Selling Cars Through Facebook Marketplace in 2024
The automotive industry has witnessed a paradigm shift with the growing importance of online platforms. As dealerships strive to keep pace with this evolution, Facebook Marketplace emerged as a potent tool for used car sales. However, the dynamics of this platform have been in constant flux. In this article, we will explore the strategies that independent dealerships employ to effectively leverage Facebook Marketplace in this ever-evolving landscape.
Understanding Facebook Marketplace Landscape
The statistics speak for themselves. In recent years, Facebook Marketplace has experienced unprecedented growth, transforming into a key player in the automotive sales domain. 271 Million people get on Facebook each month in the US. A surveyed 33% of users have made a purchase from Facebook Marketplace in the past year. This comes out to around 90 million Americans making purchases starting with Facebook Marketplace, where vehicles are among the most shopped categories.
Facebook partnered with a few marketing tech companies to connect dealer inventory feeds directly to Marketplace and streamline the listing process. However, Facebook quickly pulled the plug. While this abrupt change may have left dealers and marketers feeling cheated, savvy marketers have been able to capitalize on the lack of competitive noise on the platform. Yet, it’s crucial to highlight the changes in Facebook Marketplace rules, specifically the limitations that now prevent dealers from listing their inventory.
Organic posting on Facebook Marketplace
Many of the forward-thinking dealers I’ve spoken to recently have abandoned posting on Marketplace and Buy & Sell Groups on Facebook. They mentioned issues with not having the bandwidth, receiving rough publicity in the comment section of Groups, or getting their profile suspended. However, a few dealers are finding hints of success posting to Marketplace where they are identified as a dealer, the listing is connected to their personal profile, and they respond to messages by sending customers to the VDP on the website. While this drives incremental traffic, eyeballs, and leads, dealers have complained about the headache of posting, responding, and taking down sold inventory and the juice not being worth the squeeze.
The Cheat-Code: Utilizing Facebook Advertising to Look Like Organic Listings
When done strategically, Facebook Ads are a game-changer for used car dealerships. We’ve found that the most qualified leads we’re generating for dealerships tend to come through ads that blend in with organic marketplace listings. The trick, run what is called On-Facebook Destination and use Automotive Inventory Ads (AIA) and when selecting placement, Facebook Marketplace can be specified. Car shoppers on Marketplace will see your relevant inventory contextually placed amongst organic listings. Interested shoppers will be instantly directed to an on-Facebook VDP where they can get more info, click to call, message the store, get directions, or see more related vehicles in your inventory. I’ll share a link to download a more comprehensive step-by-step guide at the end of this article.
We’re finding that placing ads in Marketplace can level the playing field with larger stores with bigger budgets and more inventory as we’re able to carve relevance in front of lower funnel shoppers compared to other stores that can afford to carpet-bomb the market with ads. Leads from Marketplace ads are coming through to dealers consistently for between $10-$20 per shopper.
Incorporating Messenger for Seamless Communication
We’ve seen measurable increases in sales with dealers that are using automation or have people ready to engage with online shoppers quickly. Dealerships can take it a step further by implementing chatbots for automated yet personalized interactions. Building customer relationships through timely and informative messaging will be emphasized as a crucial aspect of the online buying experience.
In Conclusion
Facebook Marketplace has a massive pool of used car shoppers and a lack of dealerships properly represented. This profitable opportunity is being exploited by forward-thinking dealers who can pay to be one of the dealers who still have their inventory populating within the marketplace. While profitable, these campaigns take some technical knowhow to get off the ground. To save you some time upskilling your staff or yourself, we’ve created a cheat sheet you can print out and use to get started below.
Download Your Free Guide to setting up Facebook Marketplace Ads now!
About Dealer OMG
Dealer OMG is an automotive digital marketing firm focused on helping dealers measurably grow sales, service, and trades. Founded by former Facebook employees and automotive executives, Dealer OMG pioneered the vinAMP platform to refine target audiences, making ads more relevant to shoppers. Through white-glove dealer-specific creative and vinAMP platform, Dealer OMG’s dealership clients are able to be the dealership continually in the shopper’s feeds.
For more information, you can contact our Chief Operating Officer, Keith Turner at Keith@DealerOMG.com