The Best Guide You Need For Facebook Ads Auto Repair Shop

Nearly seven out of 10 U.S. adults use Facebook, making it one of the most popular social media platforms in the country. So if you aren't using Facebook for your small business, you could be missing out on thousands of potential customers. 

In this guide, we'll walk you through how to create engaging Facebook ads for your auto repair shop to attract new customers, boost your engagement, and increase your service bookings. 

Why Facebook Ads Work for Auto Repair Shops

Facebook ads work remarkably well for auto repair shops because they allow you to target local customers. 

Unlike generic search ads, Facebook ads also help you build trust with prospects before they visit your auto repair shop. For instance, you can include before-and-after visuals of your work to build trust with potential customers.

Setting Up Your First Facebook Ad Campaign

Follow these steps to set up your first ad campaign on Facebook:

1. Create a Facebook Business Page

You can't run Facebook ads using your personal account. You'll need to create a Facebook business page if you don't already have one. You can also set up a Meta for Business (formerly Facebook Business Manager) account if you want to manage your ad accounts, pages, and assets in a central place.

Once you've created a business page, you can then use Meta Ads Manager to run your first automotive digital marketing campaign.

2. Visit Meta Ads Manager

Meta Ads Manager is an ad management tool for creating, editing, and analyzing Facebook ads. You can access it from the left panel of your Facebook business page by clicking "Ad Center" and then "Ads Manager." 

Once you've launched Ads Manager, you'll need to fill in your payment details to create your first campaign. Make sure you provide the correct payment information to avoid Facebook's restrictions.

3. Create a New Ad Campaign 

Meta Ads Manager provides an intuitive dashboard for creating and tracking campaigns. However, you won't see anything on the dashboard if you're running an ad campaign for the first time. To create your first Facebook ad campaign within Ads Manager, select the "Campaign" tab and click the green "Create" button.

4. Choose a Campaign Objective

Facebook provides six campaign objectives to choose from. Common social media ad goals for mechanic shops include:

• Creating brand awareness
• Increasing site traffic
• Boosting engagement 
• Facebook lead generation

5. Set a Facebook Ads Budget and Schedule

Facebook lets you set either a daily or a lifetime budget for your campaign. If you want your ads to run continuously throughout the day, select the daily budget option. Alternatively, choose the lifetime budget option if you want your ads to run for a specified period.

If you aren't ready to run your campaign just yet, you can also set a schedule with specific start and end dates for your campaign and the hours of the day when your ads should run.

6. Select a Target Audience

Effective Facebook ads usually resonate with a specific audience. Facebook lets you target potential customers based on their location, gender, age, interests, and more. For instance, you could run local Facebook ads to target people in a particular area. 

7. Create Your Facebook Ad

Facebook offers various ad formats, including single-image, video, carousel, and collection ads. Consider your campaign objective when selecting an ad format. 

Best Facebook Ad Types for Auto Shops

There's no one-size-fits-all Facebook ad for auto shops. Depending on your campaign goal, you may prefer one type of ad over another. Popular ad types for auto repair shops include:

• Image ads: These ads feature a single image and are ideal for auto shops looking to make an instant visual impression. Whether you want to raise brand awareness or highlight a specific service, image ads are suitable for a variety of campaign objectives.
• Carousel ads: These ads let you display up to 10 images or videos in one ad. Carousels are great for showcasing multiple services, as each visual can have its own link, headline, description, and call to action.
• Lead ads: These ads let you collect lead information using instant forms, without compelling potential customers to leave Facebook. With lead ads, you can gather contact information, take bookings, or build an email list without sending users to an external landing page.
• Video ads: These ads use a single video to promote a product or service. These ads are a great way to build credibility through testimonial, how-to, and before-and-after videos.



Targeting Strategy: Location, Services, and Demographics

Creating effective Facebook ads for your auto repair shop isn't just about choosing a suitable ad format. It's also essential to target the right audiences. 

Use these tips to ensure your ads reach the right audiences:

• Use location targeting: In the "Audiences" section, delete the default location and add your specific city or neighborhood to reach local customers.
• Use radius targeting: Set a radius of five to 15 miles from your shop to focus on nearby car owners.
• Use demographic- and interest-based targeting: Target customers with filters like age or gender to narrow your audience. Also, target people who are interested in topics like car maintenance or auto repairs to reach the users who are most likely to need your services.
• Build lookalike audiences from customers: A lookalike audience is a powerful Facebook targeting tool that finds new customers who match your best existing customers, resulting in higher conversion rates. Upload your existing customer email or phone list to Facebook so the platform can find similar users in your area.

Creative Facebook Ad Ideas to Drive Engagement

Want to stop users from scrolling past your ads? Here are some engaging Facebook ad ideas that work well for auto repair shops:

• Before-and-after car repairs: Post remarkable photos or videos of a complex repair job, such as a transmission repair or an engine replacement.
• Customer testimonials: Post brief testimonial videos of delighted customers sharing their experiences to build trust with your audience.
• Staff intros: Share interesting details about your team members to humanize your brand.
• Seasonal maintenance reminders: Remind customers to come in for seasonal maintenance. This auto shop marketing idea may work particularly well if you're offering a discount on a seasonal service, such as summer air-conditioner checks or winter tire installation.

Some other great auto repair ad examples that may be worth exploring include shop tours, DIY tips, and giveaways. 

Budgeting, A/B Testing, and Metrics to Track

If you want to get the most out of your Facebook auto service promotions, you'll need to set a budget that works for your business. Start with a modest budget and gradually increase your ad spend based on the results.

Also, run A/B tests on different ad formats, creatives, copy ideas, and targeting options to determine which ones resonate best with your audience. Ideally, you should refresh your ads every few weeks, particularly if your performance declines.

That said, here are some key metrics you should track to monitor your performance and refine your Facebook advertising strategy:

• Click-through rate (CTR): This shows the percentage of users who click on your ads, indicating relevance.
• Cost per lead (CPL): This shows how much it costs to acquire a lead. 
• Return on ad spend: This indicates how much revenue you generate for every dollar spent on advertising. It's a great way to determine the ROI of your Facebook ads.

Track Your Results and Scale With Meta Ad Experts

U.S. adults spend an average of 20 minutes on Facebook per day — more time than they spend on any other social media platform. That's why you can't overlook Facebook ads if you want to attract local customers to your auto repair shop.

But juggling your daily responsibilities while creating, managing, and analyzing ads can be challenging. That's where we come in. At Optimize Digital Marketing, our Meta ad experts can help you craft an effective Facebook content strategy that drives more conversions. 

Contact us today to learn more about our auto repair shop marketing services.