Dealership video content has quickly grown throughout the industry in the last few years, and it is yet another marketing strategy to set any dealership apart from its competitors. Dealership video can be utilized to create an entire package of video marketing to attract more consumers to your brand. However, with consumers more informed than ever before, certain and specific marketing ideologies need to be adapted to survive with this new type of well-informed consumer. The problem is, the current videos posted on the dealership’s website, Facebook, YouTube…Are terrible, and horrid, and all of the other synonyms associated with BAD. It doesn’t have to be though. If done correctly, dealership video content creates an engagement between the dealership and the customer. Staying current with what steps need to be taken in dealership video creation will help attract more customers, and also provide yet another branding tool that gives a positive ROI.

Video length is one of the most important aspects in dealership videos. Whether it be a YouTube highlight video, vehicle walk-around, etc., no video should be over 2-2.5 minutes in length. No matter the viewer’s demographics, people are generally used to having their content put front and center, as soon as possible. The longer showcase the video has, the less likely the audience will retain attention to the end.

Video quality and sound have more of an effect on the viewer than most ever realize. With HD video content available in every arena, consumers are more than used to having the best quality picture and sound. If HD is not available, many move on before the video even gets going. When creating video content, avoid the “homemade” look of videos. Contrary to some beliefs, they’re not “quirky" and customers will not stick around long enough to find out what you have to present them. Cell phones can be used, but truly should not. Upgrade the dealership to an camera specifically made for video. It not only ticks the high definition box, it also will allow for a better sound quality.

Consumers expect video content to have actual “content” included. This is actually the most important aspect in creating videos for the dealership. This goes for everything dealership related. Long gone are the days where people expected dealerships to have hacked up advertisements or videos, where the GM shouted deals while an employee danced in an Uncle Sam costume, riding a flag-draped horse with country music played in the background. This video type should never have existed, nor should it exist today. The current automotive dealership gives more of a clean cut, modern, high tech feeling to its customers, and it must stay that way in all marketing strategies. By creating a simple content direction, the dealership is able to focus the ideology of the video to point toward the one subject that actually matters in the video itself; the dealership and the vehicles. Without this much needed direction the video ends up being still images. FYI, a vehicle video, is not considered a video if the images of the vehicle are just made to scroll using an after effect. It’s a pointless effort and please stop doing it.

Posting the video to the dealerships YouTube page, automotive marketplace sites, and the dealer site itself will, in many cases, dramatically increase the flow of meaningful traffic. No matter if the consumer is a baby-boomer or a millennial, having a well-planned and well executed video marketing strategy creates another relationship building tool, bridging the gap between the dealership and the consumer. Moving from a video to a showroom visit, and a consumer to a sale.

 Aubrey Hankins serves as Social Media Marketing Director for CRMSuite, a software company providing dealerships with industry leading, technologically advanced CRM Software. With almost 10 years of marketing and social media experience, he brings a wealth of informative automotive discussion and debate, all in order to help dealers sell more cars.