Bob Lanham: Facebook’s Advantages Over Other Listing Sites
Transcript
Kelly : Let me ask you a question regarding advantages to listing inventory on Facebook as opposed to Auto Trader,CarGurus, Cars.com. It is a social platform. So does it start with listening to consumer convos and then targeting those in a market with local or even regional inventory?n
n Bob : So there’s two different parts to that question, right. So we have the marketplace product, which is what people actively go to, to search for products, whether it’s an automobile, a piece of furniture, a lawn mower that they want to buy, you know, used in the area. So so that product sits over here, and you’re not, there’s not an advantage or disadvantage from listing there, then then maybe autotrader, or Kelley Blue Book, or it’s just another listing site that if someone’s going to utilize, you might as well, you might as well be there. But then there’s the whole other side of it, which is our news feed, right? n
nAnd our stories platform and our shops platform, which lives on Facebook and Instagram, which is that product that while people are, you know, some will say actively or passively scrolling through, right, their feed or clicking the circle to watch a story, or scrolling through reels, which is the video product, that’s where they can insert their products or services, or more importantly, is the these days with the low inventory for new their brand. Right? We are one of the largest, if not the largest discovery platforms, right? People are using our platform every day, I don’t want to slip and say all day, but a good chunk of the day, right? So it’s a multiple times a day. So it’s a perfect platform to be able to insert your brand, throughout their their journey, whatever journey that is, whether it’s a car, whether it’s buying, you know, an outfit that sometimes we may or may not need, like the shirt that I bought during COVID That probably didn’t need but it was from a brand new company I never heard of I thought it was really cool. So I bought two, actually, I bought one and then I bought another. So think of us as a discovery platform that then can take any engagement of that discovery, and then mark it down the funnel.n
n Kelly : Okay, so as a, let’s say, I’m an automotive marketing guy. I’m in charge of advertising. And maybe I am not as up on the Meta structure as other people are. So some of these questions might seem a little bit naive. But I would think that theoretically, at least you have a clear advantage by having access to real time data Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus – they do not have that advantage. n
nThe question is, are you allowed to feed dealer generated, in-market consumer ads based on social listening? Or has that been cut off at the knees by regulation or some internal policy? In other words, I hear someone talking about wanting to buy a Jeep, and now boom, I’m getting Jeep ads, because there have been people on Facebook before, (and I use Facebook as an example, more than some of the other platforms that you have), that have experienced the phenomenon where they were just talking in the room about a specific kind of vehicle or product. And suddenly, it shows up in their newsfeed, which I love as an advertiser, by the way, it’s that’s going on, it’s great, ya know?n
n Bob :nSo our CEO Mark Zuckerberg diffused that, a couple years ago, our platform is not actively listening to people. Okay. Now, that’s not to say other apps on your phone, if you’re not reading the fine print are not but ours is. Ours is not. So, you know, your earlier question was sort of like, you know, the why, like, why do i Why do I want to consider marketing on Facebook and Instagrams platform? And, you know, first and foremost, when you think about media, or why you advertise or spend money anywhere, whether it’s TV or print or or the local billboard, on, you know, that sits on a highway toward your dealership. You know, there really shouldn’t be two trains of thoughts at the very top level, at the highest level, right as a, you know, how many people can I reach? Right? n
nLike, how many, how many eyeballs will my ad get in front of and then in that same context, at how much right because obviously, you know, the cost to the value has to play a role. Then secondly is, well, okay, a lot of eyeballs. But how was my ad? Gonna be displayed, which is what we call the ad format, which is something that’s not looked at often because we always tend to go towards the data or the audience, right? If I can, if I walk in, it’s a man, I can reach every human being on a Tuesday, that’s gonna walk into a dealership Wednesday morning. Are you interested in buying? We’d all say yes. n
nBut if I told you, it’s a text ad in the bottom right hand corner buried, and no one will see it, like, it’s a wasted ad. Right? So, you know, one of my biggest passions points is, and look, I work for, you know, one of, if not the largest media platform in the world, I have 200, what 61 million people on our platform every month, here in the US, right, 106 76 million a day, like, I’ve got the people, I also have the ad format, because as you’re scrolling, you’re the only ad on the screen, you’re the only ad actually within, I think six or seven different pieces of content. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, you know, the data and the targeting is definitely a key aspect. n
nBut it also has to be married with, you know, how many people can I reach? And then more importantly, what does that ad format look like? One of the best presentations I was ever in, (it wasn’t mine). It was an OEM CMO, and it doesn’t matter who it was. And they were presenting to their dealers just like, hey, understand sort of consumer behavior. And they were going over a heat map. This was years ago of a website, right there, just going over a website. It was like a new site. And of course, there’s banners everywhere. n
nBut the studies show that 70% of people that are looking at this, they don’t even know the ads are there. Because we’re just so accustomed to ads blinking at us that we shut it off. So my point is, you know, I try to focus on Hey, the value proposition that we listen, I’ll have more people any in any given market, zip code region, DMA, state, United States country, like I’ll have the most most, but my ad for format is really, really powerful. And when you use us in a full funnel strategy, right, not lead gen only, right? Because that’s not how consumer behavior works. But if you use us from discovery, down to lead, we call that a full funnel strategy. You’re gonna see the best impact and the greatest results.n
n Bob : So there’s two different parts to that question, right. So we have the marketplace product, which is what people actively go to, to search for products, whether it’s an automobile, a piece of furniture, a lawn mower that they want to buy, you know, used in the area. So so that product sits over here, and you’re not, there’s not an advantage or disadvantage from listing there, then then maybe autotrader, or Kelley Blue Book, or it’s just another listing site that if someone’s going to utilize, you might as well, you might as well be there. But then there’s the whole other side of it, which is our news feed, right? n
nAnd our stories platform and our shops platform, which lives on Facebook and Instagram, which is that product that while people are, you know, some will say actively or passively scrolling through, right, their feed or clicking the circle to watch a story, or scrolling through reels, which is the video product, that’s where they can insert their products or services, or more importantly, is the these days with the low inventory for new their brand. Right? We are one of the largest, if not the largest discovery platforms, right? People are using our platform every day, I don’t want to slip and say all day, but a good chunk of the day, right? So it’s a multiple times a day. So it’s a perfect platform to be able to insert your brand, throughout their their journey, whatever journey that is, whether it’s a car, whether it’s buying, you know, an outfit that sometimes we may or may not need, like the shirt that I bought during COVID That probably didn’t need but it was from a brand new company I never heard of I thought it was really cool. So I bought two, actually, I bought one and then I bought another. So think of us as a discovery platform that then can take any engagement of that discovery, and then mark it down the funnel.n
n Kelly : Okay, so as a, let’s say, I’m an automotive marketing guy. I’m in charge of advertising. And maybe I am not as up on the Meta structure as other people are. So some of these questions might seem a little bit naive. But I would think that theoretically, at least you have a clear advantage by having access to real time data Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus – they do not have that advantage. n
nThe question is, are you allowed to feed dealer generated, in-market consumer ads based on social listening? Or has that been cut off at the knees by regulation or some internal policy? In other words, I hear someone talking about wanting to buy a Jeep, and now boom, I’m getting Jeep ads, because there have been people on Facebook before, (and I use Facebook as an example, more than some of the other platforms that you have), that have experienced the phenomenon where they were just talking in the room about a specific kind of vehicle or product. And suddenly, it shows up in their newsfeed, which I love as an advertiser, by the way, it’s that’s going on, it’s great, ya know?n
n Bob :nSo our CEO Mark Zuckerberg diffused that, a couple years ago, our platform is not actively listening to people. Okay. Now, that’s not to say other apps on your phone, if you’re not reading the fine print are not but ours is. Ours is not. So, you know, your earlier question was sort of like, you know, the why, like, why do i Why do I want to consider marketing on Facebook and Instagrams platform? And, you know, first and foremost, when you think about media, or why you advertise or spend money anywhere, whether it’s TV or print or or the local billboard, on, you know, that sits on a highway toward your dealership. You know, there really shouldn’t be two trains of thoughts at the very top level, at the highest level, right as a, you know, how many people can I reach? Right? n
nLike, how many, how many eyeballs will my ad get in front of and then in that same context, at how much right because obviously, you know, the cost to the value has to play a role. Then secondly is, well, okay, a lot of eyeballs. But how was my ad? Gonna be displayed, which is what we call the ad format, which is something that’s not looked at often because we always tend to go towards the data or the audience, right? If I can, if I walk in, it’s a man, I can reach every human being on a Tuesday, that’s gonna walk into a dealership Wednesday morning. Are you interested in buying? We’d all say yes. n
nBut if I told you, it’s a text ad in the bottom right hand corner buried, and no one will see it, like, it’s a wasted ad. Right? So, you know, one of my biggest passions points is, and look, I work for, you know, one of, if not the largest media platform in the world, I have 200, what 61 million people on our platform every month, here in the US, right, 106 76 million a day, like, I’ve got the people, I also have the ad format, because as you’re scrolling, you’re the only ad on the screen, you’re the only ad actually within, I think six or seven different pieces of content. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, you know, the data and the targeting is definitely a key aspect. n
nBut it also has to be married with, you know, how many people can I reach? And then more importantly, what does that ad format look like? One of the best presentations I was ever in, (it wasn’t mine). It was an OEM CMO, and it doesn’t matter who it was. And they were presenting to their dealers just like, hey, understand sort of consumer behavior. And they were going over a heat map. This was years ago of a website, right there, just going over a website. It was like a new site. And of course, there’s banners everywhere. n
nBut the studies show that 70% of people that are looking at this, they don’t even know the ads are there. Because we’re just so accustomed to ads blinking at us that we shut it off. So my point is, you know, I try to focus on Hey, the value proposition that we listen, I’ll have more people any in any given market, zip code region, DMA, state, United States country, like I’ll have the most most, but my ad for format is really, really powerful. And when you use us in a full funnel strategy, right, not lead gen only, right? Because that’s not how consumer behavior works. But if you use us from discovery, down to lead, we call that a full funnel strategy. You’re gonna see the best impact and the greatest results.n