The immediate results suggest that the automotive industry is set for an expansion this year, as social distancing measures and concerns about the novel coronavirus has prompted consumers to invest in personal transportation. The global pandemic has fuelled the comeback of cars, pummelling sales like no other crisis in history. In the eyes of regular people, vehicles are the ultimate personal protection equipment, finding it unnecessary to use public transport methods. Needless to say, competition is fierce and automotive dealerships have to be on top of their game if they wish to win over new clients. 

In a world of ever-increasing competition and outlandish customer expectations, video marketing is an effective means of promoting your brand. Not only can promotional films boost engagement to grow social media and website audience, but also offer information about the vehicles. It is not exactly the next big thing, but video plays an important part in marketing your business. The idea of going digital might sound strange for someone who is used to traditional marketing mediums such as TV, but you have to step out of your comfort zone if you want to beat your competitors during COVID-19. 

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind. 

Hire a professional video production company 

So, you have watched a couple of YouTube tutorials and now you are thinking that you can shoot high-quality promotional films at the office. You have the best smartphone that money can buy, after all. Indeed, mobile devices have gotten better with time, yet convenient as they may be in terms of shooting video, they do not guarantee professional results. It is better to hire professional videographers. Look for a company specialised in providing corporate video production services. Making a video advertisement for a product or a company is a job that is best left to the professionals. 

An experienced team of videographers can help you stay focused on practical ideas based on the most efficient method to remain aligned with your marketing goal. The result is a high-quality video that highlights the best aspects of your dealership. Making and producing your own videos is a fun and exciting experience. Nonetheless, let your creative juices flow in your free time. When it is time to get down to business, count on the pros. Marketing is paramount for the success of your automotive dealership. Do not leave it to the amateurs. 

Provide video content that people actually want to watch 

It is no secret that people are consuming more video content than ever before. According to the experts at Oberlo, the current global average of video consumption per day stands at 84 minutes. Using promotional films is the best strategy when it comes down to connecting with the target audience. The question now is: What do people want to see? Since you asked, these are the types of content that prospective buyers love to watch: 

• Tutorials

• Customer testimonials

• Video tours of cars 

• Sales event videos

• Meet the Staff videos

The good news is that you do not have to reinvent the wheel. All you have to do is provide current and prospective customers engaging clips that teach them a thing or two. Just so you know, people love to know what is going on behind the scenes. If you can offer exclusive insight into a project or situation and incorporate lots of raw footage, you would be on the winning side. Make sure the clips have a video and audio component. It will make things more interesting and add a professional touch. 

Do not ignore the SEO potential in automotive video marketing 

Are you ready to produce your best SEO content? Video is underutilized in the world of search engine optimization in spite of the fact that it generates social shares and attracts the attention of car shoppers. Providing consumers the info they need is how you attract them to your automotive dealership. It is essential to choose the right video hosting platform. If you are not interested in driving traffic to your company website, YouTube and Vimeo are options worth exploring. Once the promotional film is indexed, the traffic goes to them instead of your site. 

On the other hand, if your aim is to increase website traffic, look into alternative hosting platforms such as Flickr and Vzaar. The video content should have a good internal linking structure; otherwise, it will be ignored by passing visitors. It is recommended to include a video transcript because it will increase the understanding of the content. Maybe someone is experiencing audio issues. Does that mean that they should not be able to enjoy the clip? Transcribing videos makes them more scrapable by search bots, so you can rank higher in the search engine results. 

Do not hesitate to repurpose old videos 

Old video content is highly valuable, so do not even think about discarding it. Just think about the time and money you can save. Break down your videos into shorter clips. The video production company you just hired will be able to help you in this respect. Twitter, for example, only offers previews, so the promotional film should not exceed 30 seconds. If you are planning on recruiting new members for the team, merge the Meet the Staff video with a digital tour of the automotive dealership. You can reach out to more candidates and grab their attention. 

Here is another idea: transform the video transcripts into blog posts. If you tweak the content a little bit, it will become unrecognizable. You can include closed captions with videos for those watching without audio. The only thing you have to do is to upload the transcript of the clip. It is that simple. Google cannot read visual content, but it does index captions. It is a win-win situation. Whatever you do, do not discard old videos because they can be put to good use. Once you have finished planning and shooting, video has a short lifespan. As mentioned earlier, there are ways to prolong its life.