advertising-winnerYou just completed a Facebook contest for two tickets to a local concert – and over 300 people entered. When the winner arrives at the dealership, you take a photo of him and post it to Facebook. Contest complete, right?

Wrong. When you created the contest, you (hopefully) were asking attendees for one important thing in return for their chance to win: their email address. Depending on what third party platform you used (we recommend ShortStack), you should have their Facebook ID as well.

Now it’s time to take this information and turn your contest into a marketing tool. Looks like you’re a winner in this contest, too.

Ads Designed for Custom Audiences

Facebook’s Custom Audiences allows you to create ads targeted to individuals based on certain information, including their email, phone number and user ID. The lists I use in my daily work are:

  • Lists of email addresses or Facebook IDs from contests
  • Marketing lists from dealerships’ databases

Both have the same purpose: to reconnect the Facebook user with your dealership. While Facebook provides us with the vehicle to do this, it’s up to the marketer to create the message in a friendly, engaging way (note: not a sales pitch).

Know Your Audience

Create marketing lists and ad copy based on what the user is more likely to connect with. A list of people who entered a Facebook contest will receive a much different message than a list of people who bought a car at the dealership in the last 12 months.

To the new contacts from a contest, target them with a generic ad about your dealership to help them learn more about you. Include your branding message or an outstanding claim that will make them remember you in their time of need.

For people who bought a car in the last year, target them with an ad for an oil change coupon to get them back to the dealership.

Limitations

There are, however, limitations to using this type of targeting. These aren’t huge issues and are just something to be aware of.

The first issue is that when working with Facebook, the potential reach must be greater than 1,000 for the ad to publish, due to privacy regulations. So if your contest yielded 300 emails, you’ll need an additional 700 to kick off a campaign. This may mean waiting until you’ve done a few contests to do this type of advertising.

Also, the email you have uploaded to Facebook must match the email address associated with a person’s Facebook account. Some people enter a contest or a form with a secondary address that isn’t connected with their account. Expect the number of people in your audience to be significantly lower than the file that you uploaded.

The overall message is this: Facebook allows you to get creative with your targeting. Use it. Think outside the box and find different ways to reconnect with the people who have already given you their valuable information.

About the Author

PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.