Two of our dealership clients reached out to us with a challenge: their locations in Selma, TX, and Bridgewater, NJ, have large Spanish-speaking populations, yet they lacked strategies to reach and engage these communities with effective targeted ads. PCG Digital developed a comprehensive plan and strategy to deliver well-targeted Spanish-language advertisements, helping them better serve these communities and drive vehicle sales.

Strategies and Assets

Strategy

Before any plan could be developed, each dealership needed to secure a crucial asset: Spanish-speaking salespeople. Without effective communication, Spanish-speaking buyers might feel unsure about their purchasing decisions, weakening their connection with the store’s values and brand. To address this, the dealerships quickly hired and trained a sufficient number of Spanish-speaking salespeople to handle the influx of Spanish-speaking leads through phone calls, lead forms, chat sessions, or in-person visits.

Once this requirement was met, PCG focused on creating campaigns specifically targeted at areas with higher concentrations of Spanish-speaking individuals. For Google Ads, Performance Max campaigns were set up to exclusively target Spanish-speaking users by switching the language setting from English to “Spanish.” Performance Max is particularly effective because it can predict, learn, and optimize search terms commonly used by Spanish-speaking communities when looking for dealerships or vehicles. Additionally, Google leverages the campaign’s budget across various mediums (Search, Display, VLAs, etc.), directing funds to the platforms that best support the campaign’s bid strategy.

Meta Ads offer precise targeting based on language, demographics, and interests, ensuring that Spanish-speaking consumers see ads tailored to them and building trust, especially in the automotive industry. By leveraging Meta Ads, advertisers can effectively reach potential buyers who might otherwise be missed. However, additional Spanish-language assets were needed for both Google Ads and Meta Ads to perform optimally.

“At Kollective, we recognize the importance of meaningful engagement with Spanish-speaking communities. Working with PCG on strategic development for MB of Selma and Lexus of Bridgewater allowed us to create tailored, culturally relevant campaigns that resonated with our audience. These initiatives not only strengthened our brand presence but also fostered genuine connections with a key demographic, ultimately driving customer loyalty and growth.”

Richard Muir

Director of Marketing at Kollective Group

Developing a Spanish-Language Landing Page

Every digital marketer knows how crucial the landing page is to the success of a campaign. In PCG’s case, the ads needed not to direct users to an English-language landing page, as that would quickly lose the customer’s interest. For Google Ads, the clients provided a URL suffix that uses a Google Translate tool, automatically translating any page the user visits into Spanish. While this approach addresses the immediate need, having a dedicated Spanish landing page would ultimately offer better optimization for the Performance Max campaign in the long term.

For Meta Ads, it’s recommended to include a Spanish language option on the website. This could be done with a dedicated Spanish page or a simple toggle to switch the website’s language. Additionally, having Spanish-speaking staff available to assist via phone or email would ensure that all customers receive the support they need.

Spanish Images

To maintain consistency with the landing page, all images used in our advertising must be in Spanish to avoid a disconnect between the customer and the dealership. For both Google and Meta Ads, our team has crafted professional images designed to effectively resonate with the target audience receiving the ad.

Spanish Videos

Finally, any video content used in the campaigns needed to include either Spanish text or a Spanish voiceover to ensure optimal performance. Thanks to the dealerships’ efforts, they recorded videos featuring their Spanish-speaking employees to meet this requirement.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are perfect for reaching a wide audience, with their video-friendly environments offering an excellent opportunity for storytelling. The Lynnes team created engaging videos featuring their salespeople to take advantage of this. These videos are crafted to grab users’ attention and provide a personal, authentic glimpse into the team at the dealership. By incorporating these videos into Meta Ads, we can showcase the latest inventory and drive users to the website, where they can explore more about the deals and vehicles available.

Campaign Setup

For Google Ads, as previously mentioned, Performance Max campaigns were used to help the stores reach a new market in a different language. Google’s algorithm spans across a wide range of languages and contexts, making it a powerful and effective tool to overcome language barriers. In addition to Spanish landing pages, images, and videos, ad copy also needed to be written in Spanish. To ensure accuracy in translations and grammar, PCG enlisted the help of one of our Spanish-speaking employees. This collaboration resulted in relevant, unique, and attention-grabbing headlines and descriptions. We also created Spanish-language vehicle listing ads (VLAs) through Google Merchant Center, making it easier to target Spanish-speaking customers.

As mentioned earlier, the Lynnes ads were optimized for traffic to the website. Meta’s algorithm allows us to connect with potential customers, including both a broad audience and individuals who have interacted with the Lynnes website or Meta pages. The Lynnes team provides us with versatile content that can be displayed across multiple placements, such as Reels, Facebook and Instagram in-feed, search, Messenger, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook right column, and more. This flexibility allows us to reach the audience wherever they are—whether they’re on the go or relaxing at home.

Performance Measurement & Results

The performance of the Google Ads campaigns was evaluated based on impressions, clicks, hard conversions (leads), and impression share. Hard conversions include form submissions, calls from ads, chat leads, and store visits. Given factors like competition, ad spend, location, search density, and vehicle makes, results can vary. Below are the total results from October 1 to February 28:

Lexus

Mercedes-Benz

The Meta Ads campaign performance was measured based on website landing page views, reach, and impressions. Here are the total results of five months of performance:

Hyundai

*Data has been collected over three months. Reach is the number of people your ads reach. Impressions are the number of times ads are displayed.*

Nissan

*Data has been collected over three months. Reach is the number of people your ads reach. Impressions are the number of times ads are displayed.*

Conclusion

Advertising in the language that customers are most comfortable with can lead to significant results and cultivate a loyal customer base. By tailoring your approach to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking audiences, you not only increase trust but also make your brand more relatable. Taking the right steps and dedicating time to a well-thought-out strategy can drive more site traffic and engagement from Spanish-speaking customers than ever before. When done right, this targeted effort can boost conversions, enhance customer loyalty, and ultimately strengthen your brand’s presence in a growing market.