Long gone are the days you would run around to every dealership and test out all the different cars until you found the perfect one. Your consumers are forming their own opinions and decisions before they even step foot on the lot of your dealership. According to David Mogensen, Google’s head of YouTube ads marketing and former automotive marketer, the average car shopper only makes two visits to the dealership. It’s because car shoppers are using the internet to find great deals, research different vehicles and more. 

The digital age says goodbye to dealership visits and hello to micro-moments. Micro-moments occur when people reflexively turn to a device to act on a need to learn something, do something, discover something, watch something, or buy something. How can you take advantage of these micro-moments? YouTube.

YouTube is a major touchpoint for the modern car buyer’s path to purchase. 92.4% of the U.S. population who plan to buy a new vehicle within 6 months, use YouTube. According to a Google Vehicle Shopper Path to Purchase Study, 49% of shoppers visited a dealership after watching a video. Here’s how you can harness the power of video content for your dealership.

Which-car-is-best moments

According to TNS Media Consumption Report, 69% of car buyers who use YouTube to research are influenced by it. This is more than all other mediums including TV, newspapers or magazines. YouTube has multiple advantages including,

1. Efficiency: YouTube is 10% to 80% more efficient to reach audiences. You only pay if they choose to engage.

2. No Bumps: With YouTube, it’s auction model and targeting flexibility means your ad will run in the designated flight period. Unlike TV, where they can bump your ads depending on the time of year.

3. Targeting: You can use advanced targeting with YouTube to target to specific consumers with things like In-market SUV Targeting or In-Market for Toyota targeting.

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• When consumers are deciding which car is best for them, they’re searching for car reviews on YouTube. They’re viewing videos like model comparisons, expert reviews and everything in between. According to Google, only 22% of buyers go on to purchase the make and model of the car they first searched on. This is where many can take advantage of video marketing to reach potential customers. Video advances brand discovery and consideration by introducing new brands and releasing knowledgeable information.
  
   
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Is-it-right-for-me moments

This is the moment when consumers need to see if the car will actually accommodate their lifestyle and needs. Video content ranks high in this stage by allowing consumers to view all the details of a car. Videos can include test drives, car feature highlights and walkthroughs. According to Google Internal data, YouTube schedules 2x the amount of test drives for dealerships. Also, 56% of In-Market shoppers can be convinced to buy a car from 360 online video without ever test driving the car.
 

Can-I-afford-it moments

So your consumers are hooked on the car your dealership is selling, they now need to ask themselves if they can afford it. Google Internal data shows 7 out of 10 consumers get buying relevant information out of online video. Also, 18-34-year-olds say YouTube is the best place to learn about a product or service that they’re interested in buying. Google released two recent ad formats in response to its rising popularity and potential reach with online shoppers.

• TrueView for Reach

TrueView for Reach ads are optimized to raise brand awareness. You can create ads that run before or during videos that users can skip after 5 seconds if they aren’t interested (you don’t pay for the view if the consumer skips the ad). The videos can be as short as 6 seconds, or up to 30 seconds in length.  Google’s testing saw a 20% increase of Ad Recall with the brands they tested.

• TrueView for Action

TrueView for Action ads have one goal: to convert more leads. Advertisers can include a customizable CTA banner either during the video or at the end, and Google will be adding lead forms later this year. They’re still working out the details for customer experience, but these ads will be globally available soon.

This would be perfect to attract potential customers viewing YouTube with specific models your dealership is selling. For example, you can use TrueView for Action to customize a CTA Banner to shows deals on a specific vehicle to get consumers in the door. If you’re trying to build brand awareness for your dealership, opt for TrueView for Reach and only pay for ads that are viewed.

YouTube is vital for the micro-moments in the modern car buyer’s path to purchase. Dealerships need to start working with their agencies and content partners to think about how best to create content for video that is quickly digested, gets the point across, and makes a consumer want to purchase a car from their dealership. If you don’t harness the power of video content, another dealership will. If you want to learn about how to attract consumers near the end of the car-buying journey, read here.