If there is one statistic from Digital Air Strike’s recent study that best highlights the importance of social media in your store’s marketing efforts, it might be this one: better than nine out of every 10 buyers (91 percent) used social media/review sites in the dealership selection process. 

And based on the findings illustrated throughout the 2014 Automotive Social Media Trends Study, it seems that Facebook, in particular, can be a Swiss Army knife for dealers. 

Many are aware of its capabilities for consumer engagement, but Facebook can also be deployed for marketing and sales. 

In fact, Digital Air Strike found that 48 percent of car buyers said they would utilize Facebook’s new “click to purchase” feature to make auto-related purchases or pick up discounts, and a third have clicked on a Facebook ad through a mobile device. 

Facebook is also proving to be a fairly sharp tool for reviews, as Digital Air Strike indicated that it is now rated by car buyers as a top-five dealership review site. 

“I think that, paired with the fact that (car buyers) said that Facebook reviews were the most influential — because it was from someone that they knew; potentially, from a friend — is very compelling,” Digital Air Strike chief executive officer and co-founder Alexi Venneri told Auto Remarketing in an interview. 

Regarding the influence of Facebook reviews, Digital Air Strike found three-fourths of car buyers were apt to put more stock in a review from a Facebook friend than one done through another site by an unknown person. 

So, when asked if she found Facebook to be better fit for shopping purposes, engagement purposes, or both, Venneri went with the latter. 

“You absolutely do want to engage with existing customers on Facebook,” she continued. “But more and more we’re seeing that consumers are definitely willing and ready to use Facebook to make buying decisions and to actually now do direct purchase for things like accessories and service appointments, etc.,” Venneri said. “So it’s pretty commonplace, and they’re very open to it.”

Which begs the question, if car buyers are willing to use click-to-purchase on Facebook for items like accessories and service appoints, does that shed light on what dealers should be advertising on Facebook? 

In other words, is Facebook marketing better suited to advertise service appointments and accessories versus the cars that are in a dealer’s inventory? 

“Not necessarily,” Venneri said. “We actually run a number of Facebook ad campaigns for quite a few dealerships, and we test all sorts of different messages. 

“What’s really nice is, I think that previously, in pretty much all other mediums, dealers would have to choose what marketing avenue they would use for different products or services,” she continued. “Really, for the first time, we can holistically market the entire dealership, because you’ve got everybody on there. You’ve got prospects — and we’ll target in-market shoppers based on Polk data around when vehicles are coming up on lease renewals.”

Additionally, Digital Air Strike can use Facebook to hone in on, for instance, certain types of vehicle enthusiasts to schedule service appointments. Or, for example, they can target customers who just bought a car, taking email addresses from dealership DMS to do custom campaigns to target them for accessories or additional purchases.

This marketing approach via Facebook is also very measurable, she added, as it’s possible to track which campaigns are generating more revenue and adjust accordingly. 

“It’s literally the most measurable and the most holistic medium we’re seeing for dealers today,” Venneri said. 

Key Items on Your Facebook Page 

Among the reminders from Venneri of what dealers should include on their Facebook pages was something relatively simple, yet often overlooked. 

In the “about” section on a dealership’s Facebook page, many stores don’t not have it set up to where the dealership’s main website URL is front-and-center and easily accessed. Often, it’s buried — and that could be doing harm to your website conversions, Venneri said. 

She went on to give this tip about combining a Facebook content strategy with an ad strategy: “Some of the best ads are promoted posts.”

For instance, you might have a special event coming up at your store, or an OEM financing incentive. 

Granted, that incentive might be available to all same-brand dealers in your area, “But if you’re the only dealer really talking about it, you may generate more leads just for that reason,” Venneri said. 

“I definitely find that they have to have a plan to leverage content, and then also promote it. You can’t just hope that your likers are going to see your post; they just don’t show up in news feeds anymore, unless you’re actively promoting it,” she continued. “But if you’re actively promoting it with Facebook ads, you will for sure see conversions and traffic if you’re doing it the right way.”

Other Social Media Uses

Of course, Facebook isn’t the only opportunity for dealers. Digital Air Strike’s study found that review sites continue to be “the most helpful resource for car buyers.”

A fifth of car buyers called review sites the most helpful/important factor, and another 25 percent considered them to be at least as important or helpful as dealer websites. 

Meanwhile, 28 percent found them to be somewhat helpful; 9 percent considered them not important; and 19 percent said they were very helpful, just not to the degree of dealer sites.

What’s more, more than four-fifths of car buyers (83 percent) checked out dealership star ratings (from review sites) in search-engine results, regardless of whether they actually went on to read the review. 

Editor's Note: This story appears in the Nov. 15 print and digital editions of Auto Remarketing, which hone in on the top Used-Car Advertising Ideas for Dealers.