In virtually every industry, the use of video marketing has skyrocketed in the last few years. Auto dealers have been slower to adapt, but the majority have tried video marketing with varying degrees of success.
Unfortunately, there are still common myths about video marketing that prevent some dealers from trying, and benefiting from, the advantages it delivers. Have you ever heard these myths?
1. Video is Too Expensive
Many dealerships feel that video is too expensive because they incorporate a “single purpose” video strategy. This is when you purchase multiple video “types” from multiple video providers in order to have the right video content for various campaigns on different touch points.
With this strategy, you end up purchasing video content with a single purpose and an expiration date, while a multi-purpose video strategy would be much more cost effective and you could repurpose video content across multiple touch points and marketing campaigns, with no expiration date. This makes video content very affordable — especially when you consider the increased engagement and conversion that video delivers.
2. Video Takes Too Much Time
Video marketing doesn’t have to be time-consuming. For inventory videos, data proves that even the old, stitched-photo video slideshows are better than having no video at all.
If you want full-motion inventory videos, most lot-service companies now shoot videos in addition to taking photos. If you’re DIY, it’s easy to shoot a video and then extract the photos you need from that video. You can even upload video footage from your phone to a platform where the video production process is completed automatically.
Today, even your value proposition, customer testimonial and FAQ videos can be auto-generated, requiring little time and cost.
3. Video Requires Creativity and Expertise I Don’t Have
We live in a video world. I bet that you have several people on your team who have mad video skills and could generate some creative content for you if given the opportunity. Start with your staff (or their friends/family) and see what kind of creativity you have at your fingertips. Have a contest and offer a small prize.
If you don’t have anyone on your team who has the time or interest in learning how to create videos, it’s worth it to hire a local video production company or one that specializes in the automotive industry. Your videos will be professional, polished and you’ll be able to get a lot of mileage out of them.
Make the most of it by producing several videos at once. Have the experts create videos in each of the following categories:
• Value proposition/why buy
• Service “how to”
• Customer testimonial/happy customer
• Staff introduction/get to know
• Thank you/birthday/anniversary
• Finance/education videos
4. Inventory Photos are Just as Good as Videos
This debate ended years ago — video is the very best way to merchandise your inventory. Would you rather look at a photo of a new vehicle, or see a video of it racing down a scenic road, that also shows the interior so you can picture yourself sitting in it?
To be effective, videos have to be part of a strategy that includes content, exposure, data collection and data utilization.
Videos fully engage attention, elicit emotion and generate excitement about a product or service in a way that photos simply cannot. Having full-motion inventory videos with a professional, engaging presentation is like teleporting a salesperson right into your customer’s living room.
5. Videos Don’t Get Results…I Tried So I Know
Many dealers try video and tell me it didn’t work. But what, exactly, is video marketing? Posting videos on your website VDPs or on YouTube is not a video marketing strategy. To be effective, videos have to be part of a strategy that includes content, exposure, data collection and data utilization.
We’ve already covered content. Start with inventory videos and once you’ve got those down, create a variety of videos to use.
The second step is exposure. Your strategy must incorporate a method for getting the right video in front of the right shopper at the right time of the buying cycle. In addition to your website, your dealership should distribute all your videos on YouTube and other social media channels, Cars.com, Autotrader.com, Craigslist and eBay.
Use videos in email marketing and have your salespeople use them in the lead follow-up process. The more places your videos are seen, the more customers will visit your website.
The next step in a video marketing strategy is data collection. Do you know who is watching your videos, when and how many times?
Many dealers use YouTube as a primary hosting platform for some of their videos, and then utilize different hosts for other videos. This separation of content makes it impossible to capture all of your viewing data, which makes controlling the customer experience and utilizing the data next to impossible. All videos should be hosted on a single platform. This gives your dealership control over your customers’ viewing experience while capturing and storing data for every viewer of every video.
The final step in a video marketing strategy is data utilization. Once you have collected video viewer data, then you can use the data to show your customers and prospects videos that are relevant to them.
It’s these final two components of a video marketing strategy — data collection and data utilization — that produce results. Most dealers fall short in these areas, which is why they don’t see the results they were hoping for.
The next time you hear one of these myths about video marketing, don’t be so quick to believe what you hear. With the combination of technology and creativity, your dealership can create a low-cost, high-return video marketing strategy without a lot of time or effort.
Click here to view more solutions from Tim James and FlickFusion.
