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Facebook Marketplace
ONLINE TRADING
Facebook gives its top tips for selling your used cars via Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace’s popularity with car buyers is growing increasingly, and car dealers are discovering that it’s a powerful tool in their advertising arsenal.
Dealers can list cars free of charge on the site – with the help of a Marketplace partner – and with the ability to talk to customers directly via Messenger it’s a great way to do business.
Facebook says: ‘Marketplace is a dedicated discovery and search experience on Facebook designed to help millions of people find their next vehicle.
‘You can list your inventory where people are already shopping for cars, at no extra cost.’
For car dealers looking to take advantage of the platform, we’ve worked with the Facebook team to create this top 10 list of tips to get the most out of Marketplace.
1Upload listings correctly
To maximise your presence on Marketplace, you need to send 100 per cent of your used vehicle inventory, across all price points, to the platform. You can list certified pre-owned and pre-registered vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, boats, powersport vehicles, RVs, plus campervans and trailers.
2Provide clear vehicle descriptions
Give a clear and complete vehicle description – ideally 100 to 150 words – and include details of any vehicle damage. Highlight special features or equipment, from power steering to in-car satellite navigation, as all are crucial to attracting buyers.
3Use high-quality images – and lots of them
Provide as many high-quality photos as possible (minimum 960 x 720px resolution). Listings with 15 to 20 photos tend to perform well, and you need a minimum of two (and a maximum of 50) images. Include photos of the front three-quarters angle, cockpit, side and back, interior, engine, wheels, plus any dents, dings or excessive wear. Don’t add overlays or graphics.
4Keep your inventory up to date
It’s important to keep your inventory up to date so that accurate vehicle information appears on Marketplace. Listing partners can create automatic feed uploads (setting a daily, hourly or weekly upload schedule).
5Use Messenger to connect with customers
Messenger is an instant messaging platform built into your dealership’s Facebook page. Interested buyers can contact you directly to ask questions, get more information about a vehicle and schedule a test drive in seconds. You can also choose to use the built-in lead form on Marketplace.
6Select one listing partner
Working with one listing partner will enable you to attribute Marketplace to the correct provider and accurately measure performance. Car dealers in the UK can work with any one of the providers listed here to get their cars on the platform – while listing is free, they may charge you for value added services. Click here to find them.
7Update your Facebook page
Your Facebook page is your digital shopfront and should be kept up to date and engaging, with accurate and current contact details.
8Keep communications short and sweet
People expect businesses to respond quickly (within a maximum of 24 hours) and to provide timely updates. Communicate key points succinctly and early on in your message, as this aligns with people’s expectations for messaging as a channel and enhances readability. Short messages can be read clearly in message previews.
9Consider using a chatbot
It’s highly recommended that you use a third-party chat provider to help you manage messages from people interested in the vehicle listings that they see on Marketplace.
10 Get started sooner rather than later To start listing on Marketplace, find a local listing partner or build a direct integration by emailing commerce-partnerships@fb.com.
Messaging has an important part to play as calls fall out of favour
GIVING customers the ability to message your dealership in the same way they’d message their friends can radically improve your sales.
Facebook has found more than half of buyers prefer messages to phone calls and it has investigated the dramatic change that being able to directly message showrooms can have on business.
Using WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Instagram direct messaging gives buyers an ‘emotional and authentic’ connection with your dealership and the purchase.
In a webinar for car dealers and the automotive industry, the social media giant said it had found that 65 per cent of millennials and 63 per cent of baby boomers preferred messaging a dealership than calling it.
Facebook’s Will Evans told the audience that using messaging as a key part of customer engagement was crucial for car dealers and that it was the ‘closest brands can get to their customers’.
He said: ‘Messaging can help get more buyers through the buying channel faster.’
WhatsApp is used by 1.5bn people in 180 countries and has an incredible 1bn active users every single day.
Messenger is used by 1.3bn people, with 10bn messages sent by businesses and people a month.
Evans said dealers and car manufacturers were increasingly using messaging to stay in touch with customers, adding that automatic replies were useful.
How fast replies are sent can be a key deciding factor for buyers. Facebook offers automated replies to help cope with high demand.
