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Zach Houseknecht

Full Sticker + Prep
Jul 24, 2019
20
31
Awards
1
First Name
Zach
I have seen many threads, and many articles about the importance of video in the dealer space. To give you all some background I created a personal YouTube channel that was moderately successful for a time - https://www.youtube.com/zachhouseknechtgaming. I was consistent, creating exactly what my audience wanted - and essentially got burnt out, but also that whole space is difficult to be in. That being said, I also worked for a company and produced "product feature videos" but they were essentially vehicle build showcases. It was unique - covering emergency vehicle builds, it was a niche yes, but we made money on YouTube from it. - https://www.youtube.com/user/salladaservices And both of these were all with organic growth. No spend, just word of mouth and running along with trends.

That being said I feel like it's 10 times more difficult in a market where our vehicles are all essentially the same. Unless we do unique builds, or just how-to videos - how do you make video content that stands out from the sea of dealership car videos. I ask all this having some insight - me making gaming content - there was a sea of gaming content out there, and I differentiated myself by just "being me" and being consistent. But this seems like a much more difficult market to tap into. Unless you're going to do full fledged car reviews (which I'm personally not against) it just seems to be overloaded with content.

I have made these How-To videos and wanted to get all of your opinions on them - they are simple, involving very little equipment and very little editing. But I feel like videos like these will be good organically - and down the road. When someone buys the Gladiator second hand for instance and wants to know how to do something - I'm thinking the real long game here.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGaUQCYQB0M7AOEpZ41hJ5vrQbkzcoWaP
 
I have seen many threads, and many articles about the importance of video in the dealer space. To give you all some background I created a personal YouTube channel that was moderately successful for a time - https://www.youtube.com/zachhouseknechtgaming. I was consistent, creating exactly what my audience wanted - and essentially got burnt out, but also that whole space is difficult to be in. That being said, I also worked for a company and produced "product feature videos" but they were essentially vehicle build showcases. It was unique - covering emergency vehicle builds, it was a niche yes, but we made money on YouTube from it. - https://www.youtube.com/user/salladaservices And both of these were all with organic growth. No spend, just word of mouth and running along with trends.

That being said I feel like it's 10 times more difficult in a market where our vehicles are all essentially the same. Unless we do unique builds, or just how-to videos - how do you make video content that stands out from the sea of dealership car videos. I ask all this having some insight - me making gaming content - there was a sea of gaming content out there, and I differentiated myself by just "being me" and being consistent. But this seems like a much more difficult market to tap into. Unless you're going to do full fledged car reviews (which I'm personally not against) it just seems to be overloaded with content.

I have made these How-To videos and wanted to get all of your opinions on them - they are simple, involving very little equipment and very little editing. But I feel like videos like these will be good organically - and down the road. When someone buys the Gladiator second hand for instance and wants to know how to do something - I'm thinking the real long game here.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGaUQCYQB0M7AOEpZ41hJ5vrQbkzcoWaP
Hi Zach - I think you're off to a good start! I've seen dealerships come up with some pretty creative video content in the past. In addition to helpful how-to videos, you can also look around at customer reviews of vehicles and look for common questions that arise about those vehicles. In response, you can create videos answering those specific questions.

You could also discuss customization options and how to easily install certain features customers might want or be interested in if they bought a used car.

Hope these spark other ideas!
 
I agree with Joe, Zach, you're in the right frame of mind. Video is absolutely the preferred method of information-gathering for most consumers, and studies show that people retain more information from videos than reading. The thing that will differentiate you from the sea of others is the same as in your gaming experience - just be you (of in this case, just be your collective dealership). Get your staff and colleagues in on the videos. Record brief profile interviews with all your customer-facing employees, and some of the back-of-the-house folks, too. Don't just show a walk-around of a vehicle, have one of your salespeople take the viewer through a virtual demo, and maybe a virtual test-drive. Every business says that their people make the difference, and you can feature that difference in your videos. Let your customers get to know you before they ever meet you. We just published an article about this, and you can find it here.
 
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These are great videos! Professional and easy to understand. If I was considering or had recently purchased a 2020 Jeep Gladiator and was sent a link to this playlist, I would find it so helpful. For organic value and the long game, proactively sending these to customers and increasing views/likes can be a great way to help these videos rank. I would keep making playlists and sharing with customers, as well as thinking about closed captioning, video descriptions, and other places where you can add used/pre-owned keywords when needed.
 
Just another quick bit after looking around your playlist a little more...

Remember that you can actually LINK in the description. Just add the "https://" portion to the address. You might as well send viewers to your inventory or landing page on site since YouTube allows it.

Use ALL of the space for your tags...up to 30 characters per tag, up to 500 characters in total. Use your YouTube account name as one of the tags, to help the system "suggest" your other vids. Keep in mind that YouTube also allows for 4 hashtags per video, put in the description. These are linked above the title after submission and are active links that send viewers to hashtagged keywords for search.

Similar to SEO everywhere else, it will take time for it all to leak into the YouTube algo, but it will benefit in the long run.

Good luck, keep the content rolling!
 
These are great videos! They are just long enough to get all of the pertinent information communicated, so you're delivering on a viewer's expectations. A few thoughts on the videos you currently have:

(1) For removing the windshield, you might want to put in some easy time stamps like...
Step 1: Remove the Windshield Wipers (0:39)
Step 2: Pull Back the Soft Top (1:59)

It helps give people some further insights on what exactly is in the video, as well as gives people an opportunity to skip to the portions that might be more relevant. Perhaps an owner knows how to remove the windshield wipers and soft top, but wasn't sure where those bolts were for the third step.

(2) I'd put in two end screen cards that link to other video content you have for the same vehicle. It looks like you have four in that Gladiator playlist, but you can take advantage of occupying the screen by putting in those end screens to keep them on your content.

(3) I'd put a link to your SRPs for Gladiators instead of just the homepage link. Deeplink to more relevant content for the video, and you can make it a hyperlink instead of something they'd have to copy and paste.

(4) This is a great opportunity to be a resource for customers after the sale. Each time someone at your dealership sells a Gladiator, they should push your Youtube channel by talking about the relevant, awesome content that could help them with questions they might have about their new vehicle.

In addition to how-tos, you could film amenities in your business center, showcase the tools and cleanliness of your service bays, and show other relevant aspects of your dealership so people can see what they'll run into when they come to your dealership.

You could literally do a frequently asked questions playlist based on actual customer inquiries.

Awesome, awesome, awesome start, though!
 
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