Three Automotive Content Styles You Can Use in Your Marketing
One thing I’ve learned over the years of working in automotive content is the huge variance in tones of voice from one company to another. Some are very corporate and to-the-point, others like to have a lot of fun with their content, while some just produce fluffy stories because they feel like they should be posting something.
Car enthusiasts, industry professionals, EV owners, fleet managers, and other groups within automotive all respond to different tones, styles, and types of content. So, first and foremost, you need to consider your audience and this might take some experimentation and research. The hyper-masculine, petrolhead vibe isn’t as relevant as it once was and might alienate some of your customer base. But, in the same vein, a planet-first approach to driving that’s heavy on the moral judgment is going to do little to please a varied customer base.
Of course, these two tones can work for very specific audiences but you really need to know who you’re talking to. This is an article for another time but it’s worth really digging down into your audience to discover what they value, the content they enjoy reading, their interests, and how they spend their money — alongside the usual demographic information of age, location, income, etc.
Once you understand your audience, you can start to create content that they’ll engage with. These three automotive content styles can be used for almost any audience.
Lifestyle content
This kind of content looks at the lifestyle of your audience. For most, this means talking about vehicle ownership, topics that interest car enthusiasts, road trips, industry trends, and more.
While this is mostly used within the B2C world, it can be used for B2B customers too. Business customers still want to read content that’s relevant to their lifestyles. While you might not be posting something on the best Bond cars of all time for your business audience, you might post something on the best looking truck modifications.
There’s always the risk that lifestyle content ends up being fluffy with no real substance. No matter what kind of content you’re creating, you need to avoid this. If a piece of content doesn’t serve your audience in some way, it’s never going to help you reach your goals.
At the very least, this kind of content should be entertaining but it can be so much more than that, it can inform at the same time.
A few years back, I worked on a content project for Peugeot to create some road trip content. The goal was to engage with customers, fostering loyalty, word of mouth referrals etc. While this was clear lifestyle content, it served another purpose too. It inspired customers to take their own trips and, without being obvious, it put Peugeot at the centre of that conversation.
Further inspiration:
These Classic Cars Will Pay for Themselves (Drivetribe)
Is This the Best Driving Road in Austria? (Influx)
Product content
This is an often-overlooked content type because it can feel too salesy, which readers don’t respond to. Done right, though, product-led content can be a powerful tool to softly introducing your product line to new people, informing exisiting customers, and moving interested buyers closer to the sale. Product content might be car reviews — which are fantastic for SEO but there’s a lot of competition — or a simple showcase of a product. These can work but you can get so much more from your product content with a little creative thinking.
Again, think about what your customers want. An announcement of a new part is great but it’ll only get you so much interest. Instead, consider installation guides for that part, or perhaps a case study showcasing the key benefits of the product.
You can also blend product content with lifestyle pieces. Perhaps a top-10 list on the easiest car modifications, where one or two contain something you sell. There’s so much opportunity to be creative here so take the time to sit down and really strategise your content beyond the easy stuff such as announcements.
Further inspiration:
10 Tools That Get the Job Done Fast (Advance Auto Parts)
15 Best Hybrid Vehicles (CarMax)
Technical content
Depending on the area of automotive you work in, there could be a lot of scope for technical content to serve your audience. This might be a step-by-step guide to fitting something you sell, a deep-dive into your manufacturing processes, or a commentary on new technical regulations affecting your business.
Not only does this content absolutely establish you as the expert but there can be a lot of benefit in talking about something technical in plain terms.
Part of an Advance Auto Parts article showing the parts and tools needed for the task.
In my experience working with auto parts companies, they’ve had a lot of success with technical guides; from simple tasks such as replacing a car’s headliner, through to more in depth jobs such as diagnosing a catalytic convertor issue and replacing the part.
The internet is a great tool for learning how to do things and this kind of content gets searched for time and time again. Bear in mind that, for complex tasks, a lot of people prefer to watch a step-by-step video so it might be worth filming some of your content. Failing that, make sure you have good quality photos that show each step of the process.
Further inspiration:
How to Replace a Catalytic Converter (Advance Auto Parts)
How to Change Spark Plugs (The Drive)
Automotive content needs to be tailored to your audience so understanding them should be your first port of call. A clear content strategy can set you on the right path but I think a little experimentation is always a good idea when it comes to seeing what your audience responds to.
If you need a little guidance or just want to run some ideas by us, don’t hesitate to get in touch.