Hitting the target with social media ads

Advertising for your dealership on social media is a smart and strategic way to grab the attention of your likely prospects. As a local business, you have an even higher chance of targeting social media users in your area who may already be in the market for a boat.

Social media ads are a low cost/high impact method of advertising, so it’s a smart idea to implement them for your dealership. But in order to make them worth the time and effort it takes to create and manage them, you should first make sure that your social media ads are delivering the right message.

First of all, make sure your ads are useful. Share information about a sale or promotion your dealership is running, or make an announcement if your store begins to carry a new product or brand. While there is a time and place for ads that are purely promotional, you should strive to provide value if you want to see the best results.

Make your ads interactive. Always link them to a landing page where prospects can submit a lead or contact you for more information – bonus points if your landing page matches the ad stylistically with content that goes more in depth than what is shared in the ad. Also, remember that social media users may “like” or comment on ads – are you monitoring that engagement and following up with those people?

Stay true to your dealership’s personality. Don’t run a high-tech ad with flashy GIFs if you advertise your dealership as the mom ‘n’ pop-style neighborhood boat dealer. Or, if your team has a great sense of humor and banter with your customers, use that kind of language in your advertising rather than something too “sales-y.” Advertise your dealership in a way that is transparent and authentic, and let your personality shine through.

Always keep your ads evolving. Your local audience of boating enthusiasts and prospects don’t want to see the same social media ads circulating for months on end. Keep things fresh by updating your ad content every few weeks. Also, make sure your ads are updated according to the season.

Listen to what your ad audience is telling you. Monitor the results of your social media ad campaigns to see if some ads perform better than others and adjust your strategy accordingly. One of the best aspects of social media ads is that you can turn them off or edit them if needed, and you can see how they are performing in real-time. There is much less risk of wasting money with these capabilities.

Social media advertising is a highly efficient way to get your dealership in front of your target audience. As a business that is likely targeting local followers, there is arguably no better or more cost-effective way to reach those local audience members. Keep these points in mind to execute a social media advertising strategy that will be most beneficial to your dealership.

Lauren Labunsky is the public relations manager for Dealer Spike, a company that provides innovative websites as well as a suite of powerful online advertising solutions that help marine dealers help increase sales and service profitability. For more information, visit www.DealerSpikeMarine.com or call 800-288-5917.