It seems like every month there is another change that creates challenges for dealerships. Here’s another that may affect you…
“Starting on January 30, 2023, Meta will no longer support the ability for all sellers to create vehicle listings using a Facebook business Page, along with the vehicles tab and manage inventory tab in markets where this feature is currently available.” This will impact the U.S. and Canada.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/492940666175475
SO WHAT NOW?
You may remember Facebook used to allow dealers to upload feeds to Facebook Marketplace – but that option was removed in 2021. Dealers were left with a few alternate options which included manually posting inventory using the vehicles tab. Some vendors provided a service to do this for you.
The option to post on FB Marketplace from your business simply won’t exist.
Meta has suggested one option:
“You can create Marketplace listings for vehicles from your personal profile.”
Here’s why we recommend against that practice.
- It’s not professional. Whose personal page? What else is posted there? There are risks associated with damaging your dealer image because of an association with a personal page.
- The personal account doesn’t link back to your account. Tracking becomes difficult.
- Leads get pushed to the personal account – which creates challenges tracking them and directing them into your CRM.
SO… What are my options then?
- Facebook AIA (Automotive Inventory Ads) posts your inventory in the Facebook feed and in Marketplace. These are ads and require ad spend.
- Microsoft Auto Ads provides an opportunity to post your inventory on the Microsoft Network.
- Google Vehicle Ads provide an opportunity to post VDP-like inventory at the top of search results.
There are likely many more changes to come from the major platforms (GA4 and Google’s changes to customer experience ratings come to mind) and we’ll do our best to keep you informed and provide ideas to help climb the mountains that come your way.
For more information on AIA, Google Vehicle Ads, and Microsoft Auto Ads
