Any dealers using TikTok for marketing campaigns?

[Anthony G.]

Hey Anthony - how did this experiment net out?

Ryan was right. It crushes. We have obliterated our previous KPIs and moved the number. If you trust matchback reports on Facebook, it significantly lowered our cost per lead. Below is a link to a top-performing one from the group level. It's wild how good the numbers are.

Facebook

fb.me

 

[Dave Lemmon]

Ryan was right. It crushes. We have obliterated our previous KPIs and moved the number. If you trust matchback reports on Facebook, it significantly lowered our cost per lead. Below is a link to a top-performing one from the group level. It's wild how good the numbers are.

Facebook

fb.me

Yep, we've been doing this for a while as well. The content feels organic to the platform, it isn't some super produced OEM style video, and people actually watch it.

 

[Humes CJDR]

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

Have you had any success in the past 2 years with TikTok? Can you update us? I believe there is a better opportunity utilizing targeted Facebook VDP ads, targeting lookalike customers, targeting customers who are looking at other dealers' cars. What do you think?

 

[Humes CJDR]

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

Have you had any success in the past 2 years with TikTok? Can you update us? I believe there is a better opportunity utilizing targeted Facebook VDP ads, targeting lookalike customers, targeting customers who are looking at other dealers' cars. What do you think?

 

[kylewilliam]

Dealerships ought to establish a presence in any selling environment relevant to their buyers. That said, Tiktok is in fact a platform which offers phenomenal exposure, visibility and product placement opportunities. Far too often dealerships estimate that their end consumer isn't on tiktok. Be that as it may, those end consumers have friends, family and neighbors who are active on those platforms. The buying process is generally impacted by the end consumer's network. It's important not to quickly overlook the people who influence the end consumer throughout the buying process. What's important to keep in mind about this platform is that if you don't really know what works, naturally whatever you're trying probably isn't generating the type of results that would justify the time of day. Many dealerships throw in the towel way too soon and not just on Tiktok. They abandon some of the best digital selling environments simply because they threw some things against the wall and they didn't immediately stick. Sound familiar? Or, they tried something that someone recommended and that too wasn't anything to write home about. I know this firsthand because I work with dealerships and see this everyday.

buy instagram likes

I have a brand that I sell on TikTok (in the supplements space). It sells very well through TikTok affiliates who promote it on TikTok Shop. But I'm wondering how to scale this.

One way to scale this is to do mass outreach to affiliates on Tiktok through the affiliate platform. The issue with this is that so many brands are probably bombarding creators' DMs that it might be hard to get many to accept our offer. And even those who do accept it might not promote the product or might not promote it as consistently.

So I'm looking for a way to have more control over the affiliate network pushing my brand. Maybe there's an agency out there who has their own in-house network of creators who are willing to promote products for a fee. Or maybe there are other affiliate networks that have a TikTok arm to push affiliate offers through there.

Would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions.

 

[kylewilliam]

Dealerships ought to establish a presence in any selling environment relevant to their buyers. That said, Tiktok is in fact a platform which offers phenomenal exposure, visibility and product placement opportunities. Far too often dealerships estimate that their end consumer isn't on tiktok. Be that as it may, those end consumers have friends, family and neighbors who are active on those platforms. The buying process is generally impacted by the end consumer's network. It's important not to quickly overlook the people who influence the end consumer throughout the buying process. What's important to keep in mind about this platform is that if you don't really know what works, naturally whatever you're trying probably isn't generating the type of results that would justify the time of day. Many dealerships throw in the towel way too soon and not just on Tiktok. They abandon some of the best digital selling environments simply because they threw some things against the wall and they didn't immediately stick. Sound familiar? Or, they tried something that someone recommended and that too wasn't anything to write home about. I know this firsthand because I work with dealerships and see this everyday.

buy instagram likes
<--removed for self promoting-->

I have a brand that I sell on TikTok (in the supplements space). It sells very well through TikTok affiliates who promote it on TikTok Shop. But I'm wondering how to scale this.

One way to scale this is to do mass outreach to affiliates on Tiktok through the affiliate platform. The issue with this is that so many brands are probably bombarding creators' DMs that it might be hard to get many to accept our offer. And even those who do accept it might not promote the product or might not promote it as consistently.

So I'm looking for a way to have more control over the affiliate network pushing my brand. Maybe there's an agency out there who has their own in-house network of creators who are willing to promote products for a fee. Or maybe there are other affiliate networks that have a TikTok arm to push affiliate offers through there.

Would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions.

 

[Ovejoens]

I think it's awesome that TikTok's bringing in a younger crowd. I’ve had a similar experience with Instagram Reels—honestly, I was skeptical at first, but seeing the boost in engagement has been amazing. The young audience loves seeing the behind-the-scenes stuff, and it’s cool to show them that you're not just about the sale, but also the vibe and energy of the workplace. It’s almost like they're picking up on the authenticity of it all, like, "Hey, they’re cool with hiring younger people." I did read somewhere that boosting your Reels Likes helps, so if you're interested, see here for some extra tips. It’s been a game-changer for us!

 

[Alex Snyder]

Is TikTok going to make it past Sunday?

 

[Alex Snyder]

Is TikTok going to make it past Sunday?

 

[Ryan Everson]

Is TikTok going to make it past Sunday?

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