Why Car Dealers Need Video Marketing in 2025

By Renold Liu

October 27, 2025

Don’t just wait for customers to find you—be the dealership they already know before they start shopping.

Executive Summary

Video puts dealerships on the platforms where buyers actually spend their time—YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, and streaming TV.
It creates demand before a customer ever searches for a vehicle, ensuring your brand is already top of mind.
Video builds stronger stories and emotional connections than static ads, making your dealership memorable.
Competitors are already using video, and without it, you risk falling behind.
Only 1% of shoppers are in-market right now—video captures the other 99% so they think of you later.
Video positions dealerships as modern, trustworthy, and forward-thinking.

The Shift: Why Video Matters Now

For years, dealers have relied heavily on search ads and display campaigns. And to be fair, those still have a place in the marketing mix. But the reality is that consumer behavior has shifted dramatically. Buyers are no longer spending the bulk of their time on static webpages—they’re glued to video platforms. Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube, and streaming TV aren’t fringe platforms anymore; they’re central to how people consume media every single day.

If your dealership isn’t showing up in those feeds, you’re missing an enormous opportunity. Competitors who are investing in video are planting seeds with audiences that you may never reach. In today’s market, being absent from video platforms is essentially the same as being invisible.

Be Where Your Buyers Actually Are

When a dealership focuses only on search ads, they’re showing up in a space where customers have already decided to buy. That’s valuable, but it’s also late in the game. Video gives dealers a chance to connect with buyers earlier, in the environments where they spend hours scrolling, watching, and engaging.

Imagine this: a prospective buyer spends their evening swiping through Instagram or TikTok, and up pops a short, sharp dealership-branded video. Maybe it’s a testimonial, maybe it’s a lifestyle shot of a family road-tripping in a new SUV, or maybe it’s a dealership feature. Whatever the story, that moment plants a seed. Without video, you simply never enter that person’s awareness.

Create Demand Before the Search

One of the most important truths in automotive retail is that only a small percentage of people are actively in-market for a vehicle at any given time—about 1%. That means 99% of your potential customers aren’t shopping today, but they will be shopping at some point. The question is: when that moment arrives, whose name will they remember?

Search ads capture the 1%. Video works on the 99%. By using video consistently, you introduce your dealership before the buying process even begins. That way, when someone finally decides it’s time for a new car, they don’t just search “Honda dealership near me.” Instead, they already have your dealership’s name in their head. They’re familiar. They trust you. And that often means they go straight to your website or click your ad instead of a competitor’s.

Think of video as setting the table. You don’t wait for dinner guests to show up and then scramble—you prepare ahead of time so everything is ready when they arrive. Dealers who skip video are skipping that essential preparation step.

Win the Top-of-Mind Battle

Picture this scenario: a customer is browsing Google and sees two search ads. One is from a dealership they’ve never heard of. The other is from a dealership whose videos have been showing up in their feed for months—highlighting community events, showing off new models, maybe even featuring staff faces they recognize.

Which dealership do you think they’re more likely to click on?

That’s the power of video. It doesn’t just create a vague sense of awareness—it builds familiarity. And in a world where buyers are overloaded with ads, familiarity is everything. If your dealership has been consistently present in video content, you’ve already won the top-of-mind battle before the buyer even compares prices.

Tell Your Story, Not Just Your Price

Cars are not purely rational purchases. They’re emotional ones. Buyers don’t just want horsepower stats and financing rates—they want to imagine how a car fits into their life. That’s where video excels.

Static ads can only tell part of the story, usually centered around a price or a feature. Video, on the other hand, brings your dealership to life. It allows you to showcase your personality, highlight satisfied customers, and weave in narratives that show how your dealership is different. It transforms your marketing from transactional to relational.

When buyers feel like they know your dealership, they’re less likely to focus exclusively on price and more likely to see the value in buying from you.

Outshine the Competition

Competition in the automotive industry is fierce, and dealers are naturally competitive people. Video gives you a tool to separate yourself from the pack. By investing in modern, polished video content, you cut through the digital clutter that surrounds consumers every day.

Many dealers already view video as an opportunity to “be on TV,” and while that sounds old-school, the sentiment matters. Being present in video gives you the appearance of scale, leadership, and credibility. Customers assume that if you’re showing up in those spaces, you must be successful—and people want to buy from successful businesses.

Capture the 99% Who Aren’t Buying Yet

Let’s revisit the 1% rule. If you rely only on search ads, you’re essentially setting a trap and waiting for buyers to wander in. That works for the 1% who are ready, but what about the rest?

Video is the opposite of waiting. It’s proactive. It’s hunting, not trapping. With video, you can consistently reach the people who aren’t ready to buy yet and make sure that when they eventually are, you’ve already won their attention.

The best strategy is to use both—search ads for the 1% and video for the 99%. Without video, you’re relying entirely on existing market demand instead of creating new demand for your dealership.

Keep Your Dealership Leading-Edge

Finally, video sends a message—not just to customers, but to your entire market. It says: this dealership is modern. This dealership understands how people consume media today. This dealership is forward-thinking.

In contrast, failing to use video makes your store look behind the times. In an industry where perception is reality, that’s not a position you want to be in. By leaning into video, you protect your reputation and position your store as a leader in automotive marketing.

Final Takeaway: Don’t Wait—Lead

The question isn’t whether video works. The question is whether your dealership will use it to get ahead—or let competitors take the lead.

Video is no longer optional. It’s the difference between being top-of-mind when buyers are ready and being forgotten. It’s the bridge between today’s 1% of in-market buyers and the 99% who will be tomorrow.

Dealers who embrace video will: