Videos are a compelling way to capture the attention of potential car buyers. In fact, according to Google, video influences 75 percent of auto buyers during the decision-making process of purchasing a vehicle.
And, while you are probably already using videos to advertise your dealership, you can do far more with video marketing than simply shooting a commercial and uploading it to your website.
Today, we’ll take a look at nine creative and easy ways you can use video to market your dealership. These video marketing tactics are a great fit for dealerships of any size, and you can use each idea both organically and through paid campaigns.
1. Host an AMA with Your Service Manager
For most vehicle owners, an online search is a way to find out information about vehicle maintenance and repairs.
One of the top online searches regarding cars is “how to jump a car,” with more than 90,000 Americans typing this query into their search bar every month.
Other popular searches include:
- How to clean car seats
- How to paint a car
- How to remove scratches from a car
Additionally, vehicle owners use the web to locate information around maintenance intervals and research what type of parts and products they should use to repair their vehicles.
Here lies a great opportunity for your service department to gain the attention of potential customers. Every month, host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) with your service manager. Use this live event to answer maintenance questions, provide advice about vehicle repairs, and address any concerns customers might have about their vehicle’s performance.
Record this event, and upload the video to YouTube and other social channels. These events can become a powerful tool in reaching both existing and new customers. Not only that, but they can also help you improve your organic rankings around related keyword searches.
2. Provide Weekly Tips
When it comes to using videos to market your dealership, consistency is key. Every week, offer at least one short video with a quick tip to your customers.
These videos can be quick 60-second clips, and they don’t need to involve a ton of post-production work. From your sales staff to your financing team, ask team members to provide a single piece of advice. Weekly tips will help build trust between your dealership and your customer base.
Ideas for weekly tip videos include the following practical examples:
- Vehicle maintenance and repair tips: Your service mechanic might record a quick video highlighting the importance of frequent oil changes, providing advice on the frequency for the average vehicle.
- First-time car buyer tips: Your lead sales team member could record a two-minute video providing first-time car buyers advice on navigating the car-buying process.
- Financing tips: Your financing manager could record a short video defining common vehicle financing terms.
- Vehicle comparison tips: Your marketing team could create a short video discussing what features a car buyer should compare when looking at vehicle options.
Weekly tips can cover anything you want. The goal is to answer common questions your customers have and to provide valuable insights that will help position you as a thought leader in your community.
3. Showcase a “Day in the Life”
The more your customers trust you, the more likely they’ll turn to your dealership for sales and service needs. One great way to build this bond of trust is to highlight what a day in the life of your employees looks like at your dealership.
One day, you might follow around one of your lead mechanics, having the friendly tech explain the daily processes. Another day, you might spend the day showcasing the work your sales team does.
The goal of your “day in the life” videos should be to show off your dedication to your customers across teams. Every video should reinforce your dealership’s values, showcasing how you remain committed to these values throughout every single daily activity.
Not only are these videos entertaining and interesting for your customers to watch, but they can also be an important differentiator between you and your competition. They help define your brand and promote your identity.
4. Do Live Vehicle Walkthroughs
While many people are returning to in-person shopping as pandemic restrictions lift, many consumers still simply prefer to handle their shopping online. For these customers, live vehicle walkthroughs can be the perfect way to capture their attention.
Each week, host a live Facebook or YouTube event and provide a detailed walkthrough of one of the vehicles available in your showroom. For those who are too busy to stop into your dealership, seeing a live walkthrough can be the exact thing needed to convert that lead into a sale. From the comfort of home or even on-the-go, they can simply tune in, see a salesperson walk through every feature of a vehicle they are interested in, and learn just as much as they would have by coming to your showroom.
Make sure that when you host a live vehicle walkthrough, you include an easy way for interested buyers to contact a sales member. Whether it is via chat, text, or a phone call, create a clear path for conversion.
5. Compare Inventory Options
Another common online search among consumers revolves around vehicle comparison. During the research stage, customers will often head to Google to search for the differences between vehicle A and vehicle B.
This is where you have a great chance to provide value to these customers. Build out a library of videos that compare some of the most popular makes and models on the market. These videos can focus on the features each vehicle offers and stats around safety, gas mileage, and more.
Aim for adding at least one comparison video per month, allowing you to slowly build a larger and larger library of videos. Optimize each of these videos for search, tagging them with relevant keywords and adding a call to action for interested buyers.
6. Get the Financing Team Involved
Beyond just having questions around the vehicle itself, when they are researching the purchase of a new or used car, many customers have a lot of questions about financing.
Get your financing team in front of the camera, and build a collection of videos discussing the ins and outs of vehicle financing.
Topic ideas for financing videos include the following questions:
- Can I get financing with a low credit score?
- What will my monthly car payment be?
- Can you break down common financing terminology into plain English?
- How are financing terms determined?
- What is the process for applying for vehicle financing?
7. Highlight Team Members
Put a face to your dealership by creating videos that highlight team members. Not sure where to start? Use the following template:
- Start with a basic introduction. This should include the individual’s name, job title, and location.
- Next, ask a fun question. What’s the person’s favorite hobby? Favorite food? This question should bring out your team member’s unique personality.
- Follow up with a question about work. How long has the person worked for your dealership? How did the individual choose this career path?
- Close with a focus on the customer. Ask your team members to share why they care about the customer and how they showcase that in their work.
Team member videos are another excellent way to build trust between you and your customers. Not only that, but when your customers personalize your dealership, they are more likely to choose you over another competitor when pricing and services are similar.
8. Create First-Time Car Buyer Guides
For those who have never purchased a vehicle, the process can feel daunting. These car buyers are extremely likely to use the internet to research details about the process.
Take the time to outline the car-buying process and build a series of guides aimed toward first-time buyers.
These guides might include any of the following information:
- What a first-time car buyer can expect to spend on a down payment
- What features a first-time car buyer should consider when comparing vehicles
- What to expect during the sales process
- What financing options are available for first-time car buyers
- The difference between leasing and purchasing a vehicle
Bonus Tip: Reuse your own work! If you already created content around financing for a tips video, pull that snippet into your first-time car buyer guide. If your sales team has already talked about what the purchasing process looks like, pull a piece of that into your guide. Don’t be afraid to reuse clips across videos.
9. Have Fun with It!
Video should be fun. It should be creative. And it should showcase what makes your dealership unique. Don’t hesitate to think outside the box.
If your team hosts an annual Halloween party, create a video about it. If you take time every month to volunteer at a local charity, turn that event into a video.
The key to reaching people through video is to make it personal. People watch videos because they are engaging, and they tell a story. Don’t edit out the mistakes. Allow your team to shine through. And, above all else, be authentic.
Talk to J&L Marketing About Video Marketing
At J&L Marketing, we have years of experience assisting dealerships with their digital marketing strategy. An important part of any dealership’s online presence should be the use of high-quality video to market to both new and existing customers.
If your team is interested in using video to market your dealership, talk to our team about how we can help. We will be happy to work with you to build out a robust video marketing strategy. From helping you design videos to assisting you with building paid marketing campaigns, we will work with you to make your dealership stand out from the rest. The result is that you can increase your reach through the power of video, leveraging assets you already have.
