By Bob Lanham, Facebook’s Head of Automotive Retail

The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted the automotive industry in a number of ways—from constricting supply to unforeseen declines in dealership traffic and vehicle sales. During these uncertain times, the health of your business and relationship with customers is essential, especially as many dealerships are adapting their sales approach and shifting many aspects of the vehicle sales and service process online.

We offer free Facebook tools for dealers, which can help you to keep your customers informed, as, more than ever, consumers are coming to Facebook to connect with the people and communities they care about. By providing first-class service and value to consumers now, auto dealers can build the long-term relationships needed to cultivate customers for life.

Free Facebook Tools for Auto Dealers

Here are some of the free Facebook tools which auto dealers can start using right away:

Pinned Post

Two out of three people on Facebook visit a business Page or event listing weekly¹. To ensure visitors who visit your dealership’s Facebook Page can find important information about your business quickly, consider creating a pinned post that stays at the top of the timeline. Your other posts will be visible below your pinned post. Examples of important information you could pin to the top of your page include updated hours of operation, special financing, or other promotions you’re running.

Temporary Service Changes

Take advantage of a new feature on Facebook Pages where businesses can indicate if they have temporary service changes (i.e. if your location is temporarily closed or limiting hours of operation).

Messenger

Messenger is an instant messaging platform built into your Dealership’s Facebook Page. Messaging allows your dealership to build relationships and inspires trust. In fact, in a recent Facebook-commissioned study, 69% of people surveyed said that being able to send a message to a business made them feel more confident in the brand². Moreover, 58% of people surveyed feel more confident messaging a business than filling out a form on a website², and 55% of people surveyed feel more confident messaging than emailing a business².

Here are some ways you could incorporate Messenger into your Dealership’s Facebook page:

• Automatically address people who visit your Page and invite them to start a conversation with greetings such as “Hi [person’s name]! Thanks for getting in touch with us on Messenger. Please send us any questions you may have.”
• Use Messenger as a call to action on your Dealership’s Facebook Page.
• Post a message such as, “We’re here to chat” to your timeline, to let customers know that you have online messaging services available.
• Have technicians available to chat and answer service questions.

Facebook Live

Facebook Live is a powerful way to connect with your customers. Facebook Live notifies your followers when your dealership goes live, let’s you interact with viewers in real-time, and brings your viewers behind-the-scenes in a way that feels different than any other form of media. All your live broadcasts are saved to your page and can be viewed later by those who may have missed it.

You can incorporate Facebook Live to engage your customers in many different ways. Create educational videos such as DIY vehicle maintenance tips, or, showcase vehicles with live walkarounds, to name a few.

Facebook and Instagram Stories

Stories engage your audience and allow you to develop deeper connections in a more frequent, authentic, and casual way. 62% of people surveyed said they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Stories³. With Stories, you can share content directly from your mobile device, including pictures and short videos to bring your audience behind the scenes. Stories can be a great tool to showcase delivery photos and videos, have customers meet your staff, or share playful vehicle photos marked up with different auto-themed stickers and overlays.

For more resources to help you get started with these tools and more, visit the Facebook Automotive Dealer Hub.

¹ Facebook IQ “Meet the People Behind Local Business Marketing”
² Facebook IQ “3 Ways Messaging Is Transforming the Path to Purchase 2018”
³ Facebook IQ “Why Stories is a Format that Can Help Marketers Promote Brands”