A picture may be worth a thousand words,
but is it worth a thousand dollars?
In the area of online video alone, the numbers are staggering. Nearly half of all web users watched online videos last year, a 45% growth over 2006. YouTube serves up more than 100 million videos a day. Should you be investing in online videos? How do you know it will work for your dealership?
To video or not to video
Dealership television commercials attract attention by using sight and sound, as well as colorful imagery, and remain successful mechanisms for creating both brand awareness and driving showroom traffic. Online video can generate similar results for dealers, and has already shown a capability to out-perform more traditional forms of online advertising, such as banner ads.
When done properly, an online video can be as persuasive as a television ad, a lot more cost-effective, and still provide a similar emotional connection with consumers. Many dealers agree. According to a new study by The Kelsey Group, 59% of auto dealers plan to use Internet video on their own websites within the next 12 months.
If you decide to join those dealers and create an online video of your inventory, you have several options at your disposal. You can use OEM-provided stock video, “repurpose” your existing TV ads, outsource the video creation to a professional, or even do it yourself.
- Use stock video – Most likely, a stock video is a very polished, engaging production, beyond what you could achieve on your own. And you don’t have to do anything—it’s already done. There’s a huge downside to this approach, however. You’re stuck showcasing only the vehicles the manufacturer wishes to promote, and you’re not showing your actual inventory.
- Repurpose your existing ads – The good news about reusing your existing local TV ad is that the ad’s already done. However, you might need to post the ad in a smaller, more accessible format size. The other good news is that it’s your brand and your product. The downside, of course, is you’re dependent on your television ad campaigns, which may not be focused on specific vehicles or as timely as you would like. And, similar to the OEM-video problem, consumers might not be attracted to what amounts to a rerunning of a 30 or 60-second TV spot.
- Hire a professional videographer – The chief advantage here is you buy your way out of the task. And, with luck and some research, you’re buying the services of a seasoned video professional. Although cost might be a disadvantage, another challenge could be the time it takes for an outsider to make the video, not to mention the inevitable distractions to your business.
Analyzing the effects on your business
Whatever online video path you choose to follow, you’ll want to track and measure its performance. Monitoring and improving your site traffic is where it pays to turn to professional search engine and website experts, rather than try and do it yourself. Fortunately, several vendors provide this online service for dealers. Internet marketing can be daunting, requiring everything from special search engine optimization coding to punching up pay-per-click ads for higher click-thru rates. Ways to test before and after:
- Did website visitors increase after video is applied to site?
- From software vendor SEO reports, have your searches increased after video?
- Add a “saw the video” section to your list of “How did you hear about us?”
- Gather reports on how many videos were sent on to a friend.
- Have the videos appeared elsewhere online, creating a viral campaign?
Whatever approach you take, make sure you plan your images, promote them online and monitor consumer response, to see if those videos actually make a difference. Like any new venture, it pays to first test the waters before jumping in the deep end. So, start small with a limited number of videos and test for success. If favorable reviews come in, then it might be time to green light online video for your dealership and start rolling more tape.
The bottom line: Even if you build it or video tape it, they may not come. There’s tremendous competition for eyeballs over the Internet, and it’s all about the search engine. The only way to know for certain if your online video makes a difference is to test your key performance indicators before adding video to your site and continue testing after adding it.
How to make an online video
If you don’t the like the above three choices, and you’ve decided to make your own online video, there are at least two ways to create the video yourself, both fairly simple and inexpensive:
Shoot the Video - The first way is to get a video recording device, such as a digital camcorder or even a Webcam and start shooting. The downside to this approach is you’ll need to invest in new equipment and learn how to use it; most likely, you’ll end up spending more time than you thought, but it’s clearly doable. Before running around with a camera, here are few points to consider:
- The best time to shoot the video is during the day, when the lighting is at its best. Remember to look and speak directly into the camera.
- You’ll need a script for the voice-over, of course, and a plan of action that lists your sequence of shots. You might also want to use video editing software.
- Above all, don’t forget to preview the video before posting.
Use vender software - The second way is to leverage your existing vehicle photos and use vendor software designed to compile those photos into a video. eBizAutos, for example, provides a software tool that makes building a video from still photos both very simple and very affordable. The tool also lets you select background music from a provided library of sound tracks, as well as record your own voice-over narration for the video. Once digital photos of your inventory have been taken, the software compiles the photos into an executable file format for the web. It’s easy. You make the video with a few mouse clicks. And the audio recording is equally as simple, taking only as long as it takes to get the words right. Plus, you can re-record your narration as often as you like.
