When you think of key promotion platforms for cars, TikTok likely doesn’t immediately come to mind. However, according to research, more than 40% of TikTok users are planning to buy or lease a car within the next six months, making it a viable consideration for automakers and marketers, especially for connecting with relevant, engaged, and viable consumers.
TikTok Vroom
With this in mind, TikTok has released a new Auto Dealers Playbook, which provides key insights and notes for auto dealers looking to maximize their promotional efforts in the app. The 78-slide Auto Dealer’s playbook can be downloaded here. Obviously, 78 pages are way more than a thousand-word blog article, so we’ll only be going over the most critical points.
First off, TikTok provides some overall notes about the platform’s cultural influence and usage. Around 30% of TikTiok’s audience say that they spend less time watching TV, streaming, or other videos since using TikTok. Also, a movie’s worth of time spent on TikTok a day is a significant amount of time spent in an app that focuses on 1-minute clips. This larger consumption process makes TikTok a bigger consideration in reaching active, engaged audiences.
TikTok also notes that it has reach to key auto buyer segments. Millennials and Gen Z TiKTokers are 1.75x more likely to purchase between 18-25 new vehicles over their lifetime. TikTok says that it also has reach to key influencers of the same. It’s not hard to see that these stars are influential, open, and in-market. True enough, 44% of these influencers plan to buy or lease in next 6M. Again, you might not immediately think of TikTok as a critical platform for connecting with auto buyers, but these stats show that there is significant, influential power in the app.
The guide then provides some notes on TikTok’s marketing strategy, and how to build your in-app presence, including maximizing both organic and paid opportunities. TikTok also mentions a range of creative tips and approaches, as well as a simple guide that showcases best practices for making TikToks. Of course, including sound is definitely a core necessity. Besides the simple how-to matrix, TikTok also includes some case studies to further help inform your thinking.
Lastly, TikTok outlines more specific elements to help guide your approach, including essential tips, ad formats, bidding options, and more. There are heaps more advice in the full guide, which is definitely at least worth a look from auto dealers, and even those beyond the auto sector who are looking for ways to build a TikTok presence.
The Wrap
As mentioned earlier, TikTok is the last place you’d expect to find auto sales doing well. Then again, this wouldn’t be the first time TikTok turned the tables on the seemingly unlikely. Looking at its broader eCommerce push, establishing new avenues to introduce more revenue to the platform will only help it in the long run.
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