Any dealers using TikTok for marketing campaigns?

[Matthew Davis]

Curious to learn if anyone in the DealerRefresh community has used TikTok in marketing/advertising campaigns...

 

[Alex Snyder]

This guy is amazing.

 

[Matthew Davis]

This guy is amazing.

That is indeed amazing. Holy shit.

 

[Ryan Everson]

I attended an OEM webinar on TikTok a couple of weeks ago, and they were very out of touch with reality.

Dealers can barely do a decent job with Facebook after 10+ years; how do we expect dealers to add TikTok to the mix when it's much more involved with shooting captivating videos that capitalize on current TikTok trends.

All that webinar did was get a bunch of confused general managers excited and bugging their poor, already overwhelmed internet managers to start selling boatloads of cars on TikTok.

What they failed to point out is TikTok organic posts (can) have national reach so it's difficult for a single-point dealer to reach local car buyers.

What good is a TikTok view from some kid halfway across the country? Maybe we could ship them a car in normal times, but certainly not in today's inventory shortage.

And technically, a TikTok business page is not allowed to use trending songs; they are forced to use crappy music from the royalty-free music library.

But hey, maybe I'm just an old geezer and this OEM was onto something. So I decided to check out their official TikTok pages to get some inspo.

-OEM Brand A had never posted on TikTok.
-OEM Brand B hadn't posted since February.
-OEM Brand C also hadn't posted since February.
-OEM Brand D hadn't posted in over a month and it was pretty much limited to their sponsorship of a sports event.

So here the OEM is preaching how great TikTok is, but then they aren't even using it themselves...do as I say, not as I do?

Despite my TikTok skepticism, I believe OEM's are missing out on a massive opportunity here. They can reach millions of consumers nationwide (for free) and make them future buyers. Let's call it conquesting so it excites people.

And I do believe TikTok still has potential for dealers in these areas:

TikTok Paid Ads - This will be the next frontier for car dealers to advertise on. Dynamic catalog-based inventory ads are coming out of beta soon. And guess what? You can target local car buyers.

Instagram / Facebook Story Ads - Wait I thought we were talking about TikTok? We are, but what makes TikTok magic is the organic user-generated content feel of their videos. Savvy dealers will take this "TikTok-style" video and run them as ads on IG / FB stories. The organic non-ad feel really performs well with an audience sick of traditional ads.

Salesperson Expert / Dealership Niche - Kind of like Mike Davenport the Chevy Dude did with the Corvette on YouTube, there's a big opportunity for a salesperson or dealership to become that nationwide expert in a specific niche on TikTok. As Mike and others have proven, that can translate into real sales. Next up, Brad the TikTok Bronco Bro?

Nationwide Dealer Groups - Lithia / Driveway, Autonation, Carmax, etc can really capitalize on the free national organic reach of TikTok and have it actually convert into business since they have a national footprint.

OEMs - Come on anonymous OEM, let's start practicing what you preach and help bring new buyers to dealers

 

[Matthew Davis]

Shazam! Thanks for the thorough and thoughtful response.

 

[Marc Lavoie]

That's actually a great share @Ryan Everson

They see the opportunity so that's OK. Here's a wild thought (I'm not in sync with that btw)

What if they see a sinking ship, because FB has been tanking and getting harder to work with for most inexperienced people, shouldn't it be a great moment to jump ship and start with a clean slate?

You're 100% on TikTok organic reach, inflating numbers but not attending to local buyers. Some might have a hard time managing their expectations. At best growing "social proof" but can't translate into sales.

Here's what I see as I'm working with both Dealers and Individuals growing their pages. Personal pages grow a lot faster, for a couple of reasons, but it's a TREMENDOUS opportunity for salespeople to obliterate their colleagues on the sales board. I see it happening, it's not even fair.

Here's what I've learned as my agency is crossing over 140K invested in TikTok for auto/moto manufacturers: It's the perfect space to show buyers you car and to educate them on their potential issues/questions.

I'm going to tell you one thing though: the content piece will make or break your ad. I'm talking about the VIDEO.

Most dealers could get away with crappy images and average copy but with video, it gets interesting.

Pushing blatant offers through video triggers the BS trade on most people and it doesn't seem to work, unless you're working with a super warm/hot prospect.

Keep that in mind the next time you launch your campaign, this will save you a lot of money, frustration and headaches.

 

[Stan Sher]

TikTok is such a cool way to create engaging content. I think if the staff has a great sense of humor and can create content while having fun it can be a great thing.

 

[digital_gangster]

I attended an OEM webinar on TikTok a couple of weeks ago, and they were very out of touch with reality.

Dealers can barely do a decent job with Facebook after 10+ years; how do we expect dealers to add TikTok to the mix when it's much more involved with shooting captivating videos that capitalize on current TikTok trends.

All that webinar did was get a bunch of confused general managers excited and bugging their poor, already overwhelmed internet managers to start selling boatloads of cars on TikTok.

What they failed to point out is TikTok organic posts (can) have national reach so it's difficult for a single-point dealer to reach local car buyers.

What good is a TikTok view from some kid halfway across the country? Maybe we could ship them a car in normal times, but certainly not in today's inventory shortage.

And technically, a TikTok business page is not allowed to use trending songs; they are forced to use crappy music from the royalty-free music library.

But hey, maybe I'm just an old geezer and this OEM was onto something. So I decided to check out their official TikTok pages to get some inspo.

-OEM Brand A had never posted on TikTok.
-OEM Brand B hadn't posted since February.
-OEM Brand C also hadn't posted since February.
-OEM Brand D hadn't posted in over a month and it was pretty much limited to their sponsorship of a sports event.

So here the OEM is preaching how great TikTok is, but then they aren't even using it themselves...do as I say, not as I do?

Despite my TikTok skepticism, I believe OEM's are missing out on a massive opportunity here. They can reach millions of consumers nationwide (for free) and make them future buyers. Let's call it conquesting so it excites people.

And I do believe TikTok still has potential for dealers in these areas:

TikTok Paid Ads - This will be the next frontier for car dealers to advertise on. Dynamic catalog-based inventory ads are coming out of beta soon. And guess what? You can target local car buyers.

Instagram / Facebook Story Ads - Wait I thought we were talking about TikTok? We are, but what makes TikTok magic is the organic user-generated content feel of their videos. Savvy dealers will take this "TikTok-style" video and run them as ads on IG / FB stories. The organic non-ad feel really performs well with an audience sick of traditional ads.

Salesperson Expert / Dealership Niche - Kind of like Mike Davenport the Chevy Dude did with the Corvette on YouTube, there's a big opportunity for a salesperson or dealership to become that nationwide expert in a specific niche on TikTok. As Mike and others have proven, that can translate into real sales. Next up, Brad the TikTok Bronco Bro?

Nationwide Dealer Groups - Lithia / Driveway, Autonation, Carmax, etc can really capitalize on the free national organic reach of TikTok and have it actually convert into business since they have a national footprint.

OEMs - Come on anonymous OEM, let's start practicing what you preach and help bring new buyers to dealers

This is a fantastic response. So many times we see meetings, conferences and webinars that are pushing things like this around without even realizing the audience that is consuming the content.

100% relevant --> "All that webinar did was get a bunch of confused general managers excited and bugging their poor, already overwhelmed internet managers to start selling boatloads of cars on TikTok."

 

[Matthew Davis]

That's actually a great share @Ryan Everson

They see the opportunity so that's OK. Here's a wild thought (I'm not in sync with that btw)

What if they see a sinking ship, because FB has been tanking and getting harder to work with for most inexperienced people, shouldn't it be a great moment to jump ship and start with a clean slate?

You're 100% on TikTok organic reach, inflating numbers but not attending to local buyers. Some might have a hard time managing their expectations. At best growing "social proof" but can't translate into sales.

Here's what I see as I'm working with both Dealers and Individuals growing their pages. Personal pages grow a lot faster, for a couple of reasons, but it's a TREMENDOUS opportunity for salespeople to obliterate their colleagues on the sales board. I see it happening, it's not even fair.

Here's what I've learned as my agency is crossing over 140K invested in TikTok for auto/moto manufacturers: It's the perfect space to show buyers you car and to educate them on their potential issues/questions.

I'm going to tell you one thing though: the content piece will make or break your ad. I'm talking about the VIDEO.

Most dealers could get away with crappy images and average copy but with video, it gets interesting.

Pushing blatant offers through video triggers the BS trade on most people and it doesn't seem to work, unless you're working with a super warm/hot prospect.

Keep that in mind the next time you launch your campaign, this will save you a lot of money, frustration and headaches.

Also great insight here - thank you!

 

[Marc Lavoie]

Going full circle here but thanks for having me Matt, Alex & TradePending!

TikTok for Car Dealers

Watch TradePending's webinar on how car dealerships can get started on TikTok! Learn how to engage with car buyers in your local market, drive leads and increase new & pre-owned car sales using the TikTok social media app.

www.autobahnacademy.com