They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, if that’s the case, then a video must be worth an entire novel. 

That’s exactly the key idea behind effective video advertisements. Gone are the days of overly scripted and monotonous infomercials. These days, it’s all about story-telling. 

As a brand, you’re constantly seeking to reach out to and engage with potential customers to keep them attracted to your services. Before the days of social media, there were limits to how you could do this. 

Luckily, in today’s day and age, video ads have become more accessible than ever before thanks to services like Cartender’s Video Advertising. With so many people using smartphones and social media apps, brands and companies can reach whichever demographic they want.  

The question then becomes about which social media platform is optimal for running video ads pertaining to cars. 

In this post, we’ll take a look at why Facebook is the best option for running automotive video advertisements compared to other platforms.

What is Digital Video Marketing? 

At first glance, digital video marketing seems pretty straightforward. 

HubSpot defines digital video marketing as when a company uses videos as a medium to market and promote their services and products, educate their customers, and increase engagement on their social and digital channels.

However, digital video marketing is not a novel concept. Ever since the dawn of social media, companies have made use of visual content to market their services. 

But the world has come a long way since then. 

Now, digital video marketing is used as a tool to promote, engage, educate, and connect, thanks to the ever increasing internet speed throughout the world. 

Overly refined, monotonous, and polished videos no longer catch people’s attention. Instead, audiences are looking for stories, something personal and relatable that exudes authenticity and creativity. 

For companies, this means that strategizing is key. Customer feedback and active engagement are some of the most important aspects of digital video marketing, and it wouldn’t be as impactful without a strong, data-driven campaign behind it. 

That’s what it’s all about – being an active and involved part of the customer’s car-buying journey. 

Types of Digital Video Marketing For Social Media

As you read on, you’ll soon realize that using a video format for automotive advertisements and marketing is highly versatile. 

But before we get into it, let’s take a brief look at some of the most popular types of videos for selling cars.

• Demo Videos. These are the most common types of advertisements that show off how a product works. 
• Brand Videos. Usually part of a bigger campaign, brand videos communicate brand vision, mission, and aspirations. This cultivates a more intimate relationship with potential consumers-something a simple demo video can not achieve.  
• Expert Reviews. Hearing from experts and trusted influencers can really help build an air of command and faith with your audience. 
• Explainer Videos. Explainer videos are a great way to allow your audience to relate to you. It helps your audience know that you understand their needs and woes. 
• Animated Videos. While car commercials make ample use of computer-generated imagery, they are yet to integrate animations into their style. However, animated videos are actually a great way to incorporate strong visuals and explain complex ideas. 
• Live Videos. Yet another underappreciated video format, live videos are a great way to engage with your audience. Usually, live question and answer sessions prove extremely popular among consumers. Indeed, it’s one of the very few ways to break the ice to connect with your audience and make them feel like they’re part of the journey. 

Video Marketing is Better Than Other Forms of Marketing 

We live in a highly visual world. From entertainment to educational content, the visual medium is one of the most captivating and effective methods to convey ideas. 

But that’s just on general video content. The implications of this premise on digital marketing are even more promising. 

It’s What the People Want

One of the most crucial elements of any marketing strategy is figuring out what the people want- the kind of content that they want to consume.  

It turns out, consumers and potential customers have a strong predisposition towards video advertisements than any other form of marketing content. This includes image ads, social videos, blog posts and articles, and emails/newsletters. 

An extensive study conducted by HubSpot on the global preferences on content trends shows a very strong preference towards video content. In fact, 54% of global consumers want to see video content from brands and companies, as opposed to images and blog articles. 

In fact, branded videos proved to be the most memorable form of content from companies and businesses. 

Additionally, 73% of the people would rather see a video to learn about brands and their products. 

So, if you’re looking to leave a mark, video marketing is the way to go. 

More Versatile 

When it comes to automotive marketing, nothing quite beats the impact of visual content. This is mostly due to the fact that videos are innately more versatile. 

Thanks to this versatility, there is no limit on the kind of marketing content you can create through a video. 

Granted, as an automotive brand, your foremost goal is to highlight your product. But there’s more to your brand than just flashy images and special effects. 

With videos, you can assure your customers that you’re a part of the local community. You can allow them to get to know you better. This communal brand image is known to drive consumer behavior by building a shared trust.  

Luckily, video formats allow you to build that trust. For example, you can offer a tour of your dealership or show interviews with the team. Additionally, you can show testimonials by satisfied customers. 

High Conversion Rates

One of the greatest indicators of effective marketing is conversion rates. In layman’s terms, this is the ratio of people that click on ads to the number of people that actually purchase the product. 

In their report entitled “The impact of Video Marketing,” Aberdeen Group highlights that “video users enjoy 27% higher click-through rates and 34% higher web conversion rates, compared to non-users.”

Additionally, videos embedded on landing pages boast an 86% increase in conversion rates. 

Improves Dwell Time and Search Rank

When it comes to automotive purchases, people use a variety of options for research. One of the most common ways to do so is by using the Google search engine. So, as a car dealership, your foremost goal is to increase your ranking on the dreaded search engine results page. 

And guess what? Videos are one of the most effective ways to do so. 

It turns out, 55 percent of all keyword searches on Google showed websites with at least one video integration. Does this mean that using videos increases your chances to rank on SERP? 

The Search Engine Journal definitely thinks so. According to their report, websites that incorporate videos increase their chances to show up on the first results page by 53 times. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Once a potential customer is on your website, they’re more likely to stay there for longer. Mist Media confirms this by showing that the average internet user spends 88% more time on a website that has integrated video. 

Facebook – the Most Popular Social Media Platform for Automotive Marketing 

There’s no doubt that video formats are a highly effective ad format for the automotive industry.

In this section, let’s take a look at some of the major advantages of using Facebook for automotive marketing.

Facebook Users Are Active Video Watchers

There’s no doubt that social media platforms such as Snapchat and Twitter have billions of active users. But what makes Facebook stand out the most is its video viewers ratio. 

Unsurprisingly, Facebook users spend a lot of time on the platform on video binges. At one point, Facebook was averaging over 8 billion video views per day. This far surpasses the daily video views of any other social media platform.  

Now, this could be because Facebook has taken the lead in prioritizing video content over any other type of content. And that’s great news for automotive companies. 

It would be a waste not to use such a high video watcher ratio to your advantage.  

Facebook Marketplace Attracts Potential Car Buyers

When it comes to car purchases, people like to spend a lot of time on research. This means hitting hundreds of digital touchpoints before actually purchasing a car. But where are they looking? 

Data from a Facebook IQ study reveals that almost 78% of car buyers use social media to determine the next car they want to purchase. 

Of all these social media platforms, Facebook is still the top option for exploring various dealership options. According to the same study, 47% of car buyers visited Facebook Marketplace for scouting local dealerships. 

Better, More Extensive Targeting

Arguably the most key ingredient in any marketing campaign is effective targeting.

The thing is, if you’re unable to reach your specified audience, everything else goes down the drain. It doesn’t matter how visually captivating, creative, or entertaining your video is. If you’re not hitting the right demographic, all your efforts are futile. 

So, what is your target audience? 

As an automotive company, your target audience must include people that are old enough to drive. On top of that, they must be old enough to have a frequent source of income. 

Coincidentally, Facebook’s demographics coincide with this age range. 

As of 2020, male and female users between the ages of 25 to 34 years constitute the major user demographic of Facebook. Additionally, 75% of online users with an income of more than $75K are active Facebook users. 

Still, it’s not wise to blindly rely on such a dynamic and fluctuating number. 

That’s why Facebook advertising is so handy. Basically, you can specify your target audience down to age, gender, language, and even interests. But that’s not all. 

Social media marketing also allows you to generate a lot of relevant user data. You can then use this data to improve your ad campaigns by learning more about your consumers. 

Higher Conversions

We already talked about how video formats result in higher conversion rates. It turns out, Facebook has similar effects. 

Combine the two together, and those conversion rates will skyrocket!

Across various industries, Facebook has an average conversion rate of 9.21%. For the automotive industry, the conversion rate is about 5.21%.

This is a pretty good number compared to the 5% minimum threshold for a good conversion rate. 

Easily Accessible and Higher Shares

While social media has evolved considerably over the past decade, it’s important to appreciate it for its original purpose- social networking. 

Over the past few years, this has had some great outcomes for the online advertising landscape, especially in relation to Facebook. According to an Ipsos study commissioned by Facebook on the survey of Facebook stories users, 62% of people said that they were interested in a product after seeing it in a Facebook story. 

In a similar vein, a report on a consumer’s auto-buying journey found that 63% of car buyers used online platforms to discover new automotive options. 

But the report revealed something else as well. While men 

It turns out, 38% of the surveyed women revealed that they resort to recommendations from friends and family when it comes to buying new vehicles- especially from brands that they were not aware of before. 

Of these women, 34% revealed that they rely on Facebook and other Facebook-owned apps to discover new dealership and company options. 

Keep in mind that this includes both ads from the company’s own Facebook stories, as well as the same ads shared by people in their own stories. 

Conclusion

Choosing the right platform for your digital marketing campaigns can be a tough prospect. 

In the current day and age, there are so many social media platforms to choose from. Undoubtedly, each platform has something unique to offer for the automotive industry.  

But if you’re looking for  greater outreach, detailed targeting, high conversion rates, and more frequent shares, then Facebook is the way to go.