Implement These Top Automotive Digital Marketing Trends

Digital marketing trends change very quickly. In the automotive industry, digital marketing is more important than ever. Customers want more than to just purchase a car; they want unforgettable experiences. Is that customer thinking about coming back to your dealership? Are you their favorite salesperson? How much information did he or she have before contacting you? The answers to these questions will show you how much the customer-salesperson relationship has changed over time. Before, customers talked to salespeople to get all the information they needed about a vehicle. Now, customers search for that information online, compare vehicles and dealerships, and come to visit when they already know which vehicle to purchase. Following digital marketing trends will help you connect with these savvy shoppers.

Meet your customers online

A digital marketing strategy for dealerships is necessary because customers are always online. Do you know where your customers search for information? Are they active on social media, forums, or other platforms? What content do they prefer? If you want more people making purchases in your dealership, you have to connect with them sooner. In other words, your customers are no longer waiting in line; they are looking for information online! That’s where you need to be!

Create a better customer experience

Customer experience is more complex than ever. To provide customers with the best purchasing experience, salespeople have to become experts—not just sales experts, but customer relationship experts as well. To do so, they have to know where their shoppers are, what they are searching for, and how are they searching for it. As a marketing professional in a dealership, start with a simple question: What does my customer need? Think about the habits, wishes, needs, ideas, and problems customers have in their everyday life. How can your way of communication be incorporated into their lifestyle? Every detail is important because it creates something bigger: a perfect online world designed just for this customer. Start reaching shoppers during their buying experience and provide them with the exact information they need at that time. However, their buying experience doesn’t start when they visit your dealership or even when they first contact you. Their buying experience starts when they first think of buying a new car. That’s where your digital marketing needs to be very effective! Start thinking step by step. When a car shopper begins thinking about buying, what does he or she do next? They scour the web to find the best deals, nearest dealerships, and brilliant customer reviews.

Create good content on your website

Are you satisfied with your website? Are your visitors and customers satisfied with it? Don’t forget to check how your competition is doing. The average shopper will not make his or her buying decision without comparing at least three or four dealerships. They spend time exploring dealership websites, looking at their inventory, reviewing special deals and important updates, etc. If somebody spent two minutes on your website, would they be bored? Do you have enough good content to keep that person active and intrigued? This is why your website needs to be tailored to your customers. Your website needs to provide the answers to all the questions your customers might have. You’re not just selling your customers their next vehicle; you are participating in a major buying decision.

When you design content for your site, design for mobile. This is probably one of the most important digital marketing trends. Now more than ever before, Google search prioritizes websites and content that are mobile-friendly! Your marketing has to be tailored to mobile users because 18% of vehicle buyers only use mobile devices.

Prioritize video content

Video is here to stay. But, what video content works best? What do your customers prefer? When it comes to purchasing vehicles, your customers will appreciate the kind of content that provides them with the best, most accurate information. Imagine a customer visiting your dealership website, and the first thing he sees is a video. Video on a landing page can increase conversions by 80% or more. Your customers would rather watch videos than read only text. So, each time you think about writing about a specific vehicle (or any other topic), ask yourself: Would this be more effective in video form? Not only does it engage viewers better than text; it provides them with more information about the product. The importance of including a video on your website could best be presented with the fact that the average user spends 88% more time on a website with video. Additionally, 64% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after watching branded social videos, according to Tubular Insights. If you look from the management point of view, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video.

Keep in mind that your shoppers will watch videos on mobile phones more often than on their personal computer. Don’t forget to think about the format, size and other technical details of your videos that could affect the viewer’s experience. The viewer of your video will more likely become the buyer in your dealership if you communicate effectively from the first moment he comes in contact with your company.

In a digital world, that first contact is users visiting your dealership’s website. Make it count with prominent video!

Get active on social media

We all are aware the world of social media is constantly changing. For users, it’s exciting to see every new update or feature. For marketers, it can get pretty frustrating. Let’s say you’ve just learned how to create effective and profitable social ads, but your favorite social media platform is announcing new updates for it. Yes, you will probably benefit from upgrades in the long run, but thinking about changing the way you've gotten use to doing things can be frustrating. Focus on serving only the best social media content, which is often video-centric. You need to get your shoppers into your showroom, simple as that. Of course, most of your shoppers will buy in person, but they will do their research online. Video gives them the most realistic view of potential vehicles for sale.

But which social platforms should dealerships use? In the United States, Facebook is still the number one most visited social website. 71% of adults in the U.S use Facebook in 2023, which is still strong though growth is declining for the platform. Instagram is becoming another favorite social channel for dealerships, because the platform is oriented toward photos and videos. Dealership salespeople can posting pictures and videos of their satisfied customers who just bought a new car. What’s a better way to show your future customers that you are the right person for them than by sharing the experiences of your other satisfied customers? Not to mention that Instagram is a social media platform full of influencers, who you can collaborate with to improve recognition of your brand. YouTube is another great option. According to Google, 69% of people who used YouTube while buying a car were influenced by the video that they watched. Even HubSpot confirmed that 72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service.

We can’t forget Twitter. With Twitter, you can easily search trending topics by hashtags or even open a discussion about something that is important to your dealership or your customers. However, tweet activity is currently low for most users. Since April 2022, 20% of adults on Twitter produced 98% of all tweets, according to Pew Research Center.

Use helpful apps

NADA MarketValues is an app designed specifically for car sales and valuation. With a quick scan of a VIN, dealerships can find the fair market value for a used car as well as a history report. The app gives you quick access to all the information you need for making smart decisions at an auction or on the lot. NADA MarketValues includes weekly auction values, as well as monthly trade-in, loan, and retail values for used passenger cars and light-duty trucks along with many others. If driving leads and customer retention is your dealership’s goal, NxGarage is the app for you. It’s designed to benefit automotive dealerships and attract their customers. NxGarage allows dealerships to efficiently manage inventory while driving leads and improving customer communication and retention.

Get the tools you need

The customer profile is constantly changing, and so should your approach to current digital marketing trends. Today, customers are spending a large amount of their time searching for vehicles online and making their decisions before they even get to the dealership. Your dealership has to adjust its digital marketing strategy to meet the demands of its shoppers and the industry in general. Follow these digital marketing trends to get ahead of the competition! Your website and digital skills need to be at the top of the game!

Of course, there are so many useful tools and applications for dealerships out there. In the end, it’s all about making your customers feel good and entertained. Don't get too overwhelmed with options—get started with easy wins that will boost your return on investment.

Covideo is an excellent tool for getting started quickly, easily, and affordably with video. Our software gives you everything you need to start recording, sending, and tracking personalized videos—no videography experience or equipment required. Try it out for free.