Should you use TikTok to sell cars? This is the question facing you and your dealership team and one you need an answer for.
It’s important to stay abreast of the latest social media marketing trends and be present on the right platforms, but is this one right for your business? Unless you have an unlimited advertising budget, you have to be selective with the places you advertise online. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of using TikTok for your dealership.
Pro: Amazing Free Exposure
If you don’t sign up as a business, you can create content and post it to TikTok free of charge. There are billions of views on this platform every day and the videos from this platform easily crossover to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, which are three of the most popular social medial sites in the world.
Con: TikTok is Meant for Specific Age Groups
Using TikTok to sell cars might be difficult if your target audience is over 35. While you can find some parents on this site, most of the videos that are shared, reshared, and commented on come from an audience that’s between 16 and 24 years old. This means you’re not reaching those making the car buying decision when you advertise on this platform because adults over 50 typically don’t bother with it.
Pro: TikTok is a Mobile-First Platform
More users spend time on their mobile devices now than ever before. This is a simple fact and it’s one you can’t ignore. If you want to sell cars, you need to have an advertising campaign that’s easy to see and understand on mobile devices. Using this platform, you’ll make some enjoyable short videos that can bring more leads to your car dealership.
Con: Advertising is Expensive
When you create an advertising campaign on TikTok, you’re going to spend a lot of money. It might be hard to justify the cost, especially as a car dealership that’s trying to reach a local audience. Rather than spend thousands of dollars (a simple hashtag challenge will cost you $150,000 per week) on an advertising campaign, create videos on TikTok and feed them to your other social media pages to help you sell cars.
Pro: Reality Makes it Easier to Use TikTok to Sell Cars
The latest two generations have a fixation on people and events being “real” which isn’t a bad thing. You can use this social platform to showcase your personality, the atmosphere of your dealership, and the expectation your customers should have when they work with you. The more transparency and clarity you offer, the more likely you’ll see younger buyers at your dealership who have seen your videos.
Con: You Risk Your Videos Being Taken Down
Of course, the risk of your posts and videos being taken down by the owners of the social media platform is present with every single company. TikTok is known to take down videos that it deems inappropriate without any explanation. This should be a minimal risk when you’re simply trying to sell cars, but it’s still a present danger that you need to be fully aware of.
Pro: Collaborate with Brand Influencers Easily
Using TikTok to sell cars can make it easy for you to connect with local influencers and allow them to promote your products and services. So far, most influencers on this platform are relatively inexpensive to hire and partner with, but as the visibility and use grow, this may turn from an inexpensive positive to a costly one. Now is the time to have influencers offer their support to your company.
Con: TikTok Doesn’t Have the Data Yet
If used as an advertising platform, you’re going to find that TikTok doesn’t have the data that’s present on Facebook. This can be a serious drawback for your dealership, but you might not be using the advertising features of this platform to sell cars. You may have to experiment quite a bit to find the right fit for your brand and dealership.
Pro: You Can Save a Lot of Time
It won’t take you long to build several TikTok videos to help you sell cars. You don’t have to create a ton of specialty videos and a fake set where you’ll stage the production. Pull out your smartphone and get to work to offer videos that will quickly gain views and showcase the new items, events, or specials going on at your dealership. You can use this platform to sell more cars; get started today.
