When it comes to digital marketing for car dealerships, TikTok is often pointed out as the next big platform that dealers should start paying attention to.
But because it’s so new and different, it has left many dealers confused. However, this fresh platform can be a real game-changer for boosting dealership sales and revenue if used right. The key is first to identify the challenges and nuances that such new platforms present and then address them effectively.
In this article, we will break down the TikTok challenges specific to dealerships and offer some practical solutions to overcome them, helping you make the most out of this new-era platform.
TikTok Demographics: The Foremost Challenge for Dealers
TikTok’s user base skews significantly towards younger demographics, primarily Gen Z and younger Millennials. While this provides an excellent opportunity to engage with future car buyers and build long-term brand loyalty, it poses a challenge for dealerships whose primary target audience includes older demographics who are more likely to be immediate car buyers.
These older groups often have more stable financial resources and a more immediate need or desire to purchase vehicles. By concentrating efforts on TikTok, dealerships risk allocating resources to a platform where most of the audience might not be in the best position to make big-ticket purchases like cars in the near term. This demographic mismatch can lead to less efficient marketing spending if not balanced.
Potential solutions include:
- Incentivize Referrals: Motivate younger TikTok users to introduce older potential buyers by offering rewards for successful referrals, bridging the age gap.
- Build Long-term Relationships: Utilize TikTok for more than just sales; educate and engage younger audiences with car ownership and maintenance content to cultivate future customers.
- Repurpose Content: Extend the reach of TikTok-style videos by using them on platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram Reels, enhancing engagement without extra content creation costs.
The Second Hurdle for Dealerships on TikTok
One of the primary challenges for car dealerships on TikTok revolves around adapting to a content creation style that markedly differs from traditional platforms. Unlike the polished, curated content typical of platforms like Instagram or YouTube, TikTok demands a more casual, raw, and immediately engaging approach.
Dealerships must learn to craft quick and visually appealing content that blends humor and creativity to resonate with a predominantly younger audience. This fast-paced, short-form style requires content that can grab attention within seconds through engaging narratives, visual effects, and dynamics.
Additionally, TikTok’s environment encourages participation with its community through challenges, duets, and responses, pushing dealerships to think beyond mere viewership to actual engagement.
Below are a few examples of how dealerships can meet this challenge:
- Car Feature Spotlight: Create quick, engaging clips highlighting the unique features of new models using fast cuts and upbeat music.
- #CarDanceChallenge: Launch a fun challenge where followers show off their best dance moves next to their vehicles, promoting interaction and creativity.
- Maintenance Tips: Offer snappy, humorous tutorials on simple car maintenance tasks to educate and engage viewers.
- Guess the Model: Use quick, close-up shots of various car parts for viewers to guess the model, adding a gamified element to engage TikTok users.
- Before and After: Post transformations of vehicles, like detailing work or upgrades, to showcase your dealership’s services in a visually striking way.
TikTok’s Geographic Dilemma
TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes content with high engagement potential over geographic relevance, which can complicate local targeting for businesses. Unlike platforms like Facebook, where users often seek local updates, or Google, which integrates local business listings prominently, TikTok’s content discovery is geared more towards entertainment without robust local search features.
Additionally, TikTok’s younger demographic typically engages with the platform for entertainment rather than local commerce, making it less conducive to organic local marketing.
The following remedies can help mitigate this concern:
- Use Paid Ads: Employ TikTok’s dynamic catalog-based inventory ads for precise local targeting.
- Incorporate Geo-Tags: Mention local landmarks or events in video tags and descriptions to enhance local visibility.
- Partner with Local Influencers: Collaborate with regional TikTok influencers to reach a dedicated local audience.
- Create Local Content: Produce videos that reflect local culture or participate in local trends to engage community members.
While TikTok presents unique opportunities for car dealerships to engage with a younger audience and potentially revolutionize their marketing strategies, it also brings significant challenges that need careful consideration and strategic planning. From navigating demographic mismatches and content creation hurdles to overcoming geographic limitations, dealerships must approach TikTok creatively and pragmatically.
