With more than 500 million active users, a number that grows by leaps and bounds every day, Facebook is far and away the largest social networking website in the world, making it integral to any successful and comprehensive online marketing campaign. While the importance of and opportunity available in Facebook is unquestionable, the bottom line is still the bottom line for business, and many auto dealers are left wondering, how exactly do you turn “likes” into ups?

Here are some things to consider when implementing an auto marketing campaign via Facebook:

– Advertising – Although it has a huge pool of users, many of whom will not be in your target customer demographic, Facebook allows for extreme advertising precision. You can choose to reveal your ads only to those users who are most likely to click and come to your lot. For example, if you’re running a special on a manufacturer-specific maintenance package, you can show the ad only to those people who have liked your Page or have liked the manufacturer’s Page, increasing the likelihood that they own a vehicle covered by that promotion and making them more likely to be interested in this promotion. You can also choose only a certain geographic area, which is perfect for local dealers. This allows you to get exposure to a wider variety of people within that area without increasing the amount spent.

– Customer service – One of the greatest benefits about Facebook is that it allows you to interact with customers in real time and on a personal level. Because of this, many dealers use their Facebook Page as a sort of customer service vehicle. If a customer has an issue, they can report it online, they get a personal response to their problem, and other customers can see the conflict being resolved. This is obviously much preferable to that customer simply going out and writing a bad review or speaking negatively about your company without you having the chance to respond.

– Promotions – Rather than try to track down all potential customers yourself and get them to like your Page, split up the work between your fans. Create contests and other promotions that involve getting people to “Like” your Page or a photograph on it, or ones that involve them tagging your Page in a photo or post of their own. In this way, you can get exposure to people who may not have even seen your Page before, in turn increasing brand recognition. Not only does this mean less work for you, but by having people personally request that their friends like your Page, instead of trying to do it yourself, you increase the likelihood that these friends will do so.

These are just a few things to take into account with regard to auto marketing on Facebook. There are many more ways to improve the odds that your online fans and followers ultimately make a trip to your dealership, and a marketing agency that is experienced specifically in the auto industry can help you best take advantage of the opportunities afforded to you by Facebook.

Author Bio: Kara Alcamo, online content editor for Action Integrated Marketing.

Category: Business
Keywords: Auto Marketing, Auto Marketing Facebook, Social Media Marketing