The used car market has shifted up in recent years. And almost 90% of buyers these days start their car buying journey online rather than visiting different dealerships. They browse listings on various sites, compare cars, check reviews, and start shortlisting their top picks before stepping into the showroom.
This is why most used car dealerships are switching to online. And this shift means you are no longer competing with local dealerships. In fact, you are competing with thousands of online listings, many showcasing the same models. Now the question arises, how can you make your used cars stand out online from others? The answer lies in presentation, engagement, and trust.
In this blog, we will guide you through the best practices and strategies from professional car photography and compelling descriptions to trust-building tactics and social media engagement. These strategies will surely help you boost your sales and conversions, so read them carefully till the end.
High-Quality Visuals Are Non-Negotiable
In online car listings, first impressions are everything. The way you present your cars directly impacts buyers’ decisions, whether they want to click on your listing or just scroll past it. Unfortunately, many dealerships use dull, rigid car images shot from awkward angles. This makes the listings less appealing. So, how can you make your listing look more appealing and stand out from others? Many dealerships consider hiring a professional photographer, but that’s not always a smarter or more cost-effective solution. Here’s a better solution for you:
1. Professional Car Photography: Capture clean images from your phone, camera, or any device you have. The images should have clutter-free backgrounds and be shot in proper lighting to highlight the details. Take shots from different angles, including the front, rear, side, interior, wheels, and engine.
2. AI Image Enhancement Tools: Utilize Spyne AI tools to enhance your images. Remove the background or replace it with studio-like backgrounds. Perfectly adjust the colors, fix glares, adjust lighting, and sharpen images for consistency. Using Spyne’s AI tools, you can standardize your entire inventory for a professional, branded look.
3. 360° Views & Virtual Tours: Presenting your car does not mean only showcasing photos. You have to provide a 360° view and a virtual video tour. Create studio-grade 360° spin views and virtual tours using Spyne AI, and let your buyers explore both interior and exterior views from their couch. This way, you will offer your browsers an immersive, interactive showroom-like experience and build trust.
As a dealership, it is important to understand that visuals aren’t just about showcasing your car. They are key to more clicks, engagement, and successful conversions.
Create Attention-Grabbing Listings
Once your visuals are ready, it’s time to let your words seal the deal through compelling titles. Many dealerships make the mistake of using the same generic titles and descriptions, like “2018 Honda Civic, good condition, 50k miles.” These kinds of listings do not excite buyers. To grab the attention and stand out in this competitive marketplace, you need to create an eye-catching listing and highlight what makes your car special. So, how do you create attention-grabbing listings? Let’s discuss in brief:
1. Create Compelling Titles: Your titles are the second most important thing people see in your listings, after images. So, make sure not to use generic titles like “2018 Honda Civic”. Instead, highlight features to add value to your listings.
- Example: Generic title: “2018 Honda Civic, good condition.” These are generic titles and do not excite people. Instead, use: “Certified 2018 Honda Civic – Sunroof | Smooth Ride | Great Value”. Adding a few descriptive words to your title will boost your search appearances and attract more people’s attention.
2. Story Telling In Car Descriptions: Stop using plain facts in your descriptions, create a story to make your descriptions more engaging and interesting. Buyers often connect with stories. Mention its background, how well it’s maintained, or what kind of lifestyle it suits best.
- Example: A well-maintained 2018 Honda Civic EX with low mileage, sunroof, and smooth performance. Certified and ready to drive home today.
3. Highlight Value Add-ons: Don’t just list the cars, sell a complete experience. Add extra features and benefits in its description that come with it to add more value to your listings. Such as:
- Extended warranty and free service offers.
- Certified inspection or CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) tag.
- Easy financing or trade-in options. These small details make your listings more convincing and trustworthy. Also, they give buyers the confidence to choose you over competitors.
Quick Tip: In the description sections, don’t just describe the vehicles, write them as if you are speaking to buyers. The more relatable and genuine your tone is, the more people are likely to reach out.
Leverage Video & Interactive Content
High-quality Images are great to have, but don’t ignore using the videos. While images help buyers see the car, videos help them to feel it. Videos often build trust and make buyers believe what they see. Videos feel more realistic and authentic, not just staged. Here’s how you can use videos and interactive content to make your listings stand out from others:
1. Short-Walk Around Videos: Shoot and create 1-2 minute clips showing both interior and exterior with a 360° spin view. Highlight all its key features and show every part that buyers care about, like dashboard lights, engine, infotainment system, trunk space, and more. You don’t need high-end equipment for this; all that you need is your phone, perfect lighting, and a steady hand.
2. Customer Testimonial Clips: Include clips of your customers’ experience dealing with you. This will bring more credibility and build trust. Encourage your buyers to shoot a short video clip after making a purchase, talking about their experiences and why they chose your dealership. These testimonials act as social proof, reassuring new customers that you’re trustworthy and transparent.
3. Utilize AI Video Editing Tools: If you don’t know how to shoot or edit a video, then no worries, you can utilize Spyne’s AI-powered video builder tool. You can either shoot short video clips or images of your cars to generate featured videos or a video tour. There’s no need for hours of editing, costly equipment, or professional photographers. Our AI tool automatically stitches together visuals, adds motion effects, and even includes text overlays, giving you a ready-to-upload clip in minutes.
Use Trust Signals to Build Confidence
While visuals and compelling listings attract buyers, ultimately, trust closes the deal. People want to know that they are making a safe and reliable choice. It means you have to present yourself as a credible, transparent, and professional dealership. Here’s how you can build that trust and confidence in buyers:
1. Display All Certifications: Make sure to highlight all the certifications, such as:
- Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) badges
- Inspection Reports
- Service Records
- Warranty Certificates
- Vehicle History Reports
These certifications reassure buyers that all cars are thoroughly inspected and meet all the standards. The clearer and visible your certifications are, the more trustworthy your listings appear.
2. Showcase Dealerships Rating & Reviews: Online reviews are powerful and influential. Many people check dealership ratings and reviews before making a purchase just to feel confident about their decision. Therefore, highlight your Google ratings, testimonials, and customer feedback in your listings. Generally, dealerships with 4.5 or a higher rating are considered trustworthy and reliable.
3. Transparent Pricing & Reports: Be transparent about your pricing and provide access to vehicle history reports like CARFAX or AutoCheck. After knowing the whole story behind the car and that there are no hidden costs, buyers feel secure in making a purchase. Being a transparent dealership will help you build buyers’ trust and speed up the decision-making process.
Optimize for Search & Platforms
Having the best listings that are not visible to buyers means nothing. All your effort and investment will be zero. That’s why optimizing your listings for searches and platforms is also as important as other things. Let’s discuss how you can optimize your listings:
1. SEO for Car Listings: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps your listing appear in relevant searches on Google and other platforms. Instead of using generic terms, use specific keywords buyers search for.
- Example: Instead of using “Used Toyota Corolla”, use “Used 2018 Toyota Corolla LE in Dallas, TX under $15,000”. You can also add location keywords (City name or zip code), specific trims, mileage, or features to make your listings more searchable and appealing to buyers.
2. Cross-Posting Strategy: Don’t just stick to one platform; utilize different platforms to share your car listings. Here are some platforms you can share your listings:
- Your dealership website
- Popular car marketplaces like Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus, and TrueCar.
- Social media channels such as Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts
Quick Tip: The more places your listing reaches, the more chances you will have to find verified buyers who are actually interested in buying your cars.
Further, when posting your listing across different platforms, keep a uniform look and feel. Use the same logo, same style of photos, consistent descriptions, and a clear tone of voice. Remember, consistency builds trust and brand recognition, making buyers more comfortable engaging with your dealership.
Personalize the Customer Experience
Buying cars online is overwhelming, and buyers often feel lost in the process of comparing models, checking prices, and features. So don’t let your browsers think that you are just selling cars. Make your buyers feel that you are helping them to make the right decision by providing:
1. Conversational AI: Buyers these days want genuine and helpful conversations rather than automated chatbot replies. That’s where Spyne’s Conversational AI comes in. This smart assistant interacts and resolves buyers’ queries instantly, just like a real salesperson.
2. Financing Calculators & Trade-In Estimators: Help your buyers understand what’s under their budget. Utilize interactive tools like loan calculators or trade-in estimators, which allow buyers to see monthly payments, potential savings, and trade-in values.
Showcase Social Proof & Engagement
Utilize social media to engage with your audience, make connections, and build trust. Buyers often want to see real experiences and feel part of a community, not just scroll past listings. Here’s how you can engage with your audience:
1. Share Customer Delivery Moments: Post car photography and short videos of your customers receiving their cars. Share all those happy moments to create relatable and authentic content that builds confidence in your dealership.
2. Create Interactive Posts: Engage your audience with polls, quizzes, or guess games like “Guess the Price of This SUV” or “Which color fits this model best?” These posts will make your social pages more interactive, memorable, and fun, and will engage your potential buyers.
3. Encourage User-Generated Content: Ask your buyers to post images and videos about their purchase and tag your dealership. User-generated content is powerful, influencing, and it acts as social proof, showing that real people trust you.
Conclusion
The used car market is growing rapidly, and so are the buyers searching online. In this competitive market, simply uploading a few images and details is not enough. If you want to stand out from the others, you need to showcase your cars with high-quality visuals, write compelling titles and descriptions, engage with buyers, and use online marketing to reach out to more potential buyers. Every car photography, video, or description you post should make buyers feel confident and excited to take the next step.
Make every listing count with studio-grade visuals powered by Spyne AI. Book a demo for free now and see for yourself how AI-enhanced visuals boost your listings online and sell faster.
FAQ’s
1. How many photos should I include in a used car online listing?
Use 9-15 high-quality images, including both exterior and interior. These images should be captured from different angles, showing all the major features and parts of your car.
2. Should I include both good and bad points about the car?
Yes, being transparent about your cars builds trust. Buyers often look for honesty, and hiding any flaws can backfire during inspection or negotiation.
3. Is AI image editing safe to use for car listings?
Yes, as long as it is used ethically. Many AI tools mislead about the car’s condition, and that’s unethical, which could also hurt your reputation. Use Spyne’s AI-imaging solutions to enhance clarity, not to hide defects.
4. Are chatbots still relevant?
In some cases, they are, but buyers these days want to have a meaningful and helpful conversation, which chatbots can not do. Spyne’s Conversational AI is a better solution, it interacts with buyers just like a real salesperson, instantly addressing their questions and concerns.
5. What is a description of a vehicle?
A vehicle description often includes a short summary of the car’s details, like year, make, model, mileage, condition, features, and any added benefits.
