Car Wars T&T— The Social Media Force Awakens

NICE NUMBER, NICE NUMBER… sure you recognize this; you’re fully aware of the video content that’s fueling competition among foreign-used car dealers in Trinidad & Tobago. It’s a textbook case for a social media marketing thesis on what really resonates with a target audience. A trend has emerged in a battle for dominance: a competition of creativity, frequency, and style in video posts. For dealers, the goal is simple: reach potential buyers and drive more sales. But is all this one-upmanship resonating with audiences, or is it just adding noise like ‘Nice Number’ to our newsfeeds in an ultimate race to the bottom?

These days, it’s not enough to simply showcase a vehicle; they aim to make the content itself memorable. It all starts with the hook, designed to be attention-grabbing and sharable. Each dealer is fighting for that extra edge, experimenting with content, themes, styles, formats, including pushing the envelope by offering the classic eye-candy to appeal to male buyers.

But while creativity has the power to make these used car dealers stand out, it can also risk overshadowing the main objective: showing off the car. If viewers remember the humorous skit but not the vehicle, the message may get lost in translation. But that’s not the question. The question we should be asking, is if the main objective is showing off the car, and the answer is NO.

There are two main objectives, none of them being the car; the first is branding, which is to get their business on the minds of customers. The second is to fill their sales funnel with potential buyers with the view being that the sheer raw numbers would result in a more conversions— not conversion rates mind you, that marketing concept is absent from their strategy. Conversion rates require focus on qualifying buyers, but in Car Wars, it’s all about raw numbers; all you only need have is a pulse.

Because video, especially short form, is the trending social media content format, our foreign-used car dealers are taking full advantage of this. Video posts generally receive higher engagement than static images or text-only posts, giving dealers a compelling reason to stay on the video track, especially TikTok which has immense organic reach.

However, overloading followers with constant video updates can also create “scroll fatigue.” While consistent posting helps keep a dealership top-of-mind, excessive posting risks making followers tune out. A good 80% or more of social posts on our T&T social feeds are video. Dealerships that mix up their content with a blend of videos, photos, and informative text posts tend to keep their audience engaged without overwhelming them.

How do you catch a Trini? Do you baffle them with brains or beat them with BS? At the end of the day, all the flash and frequency in the world won’t matter if the content doesn’t resonate with the audience. The rule of thumb on engagement rates, is that viewers would respond best to videos that feel authentic. Simple, informative videos that offer value to the viewer—like tips on finding the right car, financing advice, or after-sales service care—often perform better than flashy videos that are heavy on hype and light on substance.

Now absolutely, we Trinis like to laugh our bellies full, we’re happy-go-lucky like that, so by all means they should keep them coming. But viewers will still appreciate a dealership that educates them, rather than just advertising to them. After all, customers are shelling out upwards of $100K for these used vehicles. The sweet spot for dealerships seems to be creating videos that inform as well as entertain, positioning themselves as a trustworthy and knowledgeable source rather than just another gimmicky business vying for attention— and therein lies the rub.

The rub is the actual experience when the customer walks though your door. Does it live up to all the dealer promised, or do you steuups and shake your head wondering if these people are ‘fuh real’ when they catch you with the financing fine print?

Another ‘rub’. As a foreign-used car dealer in an already crowded, competitive space, do you dare going against the tide? By the looks of it, it does appear that the flashy, in your face videos are resonating because they are not going away. But while the knee-jerk reaction is to join them, you must understand that they don’t make the rules; they’re trying to play by them. The rules I’m referring to are marketing rules, and like I said in previous articles, they have never changed since the dawn of marketing.

So it would be in your best interest to NOT focus on what your competitors are doing— be aware and have a healthy regard yes, but not focus; instead focus on proper market analysis, strategy and execution. Do not underestimate the power of the quiet storm.

It would appear that the foreign-used car industry at the moment is more cutthroat, but it’s only a matter of time till all industries catch up. It’s getting increasingly competitive across the board as online marketing continues on the upward trend, and it remains the primary marketing media of choice. Relatively, other industries are keeping things robust, but standard.

Perhaps the reason is the enormous investment required to have a varied stock of foreign-used cars. For one, forex availability already limits volume, but the other factor is turning over inventory, you won’t want vehicles staying too long on the lot; after a while they start to use value. Cars are also not an impulse buy nor do customers have the disposable income that would allow for a short buying cycle. The majority of car sales are via bank loans and it’s getting so rough economically in T&T that 8 year loans are being offered when the standard was five.

As social media continues to play a pivotal role in car-buying decisions, dealerships are likely to keep evolving their video content strategies. But as they ramp up their creativity, frequency, and production quality, it’s worth remembering that the goal isn’t just to entertain; it’s to convert viewers into buyers.

In the end, it may not be the dealership with the flashiest videos or the highest posting frequency that wins—it’s the one that truly understands its audience. As dealerships continue their battle in the “Car Wars,” those who focus on authentic, informative, and targeted video content will likely emerge victorious. Or maybe we just chupid and dotish.