3 Tips for Auto Dealers Using Video to Engage Customers on Social Media

Posted in COVID-19 and Digital Marketing and Social Media

We’ve been fielding a lot of questions from our dealers recently on running effective video campaigns; specifically, on the best ways to leverage video right now to get in front of shoppers on social channels like Facebook.

Based on what we’re seeing from our COVID-19 Data Index and the results from our teams’ weekly recommendations to our dealers, we are sharing some quick, expert tips on the best ways to engage shoppers on social media with video content right now.

Use Custom Audiences to Target New Customers with Community Focused Video Ads

This video post from Ricart Automotive is a great example of compelling community focused video content, and it talks about how the dealership is specifically helping first responders and essential workers. It also speaks to their established record of dedication to serving Columbus for over 60 years. This video is short enough that it could be used for paid ads, in addition to being published as organic content on their page.

Another dealer we work with ran a “we’re here to help” video for new customers and remarketing. The video had over 30% view thru on first impression, but that went down significantly when retargeting because people had already seen it. Instead of serving the same video twice, our strategy team recommended doing a second video ad educating people about the sales, process or available incentives from the OEM and dealership.

Here’s an idea from Ira Jack – a dealership in Maine – explaining how they changed their sales process to keep people safe from COVID-19.

Frequency is Key to Reaching Customers and Keeping Them Engaged

Make sure that you are mindful of how often you are serving video ads to users on Facebook and other social platforms. Now more than ever, you don’t want to bombard people with ads. We’ve recommended our dealers start their frequency at once per day and adjust based on performance in the first week or two.

We don’t recommend starting with a more aggressive frequency of two or more times a day from the start; the last thing you want to do is create a negative experience for potential new customers before you get the chance to start a real conversation.

Once you have at least a week of data you can confirm that your video campaign is:

1. Pacing budget as expected

2. Engaging users with relevant content

3. Serving ads to the right shoppers and driving them to your website

Get The Most Mileage Out of Videos and Mix It Up Between Organic & Paid Social

It’s always important to mix up the content you’re serving on different channels so you can test different messaging and CTAs.

It’s important to get as much mileage as you can out of every video, but that doesn’t have to come at the expense of user experience or variety; it should be in addition to fresh content being created based on audience data, incentives and offers, and strategic personalization.

If you are looking for ideas on video content that is performing well right now amidst COVID-19, we suggest trying a mixture of:

Community focused “We’re here to help”
Promoting incentives and offers from your dealership and OEMs
Live stream from your dealership for those still allowed to operate during shelter in place
“How we’re doing business” to show precautions you’re taking to keep customers and employees safe
Good news or feel good stories that bring some light and levity to people’s lives in the midst of all this chaos.

Want More?

Follow the PureCars Blog and COVID-19 Response page to get latest data insights and recommendations.

And don’t miss our webinar next week when our CEO and Founder, Jeremy Anspach, sits down with David Kain and Rick Ricart. They will discuss the evolving situation with Coronavirus, and the bold dealer strategies that are paying off big for dealers around the country. Save your spot today!