Is your competition outselling you? Although auto dealers can be relatively friendly with each other, in sales, it’s all about beating the competition. No one wants to be outsold.
Why Competitive Intelligence is Important
Competitive intelligence – in this case, checking out what the competition is up to in their marketing – is an important driver of success and is crucial to your business strategy. It’s important to understand how others in your space are winning customers and building their brands.
It ensures you’re keeping up to date with the latest sales tactics and can generate powerful ideas and innovation. It’s also necessary to understand current market dynamics, especially in times of change.
How to View the Competition’s Facebook Ads
If you’re curious about how to see what ads the competition is running on Facebook, there’s an easy way to investigate by using Facebook Ad Library.
Here’s how you can see their ads on Facebook:
Step 1: Go to Any Dealer’s Facebook Page
On the menu on the left-hand side of the page, look for “Page Transparency”. Click “See All” in the upper right of this box.
Step 2: “Go to Ad Library” button
Step 3: Sort & Filter
Sort by the menu at the top of the page or click the “filters” button on the right to search by a particular date.
Click “See ad details” to learn more information about specific ads.
Step 4: Dig Deep By Viewing Additional Assets
You can see additional assets for each ad by clicking the arrow next to “Additional Assets from this Ad.”
A little bit of competitive intelligence can go a long way and can spur you to up your digital advertising game too. Note that the Ad Library can sometimes be inaccurate, but the listings should generally give you a good idea of what others are promoting.
What to Look For When Reviewing Competition’s Ads
Here’s what to look for when reviewing competitive ads on Facebook:
- Can you spot a clear strategy behind their ads? What are they showcasing: inventory, financing, or general brand? Are they balancing their ad messaging across these categories?
- Do the ads allow for a frictionless customer experience? Remember that inventory ads should link directly to a VDP.
Brand ads should call out dealership differentiators and answer the question “why buy here?” Financing ads should take you to a financing page on their website. - Do you encounter a lead form quickly? There should be a clear customer path with as few clicks as possible.
- Are the ads syndicating to Instagram? This is also critical to target this important audience.
- Which ads are the competition boosting? You should be able to see what, if any, promotion is being put behind particular ads. A little bit of investment behind key ads can go a long way to targeting important audiences.
All these questions outline best practices for dealers’ Facebook ads. AutoSweet (a Meta Business Partner) specializes in Facebook advertising and provides value for a relatively minimal monthly investment:
- We run dynamic ads in multiple formats, from photos to videos and more, making it clear why they should buy from you
- We market to those ready to buy, capturing shoppers researching online, bringing them back to your VDPs by retargeting
- Best of all, our ads are tied to a dealer’s DMS to match back sales offline for clear ROI
Everyone wants to have an edge over the competition. It’s simple to check out how others are reaching customers on Facebook, but the question remains: How will you respond? You may need to up your game to get the most out of this powerful channel in order to drive traffic, leads, and sales.
For a free audit of your Facebook ads and a look at how you’re keeping up with the competition, contact our marketing consultants today.
