Car dealership marketing pros have probably found themselves rummaging through files of stock photos online to find the precise photo that they need for a specific webpage or blog article. With some photo sources, the images could be identifiable only by name and listed by the hundreds in a main file folder.
What should take a few minutes now takes hours. Marketing team members may open a file then start clicking through photos to find something usable. Dealerships don’t need to waste time in their photo search. Car stock photos API technology simplifies the photo search and decreases time waste; here are four reasons why dealerships need a photo service that utilizes API:
- It offers a user-friendly search query
- It eliminates unnecessary results
- Results can be refined as needed
- Photos appear as viewable images not file names
The Impact of Photos
Cox Automotive’s Car Buyer Journey Study (Pandemic Edition) reported that for one-third of car shoppers, the dealership’s website is the final destination during online research.
Dealerships need to create a memorable online experience for online shoppers if they want to move the customer to the next phase of the buying journey and, hopefully, make a sale. Online experiences and visual information can be helpful for customers who are exploring and researching cars at home.
Online experiences can include augmented reality or even the use of interactive 3D imagery. These experiences encourage the site visitor to engage and stay on the site. Not only are augmented reality and interactive imagery engaging, but they also can be entertaining for customers, too.
Not all customers visit a dealership’s website because they are ready to buy; some might be merely considering a new car. Maybe a customer is exploring new models and wants to see what might be available.
When they visit a dealership’s website, what is the impression that they get? If they discover that the website offers unique interactive experiences, they may leave the site remembering the dealership. This positive experience could influence them to come back to the site or even visit the physical location of the dealership.
Imagery also is an important and informative component for a car dealership’s website. Descriptions of vehicles don’t provide all the information that the buyer wants or needs; they want to see the car. Photos and photo slideshows help the customer understand the design of the vehicle and its features.
They can scroll through photos to view the interior. They might see close-up shots of the infotainment system. Perhaps the slideshow also includes a look at the trunk’s cargo space.
Photos show what words can’t fully describe. Visual information helps buyers understand if they like the look of a model or if it just isn’t their style.
As photos and photo-based experiences (like augmented reality) add to the engagement of the site while also providing shoppers with valuable insight about the vehicle, dealerships need to be able to find the photos they need with ease. This is why API technology is crucial when providing search capabilities via a car stock photo service.
API and the User-Friendly Search Query
Dealerships might wonder about this technology called API. The acronym means Application Programming Interface, and this technology can “…let your product or service communicate with other products and services without having to know how they’re implemented.” An example of API is using the PayPal button to pay via a merchant’s site.
How does API help simplify the search query for car photos? This technology is part of the system that guides EVOX Images’ search tools.
The background technology that powers the search tool is invisible to dealerships, but it’s a powerful system that enables the search to be fast and easy. EVOX Images allows dealerships to set specific parameters to find the photos they need for their marketing needs.
Dealerships simply select the model year, the make, model and trim and the system will show all the available photos. Dealerships and their marketing teams don’t have to sort through folders that are filled with hundreds of files identifiable only by a name.
API Eliminates Unnecessary Results
The powerful technology behind the search tool serves to sift through unnecessary results and find only the relevant photos that dealerships need. In this way, dealerships can avoid wasting time viewing a decade of Toyota Camry models when all they need is a 2009 model.
In addition, some photo search tools could offer results that are just too broad in scope. For example, they may only allow dealerships to search for a specific term. This could result in receiving too many irrelevant results and wasting time trying to filter out unwanted photos.
EVOX Images lets dealerships search for precisely what they want and need. In addition, they can even refine their search results based on other criteria.
Refine the Results
Dealerships choose specific details about the vehicle for which they need photos. Ultimately, they can select not just the make/model, year and trim but also the body style, too (like a wagon or hatchback). The results will include all the images for this particular vehicle, and the image options could be extensive.
Dealerships don’t need to sort through these images to seek out the few that they need. Instead, they can use an additional toolbar to further refine their results to only the most relevant image types. Dealerships can select splash images or another image type; they can specify the car’s color and whether they want images of the interior or exterior.
Photo Results Appear as Viewable Images
The marketing team (or pro) at the dealership probably doesn’t have time to open up every image file to see if it’s the photo they want. API further simplifies the search by showing the results as actual viewable images and not just files or file names.
When the results appear, the dealership can see the images to best determine which photo is the best for their marketing needs. In addition, dealerships also can understand purchase options (or licensing options) for individual photos.
What Types of Images Can Dealerships Find for Each Vehicle?
EVOX Images includes images for vehicle models from 1999 to the present. Each make and model includes a variety of photo options.
Dealerships can choose from the following stock photo options:
- 3-angle colorized set
- Full stills set
- Base trim library
- 360 degree exterior spins
- 360 degree interior panos
- Splash images
In addition, EVOX Images also has added several new photo options:
- Drive-in animations
- Drive-in/spin animation
- Colorized fly-around
- Colorized spin
EVOX Images also includes a library of digital assets that are compatible with augmented reality experiences. Dealerships can use these images to create immersive augmented reality preview showrooms for customers that let them explore their favorite models anywhere using a mobile device.
EVOX Images offers stock videos, too. These videos can provide a walkaround tour of any make or model. Dealerships can use these videos on their website to heighten the user experience.
When dealerships are exploring their options for a car stock photo service, they might not think about the importance of the search system. However, a photo service should offer the most simplistic solution for uncovering the best and most relevant photos for the dealership’s marketing endeavors.
EVOX Images simplifies the search for the perfect photo by incorporating API technology. Explore all the digital assets on EVOX Images and find the best photos for the dealership’s website, ad campaigns, blog and more.