TikTok has published a new overview of how TikTok ads can help fuel automotive purchases, and the role that TikTok plays in driving engagement, and sales, in the auto sector.

Which seems like it wouldn’t be significant, right? I mean, TikTok’s mostly prank videos and dances, its relation to cars seems fairly thin.

Right?

While the app’s content may not seemingly have a direct link to auto buyers, there are various reasons why TikTok should be a consideration for car dealers, including connection to key auto buyer segments, and key influencers of the same.

Basically, TikTok is a powerful cultural force, with a largely affluent userbase, and that combination can indeed be a strong driver for all kinds of purchase activity, including cars, which is why these latest insights could be of value for auto dealers.

TikTok’s latest whitepaper, conducted in partnership with AI Futtaim Automotive and Annalect, shows how TikTok can indeed influence car buyer behaviors, and the value that it can provide in auto promotion.

You can download the full whitepaper here (with email sign-up), but in this post, we’ll take a look at the key notes.

First off, the report looks at how exactly TikTok amplifies promotion, and the broader transformation of the buyer’s journey:

As explained by TikTok:

“The digital transformation has led to ‘popcorn thinking,’ which has indirectly shaped a non-linear journey. In this dynamic approach, potential customers navigate circular loops, freely entering or exiting any phase at their discretion. Moreover, customer journeys extend beyond the car purchase phase, reaching into post-purchase considerations such as car servicing and maintenance offers. A brand’s failure to fulfil its promises in this post-purchase phase can hurt brand equity seven times more than a positive encounter can benefit it, due to the impact of digital word-of-mouth.”

This is where TikTok, with its huge cultural impact, can have a significant effect, helping to both build and break brands, based on their cultural fit. Brands can facilitate this by engaging with this audience, while maintaining customer care can also play a larger part in fueling this process.

The main crux of TikTok’s report, however, hinges on a series of Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) studies, which cover three automotive brands (spanning luxury, premium, and mass market segments).

The results of this research shows that:

TikTok drove 9.4% of all inquiries driven by Digital media – Media drove 29% of total inquiries across the three brands, with digital channels contributing 22.6%, and TikTok alone accounting for 9.4% of those, despite its relatively low share of media spend.
TikTok outperformed other digital channels in driving inquiries – TikTok proved very potent when it came to driving inquiries. Benchmarked to online video, TikTok delivered 90% higher ROI, and 12% higher ROI than other digital channels excluding paid search.
Full-funnel TikTok campaigns drove more inquiries and boosted efficiency – Full-funnel TikTok campaigns drove 14% more inquiries. Allocating 25–40% of budget to upper funnel and running campaigns for 10+ weeks boosted efficiency by 62%.

The report effectively acts as a promotional vehicle for both TikTok as an auto advertising platform, and for Marketing Mix Modeling as an ad measurement approach, as it provides more insight into the actual impact of spend on sales outcomes.

And as you can see, TikTok does contribute a significant amount of overall promotional value, based on the data provided, which again suggests that TikTok may well drive more auto purchase behavior than you might think.

TikTok also launched some updated automotive ad options earlier this year, along with a dedicated mini-site for auto sellers.

So, more opportunities, and more data to suggest that it’s worthy of consideration in this respect.

You can download TikTok’s full automotive marketing whitepaper here.