Top Interactive Content Ideas For The Auto Industry in 2023

A great marketing strategy requires you to always have the right speed, keep your eyes on the road and keep driving despite the inevitable roadblocks. However, most of the companies in the auto industry are just running on fumes. If you don’t want to be on that list, read on to discover the top interactive content ideas for the auto industry that you were missing out on!

An insight by NewsCred says that only three car brands, including Land Rover, Zipcar, and Mazda, made it to their list of top 50 content marketing brands. In other words, there is a vast opportunity that the auto industry needs to tap into to capture the hearts of potential car buyers, enthusiasts, and brand loyalists. According to a study, 85 percent of prospective buyers use the Internet to do their car research.

While websites like Cars.com are becoming popular destinations for car research and shopping online, 44 percent of people also visit Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) sites. This is the place where the visitors can be converted into leads.

How do you do it? – By placing interactive content throughout the buyer’s journey. As a customer moves from the awareness stage towards the consideration stage and finally to the decision stage, you would be there to engage with them at all stages.

This article will walk you through different types of interactive content that are not only click-worthy but provides the users with the valuable information they seek to move from top to bottom of your marketing funnel. Let’s get started!

Top of The Funnel

This is the stage where the users realize that they have a problem or a need that demands a solution. This is called the Awareness stage. So, the research done by the users here is educational in nature. They may be trying to understand what triggered this problem in the first place in order to better define it. So you, as an automotive company, can help them understand if they really want a car.

Outcome Quizzes

You may target a lead looking for alternatives to buying a new car by posing a quiz like “Which Car Is Right for You: New or Used?”. This can be a self-discovery step making them more confident about the decision they are taking.

You can also use an outcome quiz like ‘Which Car Should You Go For?’ to make users understand what they are inclined towards. This can be a smart way of spreading brand awareness. These elements can also act as interactive ads leading to establishing brand recall and attracting new leads.

You can utilize this opportunity to get the details of your lead by placing a lead generation form right before the results. This is also a great place to educate them about your offerings by placing product recommendations at the end.

Contest Giveaways

Who doesn’t like giveaway contests that can score them some freebies? And, when the giveaway is a car or related accessories, the response can be next-level.

Have a look at this – Win A Brand New 2021 Toyota Truck.

Hard to ignore for a person who’s been researching about it, isn’t it? The probability of a person signing up for the contest and sharing it with their community is quite high when you pitch the right customer at the right time. You can further nurture these leads generated and drive them to conversions.

Personality Assessments

Being one of the most buzz-creating elements, personality assessments pull people like magnets! Look at this personality assessment “Which Car Best Fits Your Personality?”.

Incorporating these interactive content types on your page won’t just drive traffic, but also help your segment your leads into different categories. Have a look at the results. For example, users who get ‘Sedan’ as their result can be categorized into one segment and can be later retargeted with sedan ads to increase the chances of conversion.

In fact, you can make these results shareable to gain more traction and generate more leads.

These interactive content ideas for the auto industry will help customers finally give a name to their problem and move on to the next stage of the funnel.

Middle Of The Funnel

So, the problem is defined. Now, what? Time to address those problems. This is the Consideration stage. Customers usually would now start finding and analyzing different ways to solve the problem they just identified. And hence, this is a crucial stage for marketers.

Outcome Quizzes

Look how Wheels24 designed their quiz – What Your Next Car Should Be? By asking questions regarding a customer’s taste and preferences, the outcome quiz gives a personalized suggestion and product recommendation.

Note how Wheels24 suggests buyers consider their products in order to solve their underlying problem.

Once your customers understand their options, you can lead them to another important step with a quiz, like Should I Buy or Lease My Next Vehicle? This quiz designed by Toyota Financial Services questions the users on their car usage and driving patterns to help them decide if they should finance or lease their next car.

Calculators

Another very important aspect of the consideration stage is analyzing the options that suit the customer’s budget. And what’s better than interactive calculators?

Edmunds came up with a calculator for How many cars Can I afford? A calculator like this helps customers understand their total budget and make choices accordingly. In addition to that, it is easier for brands to segment the leads for remarketing purposes.

Cars.com also came up with another successful calculator called Car Affordability Calculator.

Bottom Of The Funnel

Now that you have made it to the bottom, pay attention. Your customer has defined the problem, considered the multiple options he has, and now it’s time to select the final product. This is the Decision stage. And, here you need to make your customers decide that your product is the best solution to their problem and they should go ahead with the purchase without any second thoughts.

Calculators

Again, calculators come as an intelligent and interactive way of providing value to customers. Outgrow came up with a fantastic calculator for automobile companies like Tesla, “How much can you save by buying a TESLA?”. 

This calculator outcome enlightens the customers on how much will they save if they go for a Tesla as compared to other automobiles. These kinds of calculators definitely take you closer to success.

Another great way can be using an ROI calculator like How Much EMI Would I Pay For Jaguar XF? to show a quantified benefit of your product to your customers. Specific to the model of the car one chooses, this calculator helps analyze the costs making your lead more confident in their decision.

Similarly, you can also consider offering an Auto Lease Calculator to your leads to help them assess their costs and savings if they wish to lease the automobile.

Finally, insurance plays a big role when accounting for the total costs a car will have. Hence, you may offer a Car Insurance Coverage Calculator that helps your customers calculate their total costs and make wise decisions.

Closing the Funnel Loop

The buyer’s journey is never a straight line. Even after you convert your customers, there are many areas where you can use interactive content ideas for the auto industry to take your marketing efforts and results to the next level.

Customer Satisfaction And Retention

Auto is one such industry where the product may require a lot of post-sale efforts to retain and satisfy customers. Not only for repeated sales, but happy customers act as influencers and bring a lot of leads to your brand.

Chatbots

Chatbots are excellent tools to maintain a human-like connection with customers and engage with them to solve all their queries. Have a look at how Mercedes-Benz extends a human interfaced chat system to convert leads into customers and customers into happy customers.

Surveys/Polls

Another excellent way of ensuring customer satisfaction is by incorporating surveys and polls in your marketing strategy. Customers want to be listened to. And, a survey can give them the opportunity to express their issues or doubts they may have. Not only that, but this can also open gates for marketers to understand what measures should they take to improve their customer experience and retention.

Have a look at how to gain an understanding of a user’s concerns with the Toyota Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Moreover, you can also get some motivation from the Tesla Mobile App Walkthrough for enhanced interactivity and providing an ultimate guide to the users.

So, Is Your Brand Driven By Interactive Content?

It was a long path, but definitely the path to success. Inculcating these interactive content ideas to drive your auto marketing strategy will take you to the finishing line. You just need to keep testing and having fun with different types of interactive content ideas to make sure it’s working out well for all stages of your buyer’s journey. So with that, off you go! But, as we said: the buyer’s journey is a loop. So, if you have any queries for us, hit the comments section or our chatbot and we will take it from there!