Car dealership marketing tactics encompass a wide range of campaigns and communication outreach activities. As many car buyers begin their shopping process online, dealerships might focus their marketing strategies on the digital space.
Each dealership has its own marketing plan that outlines the strategies for the year, but there is one digital tool (beyond a website) that all dealerships should utilize when marketing new models to buyers. For a car dealership, stock images are the most valuable digital assets. These professional photos can elevate an ad, a social media post and the car dealership’s website.
Yet, searching for stock photos could turn up a variety of images like vectors, infographics, car dealership stock photos and more. Here’s what to know about different stock images, and how to sort through all those options.
What are Vector Images?
When dealerships are searching for car stock photos, they might find images known as ‘vectors’ or vector images. These are images that are generated by computers and are made up of lines and curves. Vectors could look almost cartoonish and animated or sleek in their design. However, these images aren’t actual photographs. Again, they are computer generated images.
Should dealerships use them? There’s nothing wrong with vector images, and they might be great to include in a blog. Adobe explains that these images also are ideal for company logos on business cards and for posters, too.
While these images could be fine for business cards or posters, dealerships might be cautious when integrating them onto website pages. Depending on the chosen vector image, they might detract from the professional layout of the site.
Infographic Stock Images
Infographic images also could be available as stock photos. These images are used to graphically depict a topic; for example, an infographic could explain different car maintenance needs at each mileage. For every tip, a graphic illustration is included to highlight it. The term infographic actually means “information graphic.”
An infographic is used to provide information to readers through visual illustrations. Information is given in snippets and, again, visual elements complement facts and figures. Infographics can be integrated into blogs or even presented on a webpage.
Some infographics are offered as stock images. However, many businesses create their own unique infographics.
Generic Car Dealerships Stock Images
Another type of stock photo that car dealerships could discover in their search are dealership stock photos. These images depict scenes in a random car dealership. Images could show buyers with a sales team member, a generic image of the exterior of a car dealership or even used vehicles on a car dealership lot.
Dealerships might find these images useful to integrate into their blogs or other content. However, using car dealership stock photos could cause confusion for some buyers. For example, they might be looking for the sales team member from the photo. They also could wonder why the showroom looks different from the picture.
For consistency and to avoid confusion, dealerships can hire a professional photographer to take photos of their dealership to use on a website, on social media or even in ads. This ensures that consumers see the real dealership not a generic dealership.
Unmarked Car Stock Photos
Some stock photos remove any branding from a vehicle. This is to ensure that the photo doesn’t possibly violate any copyrights. Other stock photos could depict a computer-designed vehicle that doesn’t actually exist. Should dealerships use these photos?
Most car dealerships are affiliated with a specific brand/manufacturer. For this reason, they might focus on using stock photos that showcase the new models from the brand. Unmarked vehicles could, again, cause buyer confusion.
Using a computer generated image of a car could be an option for a blog article that focuses on cars of the future or another type of topic. In addition, some stock photos might show old cars that don’t exist anymore; dealerships might use these images for a blog post about classic vehicles. When using any stock photo that depicts branding, though, make sure to read all the license details. Some can only be used for editorial purposes.
How to Find the Best Car Dealership Stock Images
Professional stock photos can elevate a car dealership’s website and provide resources that help customers who are researching their vehicle options from home. EVOX Images is the industry’s trusted source for high-resolution, professional car stock photos.
EVOX Images provides a library of images for makes and models throughout the past decade. Vehicle libraries include interior and exterior stock images that dealerships can use to create extensive slideshows to showcase new models. In addition, EVOX Images includes spin photos and base trim libraries, too.
Here’s what dealerships should know about all the image options available from EVOX Images.
What are Spin Photos?
Spin photos or 360 degree images are 3D graphic depictions of a particular vehicle model. These are not vector images, though. Spin photos are immersive, detailed high-resolution images that invite interaction from users.
These images are navigated using either a fingertip (for mobile devices) or a mouse. Spin photos are available as exterior images or interior panorama photos. With exterior spin photos, users can rotate the car in any direction to view aspects of its exterior design.
Panorama photos allow users to explore the inside of the car. These images are designed to seem as though the user is sitting inside the car and looking all around. With a panorama photo, car shoppers can look in the backseat or look up at the moonroof. They can explore all the other interior details, too.
How can dealerships use these images? Spin photos are ideal for incorporating into a vehicle model’s webpage to help buyers understand its design and features. In addition, dealerships also could share a spin image via social media.
Base Trim Photos are the Image Options Dealerships Didn’t Know they Needed
How a dealership showcases a new model matters to the buyer. Many car brands (and perhaps dealerships, too) show a model with upgraded features and a higher price tag. What about those buyers who are on a limited budget and want to see the base trim of the model?
Understanding what the base trim includes or doesn’t include could be beneficial for buyers as the cost of buying a new car soars in price because of higher interest rates. Buyers might need to lower their budget and choose a car with fewer options.
EVOX Images offers base trim libraries that depict only this trimmed down trim. Include exterior and interior images of a vehicle’s base trim to help buyers understand if they need to upgrade to a more expensive model.
Stock Images Can Animate the Website
Car dealerships searching for stock photos via EVOX Images will find that not all the options are simply one-dimensional photographs. EVOX Images has recently introduced new animated stock photos that load automatically on the page.
These images show a car model driving into a photo, driving into the photo and rotating, rotating within the photo or from different vantage points (think drone footage). What makes these photos even more unique is that the vehicle’s paint hue changes as it moves; these photos showcase all the paint trim options offered for the model. This effect helps buyers see how the vehicle looks in all the colorways.
Animated stock photos are ideal to use as a hero image on the dealership’s website. These images grab the site visitor’s attention immediately.
Stock Images for Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Experiences
Augmented reality experiences are being offered by many businesses online to help customers explore products from home. This technology is incredibly accessible because it doesn’t require a headset; instead users only need access to a camera via a digital device like a tablet or a smartphone.
Augmented reality experiences combine the real world environment with graphic elements. Businesses use the technology to create try-on experiences or to preview products. Augmented reality can let users place a graphic image of a chair in their living room, swipe a new paint color on their walls (without commitment) and even try on cosmetics.
The user captures the environment where they wish to explore the product using their camera. Once the user selects their chosen environment, the experience drops in a digital depiction of the product. For example, a lipstick hue can appear on the user’s lips, paint colors can be previewed on a wall and a car can appear in the individual’s driveway.
EVOX Images offers a library of digital assets that are compatible with both augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. Car dealerships can use these images to create immersive experiences that help car buyers explore vehicles from home.
Dealerships Can Use Stock Videos, Too!
EVOX Images offers many different libraries of car stock photos that car dealerships can use to elevate their website, promote models on social media or encourage exploration online. In addition, EVOX Images also offers a variety of car stock videos that highlight the features of the car and help buyers understand each vehicle model. Use these videos via social media or on a vehicle model’s web page to invite shoppers to learn more about the vehicle.
Car dealerships can find a variety of stock photos online; vector images, infographic stock photos, car dealership stock photos and even unmarked/unbranded stock photos could be available in some photo libraries. However, when dealerships need to promote new models in their showroom, they need to use the highest quality and most professional stock photos. EVOX Images is the industry’s most trusted source for professional car stock photography; explore all the image options to find the best stock photos for any dealership marketing activity.