Customers want more VIDEO - What is (or would be) your strategy?

[Jeff Kershner]

Sprout Social's recent post - 9 stats social media marketers need to show their bosses ASAP
they summarized the 9 stats from their Social Index, one of those stats pointed out that 45% of consumers say they would like to see more video (particularly live) from brands.

I guess dealers could point to the manufacture, it being their responsibility but if you're looking for actual results from your own dealer's social marketing efforts then of course the videos would need to come from and represent your dealers "brand" AND the make you sell/represent.

"It’s clear that live video will become a must-have for social media marketing, and with live streaming options available across all the major social networks, there’s no easy way for brands to overlook this feature going forward."

"63% of social media marketers believe live video will become more important in the upcoming year, yet only 24% intend to create a strategy around video"

If this question were polled to only dealers, I'm sure the 24% would be closer to 1-2% that would have any intention. In-house production for 99% of dealers is out of the question and outsourcing would tend to be expensive and I doubt too many dealers would allocate the budget.

HOWEVER - I'm curious if any dealers out there ARE implementing a strategy around video and if so, mind sharing some of your strategies and how it's been successful?
What are the subject(s) of your videos? Feel free to share any examples...
Are you producing in-house (amature-ish) or outsourcing to an agency?

Okay, I'll go out on a limb here and highly doubt no one from a dealership answers the above questions BUT let's PRETEND you're at a dealership and you have the budget allocated - what WOULD BE your strategy?

Maybe you know of a dealer(s) that already has a strong presence and strategy with video and you can point to some of their examples?

Let's even open this up to any agencies out there in the industry that's producing video, or would at least like to produce and develop a strategy for a dealership... what are/would be some of your ideas?

ANYTHING you got, or you've seen from a dealership hitting it hard in the social video department that's worth sharing - please do so below!

 

[TabFlythe]

This topic is SO crucial to a dealership's social media marketing strategy. From our marketing strategy at Dealer Authority, we continue to see increased engagement and reach when we post a video on Facebook or Instagram. I can't wait to see some of the dealers' answers on this!

Something significant to take note of in a video marketing strategy is the length of videos. There will be times when you may need to go more in-depth, and the video will be longer, but once you start going over the several minute mark, your engagement starts dropping off.

Consider filming short clips (90 seconds or less) on your iPhone that can be quickly edited and posted. I am a huge fan of Filmora (check it out) for super easy editing and royalty-free templates and graphics.

 

[John.H]

I don't want to jump the gun here, but I don't think live or pre-made video is where people should be concentrating their organic posting efforts right now...

Sure, it works great. I remember a time when static photos worked well (and they still do, as far as ads are concerned). But times are changing.. and they're changing quickly.

From what I can tell, 3D (Augmented Reality) photos on Facebook have been a HIT! What better way to represent a product you're promoting than in an interactive and 3D way? Personally, I'd LOVE for Facebook to allow advertisers to promote 3D content through the ads manager.

At this time, Facebook doesn't allow it. However, I'm sure this will be offered to advertisers in the near future. And let me tell you, it's going to be fantastic when they do!

Many dealerships out by me are already capturing 3D photos of inventory. Many products and services are hitting the market, dedicated to photographing inventory seamlessly, quickly, and futuristically.

Clear indication for where things are headed, and where people should be, as far as organic posting is concerned. (strictly my own opinion)

 

[Alexander Lau]

https://forum.dealerrefresh.com/threads/content-is-dead-long-live-content-video-content.5928/
https://forum.dealerrefresh.com/thr...of-viral-social-media-trends.6333/#post-53247
https://forum.dealerrefresh.com/threads/best-inventory-video-vendor-poll.3507/

I remember companies that hacked videos (dynamically, until Google put the kibosh on them) for lead submissions back in the early 2000's. I think LeadPages were one of them. It was only a matter of time before Google injected in lead ads.

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2018/07/10/google-marketing-live

#5: Lead Ads On YouTube?!
For my money, this is the coolest thing that was mentioned in the entire keynote, yet it inexplicably received little more than lip service. Advertisers have been slaying with Facebook lead ads for some time now, but Google hasn’t had a comparable offering.

Until now…

Lead ads on YouTube will combine the unfathomable reach of the world’s most popular video platform with robust audience targeting and the ability to capture the contact information of valuable top of funnel prospects without asking them to go all the way to your website before forking it over.

Google also invented pivot tables! (They’re called “Instant Reports” and they exist to help those who own video ad metrics generate answers at lightning speed).

 

[TabFlythe]

I don't want to jump the gun here, but I don't think live or pre-made video is where people should be concentrating their organic posting efforts right now...

Sure, it works great. I remember a time when static photos worked well (and they still do, as far as ads are concerned). But times are changing.. and they're changing quickly.

From what I can tell, 3D (Augmented Reality) photos on Facebook have been a HIT! What better way to represent a product you're promoting than in an interactive and 3D way? Personally, I'd LOVE for Facebook to allow advertisers to promote 3D content through the ads manager.

At this time, Facebook doesn't allow it. However, I'm sure this will be offered to advertisers in the near future. And let me tell you, it's going to be fantastic when they do!

Many dealerships out by me are already capturing 3D photos of inventory. Many products and services are hitting the market, dedicated to photographing inventory seamlessly, quickly, and futuristically.

Clear indication for where things are headed, and where people should be, as far as organic posting is concerned. (strictly my own opinion)

Love the Facebook 3-D photo feature @John.H and totally agree that dealers should be using it often! If they add it to Facebook Ads that would be epic. But I still think that in order to build brand awareness and brand trust, even a minimal video strategy can make a big difference.

 

[Heather MacKinnon]

I'm a huge fan of employee bio videos. Proctor Honda does a great job of it here and shout out to Alex Jefferson. https://www.proctorhonda.com/meet-greg-miller It builds a personal connection between the consumer and salesperson (which I believe is highly underrated) Dealers can link this to their staff pages, send in outgoing email sigs and certainly leverage in social advertising. Helps to build trust and likability between prospects and your staff.

 

[TabFlythe]

I'm a huge fan of employee bio videos. Proctor Honda does a great job of it here and shout out to Alex Jefferson. https://www.proctorhonda.com/meet-greg-miller It builds a personal connection between the consumer and salesperson (which I believe is highly underrated) Dealers can link this to their staff pages, send in outgoing email sigs and certainly leverage in social advertising. Helps to build trust and likability between prospects and your staff.

Agreed @Heather MacKinnon! Bio videos are an excellent way for your customer to get to know your staff! It breaks down that "intimidation" factor when someone comes in for a test drive if they feel like they already know you when they arrive.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Agreed @Heather MacKinnon! Bio videos are an excellent way for your customer to get to know your staff! It breaks down that "intimidation" factor when someone comes in for a test drive if they feel like they already know you when they arrive.

I used to be a believer in that process (something I preached about seven years ago), but I'd tread very lightly if I were a dealer. Be casreful connecting every average sales rep with the public, you could be opening yourself up when something goes wrong and it always does with bad salesmen = highly documented on review sites like DealerRater et cetera. Rather, pick the best sales professionals of your pack rather than the entire lot, it makes a massive difference and you'll have people asking for the highlighted guy(s), which will only benefit your sales protocol. That could help you sell more repeat business cars, but there's no hard evidence to prove it.

 

[Heather MacKinnon]

I used to be a believer in that process (something I preached about seven years ago), but I'd tread very lightly if I were a dealer. I would not connect your average bozo salesman with the public, you're only opening yourself up when something goes wrong and it always does with bad salesmen = highly documented on review sites like DealerRater et cetera. Rather, pick the best salesmen of your pack rather than the entire lot, it makes a massive difference and you'll have people asking for the highlighted guy(s), which will only benefit your sales protocol. That could help you sell more repeat business cars, but there's no hard evidence to prove it.

I totally agree this is not a strategy fit for every dealer. The ones that employ sales people not fit for the public definitely should stay away from bio videos ; 0. My belief is that this is an excellent strategy for the dealerships with strong cultures, good solid staff, etc...and leveraging those bio videos in outbound communication especially with new prospects is a great competitive edge over the dealers that maybe don't have good cultures. I believe the majority of consumers if given the choice, would rather do business with someone likable or someone they can relate to rather than not or rather than the unknown

 

[Brian Tucker]

Love the suggestions and feedback! We use it more as a branding tool and highlight why we are different. This is something we are very proud of and it is completely free -