Meta Automotive Inventory Ads

To make the most out of automotive lead generation on Meta, leverage a well-rounded strategy that targets the entire buyer journey. 

That includes using a mix of the available ad and content formats–like Automotive Inventory Ads (AIAs) for the consideration and decision stages. 

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What are Automotive Inventory Ads on Meta

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Automotive Inventory Ads encourage users to purchase vehicles through an optimised online experience via Meta. They are catalogue-based ads specifically focused on automotive businesses. 

AIAs appear as a catalogue on Facebook and Instagram, using your vehicle inventory to build targeted ads. 

Source: MarTech

So, when a user clicks on the ad, they’re redirected to your website or landing page for more information and to share contact details. 

To display AIAs to the most relevant audience, Meta uses data from:

• Your vehicle catalogue (such as model, make, year and pricing)
• Meta pixel on your website 
• Audience interests and engagement on Meta

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Porsche Singapore ran image ads as a carousel with the CTA Book Now, directing potential buyers to an Instant Form. The brand used qualifying questions to identify high-intent leads further. 

As a result, Porsche Singapore saw a 30% lower CPL compared to their usual campaigns. 

Source: Porsche Singapore, Facebook 

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A Nissan dealership used AIAs for used cars, highlighting only critical details about each vehicle. This concise ad copy makes it more relevant for high-intent leads. 

When clicked on, each image redirects to the website page for each vehicle.

Source: Matt Blatt Nissan, Facebook Ad Library

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Here’s why AIAs are effective for lead generation: 

1. They focus on in-market auto buyers having purchase intent based on real-time availability and pricing. 
2. It increases the chances of generating leads that are quicker and easier to convert.
3. You can also retarget previously interested buyers and use lookalike audiences to expand your reach, finding leads with similar high intent. 
4. AIAs have a convenient setup. You only need to set up the campaign once to promote all the intended inventory instead of creating separate ads for each vehicle or range. 
5. They load faster on mobile as Meta optimises the vehicle detail page with the on-Facebook destination.

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You may follow this step-by-step guide to create your AIAs:

1. Create a Catalogue

Go to Commerce Manager from your Business Account on Meta.

Click Add Catalogue and select Auto under Catalogue type.

Add the name and click Create. 

2. Create and upload vehicle feed 

Create the data field file for the vehicles you wish to promote.

You may list vehicles in the same feed. Or you could build separate fields for different vehicle groups (for example, SUVs as family cars). 

Upload the vehicle feed to your Catalogue.

3. Create vehicle sets  

Create a sub-group of items in your Catalogue to control what vehicles appear in your ads. 

For example, you could have different sub-groups for SUVs and Sedans under Family Cars. 

4. Connect the Meta pixel and/or mobile SDK to the catalogue

This helps you show AIAs to those users who have previously searched for or interacted with your inventory. 

Meta pixel and/or mobile SDK allows you to understand, track, and measure user actions on your website and app. 

5. Connect Catalogue and Pixel 
6. Create ad template 

Build the ad by inputting details for audience, creative formats, etc. for the campaign. 

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Below are a few valuable tips to improve your AIA campaigns: 

1. Use high-quality images 

The vehicle images you use must be attractive and have a high resolution. It captures user attention and encourages them to click on the ad. 

2. Align AIAs with audience interests 

Test specific vehicles for specific audience sets. For example, if you’re focusing on ‘family cars’, upload a limited number of vehicles to the catalogue to test their performance. 

3. Create appropriate fields 

Create specific fields in your catalogue that are appropriate for ads. Typically, people use vehicle names as headlines and descriptions as ad copies. 

4. Collect leads seamlessly 

You can streamline the lead collection process in multiple ways. 

For example, answer their queries via Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct. Gather their contact details and direct them to the nearest dealership. Or let buyers take quick action by submitting their details via an Instant Form. 

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Here are a few ways you can use our automotive marketing platform built on years of experience within the industry: 

1. Increase Meta lead quality 

Automatically connect, validate, qualify and deduplicate Meta lead data using Driftrock. With our lead quality controls and Conversion Leads Optimization, you can increase lead quality for more conversions. 

2. Sell inventory faster

Driftrock lets you optimise your inventory and model feeds for Automotive Inventory Ads on Meta. You can keep your vehicle models, specifications, local dealers and sales rooms up to date to sell your inventory faster.

3. Simplify Meta CAPI and track leads 

Driftrock provides a simplified Meta CAPI setup. You can enable website, lead validation and CRM conversion API sync to measure performance and optimise lead conversion. 

Plus, you can use our downstream tracking feature to track Meta and website leads at campaign, ad group and ad level through to vehicle purchase. 

4. Instant form and Messenger lead sources

Driftrock can integrate with 20+ lead sources, two of which can be particularly helpful in your AIA campaign. Set up lead collection and management into your CRM, using our Instant Form and Messenger lead sources. 

5. Use lifecycle marketing 

Driftrock enables syncing your CRM and lead segments with Meta Custom Audiences. You can also use marketing and audience data from other channels and incorporate it into Meta to nurture leads to conversion more effectively. 

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