promote your page’s content to in-market local shoppers. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Finally (and I can’t stress this enough), it’s about the people. If you’re dealership’s Facebook page is regurgitating the same content as your competitor, you need to ask yourself how much money CO-OP is really costing your store. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes for a second. If you were shopping for… let’s say a new Rolex, but you saw that two jewelry stores posted the exact same photo with the exact same wording, you’d assume they’re going to offer the same price, right? So what would your incentive be to pick one jewelry store over the other? That’s how your Facebook looks when you post the EXACT same car image from the OEM. If you actually manage to reach someone that’s in-market for a vehicle but with the same content as your competitor, and your competitor happens to be 10 minutes closer to them, what’s their deciding factor to choose you?
Get it? Good. Now let’s talk about what you SHOULD be posting. Local content, engaging content, unique content, hand-written content. Stop blending in – stand out. Your Facebook page is your free space to show customers that you are unique and worth choosing over your competitors. Why aren’t you jumping at that opportunity?

If you follow these simple tips, your dealership will see more leads, more sales, and a much happier and engaged Facebook audience.