Today’s car buyers have more options than ever, and I’m not talking about heated seats and sunroofs. Your audience has hundreds of dealerships, thousands of independent sellers, and millions of online resources at their disposal.
Thankfully, dealerships have a few options of their own to help them stand out and capture leads. One of the most trending and strategic is automotive video marketing.
Keep reading for easy-to-implement tips from the automotive division of one of Houston’s top digital marketing agencies.
What To film
Before you start wondering around your showroom with an iPhone and no ideas, spend some time developing a content marketing strategy. Not sure how? Read The Framework for a Successful Automotive Marketing Strategy.
Once you have a strategy in place, support it with the following types of videos:
Vehicle Highlights
Customers aren’t impressed by stock images on your website, but you will catch their attention if you can show them the actual vehicle in your inventory. Your customer wants to be able to picture themselves driving the car, and you want that car to come from your dealership, so lose the stock photography and give them what they want…a picture of their soon-to-be new car!
Consider filming a walk-around of every vehicle on your lot, and a test drive or detailed review of some of your premium models.
Service Highlights
Vehicle sales are only one stream of revenue; most dealerships also have a parts and service department.
Consider filming your shop manager talking about your services or take a video tour of your service bays and waiting rooms.
Employee Highlights
Customers value authenticity and look for ways to build connections. Think about ‘the experience’ they’ll have at your dealership and let your sales team shine… after all, they’re the personalities that connect with customers.
And when a connection is made, be sure to film a video testimonial too!
What to Consider
Scripting, filming, and editing these videos will require both time and talent. Even if you have access to a nice camera, lights, and microphones, it’s still beneficial to partner with an agency to handle strategy and execution.
We suggest producing at least two videos per month and investing in paid ads to make sure they’re seen by your target audience.
Where to Post
Over 50% of automotive website traffic now comes from mobile devices, so wherever you post, make sure your video files are optimized for mobile.
Standard platforms include:
Social Media
Most dealerships approach their social media as another box to check periodically during the week. Don’t be that dealership. The reality is that social media isn’t about likes, it’s about ROI.
YouTube
According to Google, 70% of people who used YouTube as part of their car buying process were influenced by what they watched. So, post your videos there!
Your Website
This one’s a given. Vehicle, service and employee highlight videos need to be on your website. Pro tip: Upload your videos to YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia and embed them on your site because search engines love sites that load fast.
For additional guidance on automotive video marketing, Contact Marketing Refresh.
P.S. Our automotive division will only work with one dealership make per area, so connect with us before your competition does!
