Car Sales Pro has opened the first social ad agency for the UK automotive industry, helping brands and dealers attract enquiries and leads via social media and video advertising.

Derek Blair, who heads up CarSalesPro, says the core purpose of their existence is to help dealers benefit from the surge in social media and video advertising.

“Local digital marketing is where business is to be found these days and dealers are starting to realise that they need to be proactive in their digital efforts, not reactive, waiting on the phone to ring.

“Facebook ads are perfect for laser-targeting all types of buyers of all types of cars, so powerful is its ability to segregate prospective purchasers based on geographical areas, advanced demographics, interests and behaviours. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is excellent for generating enquiries for premium vehicles by getting through to decision makers; whether that is directors, fleet managers or operators of commercial vehicles. On the other hand, YouTube In-View streaming ads are great for generating bookings for service departments and more general campaigns. 

“Most dealers are terrified to come away from the big sites when in reality they can get much better returns from spending their money wisely. We laser-target potential buyers at the best time of the day and week and only target the age group and demographic we know fits particular makes, models and vehicle types in order to keep ad spend down.

“We can also target larger, more widespread buyers in designated geographical locations to create interest in an offer or a buzz about a deal. This works very well when a franchised dealer wishes to target drivers of competing manufacturers.

“We recently ran a geographical ad campaign for new pick-up trucks for a dealer and engaged over 36,000 people in their local area.” 

Car Sales Pro is also creating interactive video. “Targeted video is the single most engaging way to attract enquiries from prospective purchasers. We can either create original video content or we have the technology to re-purpose and re-brand manufacturer’s existing video productions,” Blair said. 

Dealers and manufacturers can choose to work with Car Sales Pro on an ad-hoc or monthly subscription basis, gaining access to their portfolio of services, which includes professional photography, custom-made up-sell videos for paint protection, service plans and GAP.