The automotive industry has become increasingly competitive over the years. Now that most automotive consumers start the car buying process online, car dealerships must find new ways to connect with their target audience before they ever step foot inside a showroom. Using striking images, especially 360 interior car photos, is one way to stand out from your competitors and get through to your target audience.
360 interior car photos are panoramic images that allow the viewer to see every inch of the inside of a vehicle. These images are interactive, so viewers can rotate them by swiping with their finger or clicking their mouse. They can explore the driver’s seat, dashboard, front passenger seat, and even the backseat. They can also zoom in to get a closer look if a specific feature catches their eye. Because the photos are so high quality, the viewer will feel as if they are actually sitting behind the wheel of the vehicle in the photo.
Don’t make the mistake of only using images of a vehicle’s exterior. If you want to set yourself apart from your competitors, you should consider incorporating 360 interior car photography into your marketing plan. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to utilize these unique images. Here are some ideas:
Blogs
Posting informative blogs can increase your dealership’s visibility and drive website traffic, which is why every dealership should have a blog on their site. Having a blog also gives you an opportunity to incorporate 360 interior car photos into your marketing strategy.
You don’t need to add 360 car photos to every blog post. In fact, you should only include these images when they are relevant to the blog content.
For example, say you are writing a blog that describes the exciting new features found on a newly released model. If you mention interior features, such as an infotainment system or spacious backseat, you may want to add a 360 interior car image of the vehicle you are describing.
This way, the reader will be able to reference the image to learn more about the features you mention in the blog. In this case, the image is used to enhance the content and make it easier for the reader to understand what you are talking about.
Online Listings
The vast majority of car dealerships in the U.S. create online listings to showcase their inventory. If you currently use online listings to attract new customers, you may want to consider enhancing your listings by adding 360 interior car photos.
Auto consumers look at online listings to learn more about different vehicles, compare their options, and make purchase decisions. The more information these listings provide, the easier it is for consumers to complete these steps in their car buying journey.
Consumers need to see both the interior and exterior of a vehicle when looking at an online listing. However, still images are not as detailed or informative as 360 interior car images. By including 360 interior images in your online listings, you can help your target audience get as much information as possible about a vehicle. This may make it easier for you to convert these consumers into loyal customers.
YouTube Videos
You can also use 360 interior car photos to provide virtual vehicle tours to consumers who are shopping for a car online. To do this, simply add a voiceover to a 360 interior car image. The voiceover should provide a detailed description on the features that are shown in the 360 interior car image.
For example, rotate the image to show the vehicle’s infotainment system. Once you’re focused on this feature, explain what you can do with the infotainment system and how it differs from infotainment systems found in other vehicles. Doing this ensures that your target audience understands what they are looking at when viewing a 360 interior car image.
Once you’re satisfied with your voiceover, add it to your 360 interior car photo and upload the video to your dealership’s YouTube channel. Be sure to incorporate relevant keywords into the title and detailed description of the video. This will make it easier for your target audience to find your car dealership’s videos on YouTube.
Social Media Posts
It’s important for your car dealership to have a strong presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. To maintain your presence, you need to consistently post updates to these platforms.
Every time your target audience logs into their social media accounts, they are bombarded with hundreds of social media posts from companies, friends, family members, and colleagues. To cut through this clutter, you need to make your posts stand out with 360 interior car images.
These interior images are eye-catching enough to stop your target audience in their tracks as they scroll through their social media news feeds. Incorporate these images into your social media posts at least once a week. Be sure to include a caption that provides your followers with more information. For example, the caption should tell your followers what vehicle is shown in the image and where they can go to see more information about the vehicles in your inventory.
Facebook Ads
In addition to posting on your social media pages, you should also be advertising on social media, especially Facebook. This social media platform gives you the opportunity to target a very narrowly defined audience, which makes it easier to connect with specific groups of customers in your community.
For example, you can adjust your ad settings so you only target people within a specific geographical area that are interested in purchasing a new SUV within the next 90 days. Running an ad with a 360-degree photo showcasing the inside of a new SUV would appeal to this target audience.
You can set your own budget on Facebook, so you don’t need to spend a lot to make an impact on this platform.
It’s important to note that Facebook only allows businesses to use panoramic images for certain ad objectives. To get started, all you need to do is select the appropriate ad objective from the drop down menu in Ads Manager.
Website Backgrounds
The background image on your homepage is one of the first things that your target audience will see when they arrive on your website. For this reason, it’s crucial that this image makes a strong first impression on your target audience.
Few images are as powerful as a 360-degree interior car photo. This type of photo will instantly grab the visitor’s attention and make them want to stay on your site to see more. As a result, using this type of image on your homepage could decrease your bounce rate and increase your average session duration.
Be sure to position the image so that visitors can clearly see it when they arrive on your site. In other words, make sure that the image isn’t covered by blocks of text or other design elements. You should also use Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool to ensure that adding this type of image doesn’t slow your website’s loading time down.
These are some of the many ways in which you can use 360 interior car photos to market your dealership. Start incorporating these unique photos into your marketing plan so you can attract new customers and take your business to the next level.