Automotive consumers are moving from traditional to digital formats for their research prior to traveling to 1-2 dealerships. One of those formats is videos, 92% of the U.S. consumers who plan to buy within 6 months use YouTube. Also, 49% of shoppers visited a dealer after watching a video. Consumers are viewing model comparisons, reviews, test drives, and vehicle walk around videos. Dealers who record and produce videos on YouTube are reaching those consumers, putting themselves in front of even more customers.
Most dealers struggle getting started because they don’t know what equipment to use, what types of videos to record, and how to get more views and subscribers. In my upcoming session, at Digital Dealer 26 Conference & Expo, “Become a YouTube Boss”, you will learn how to get started with this fundamental session. Learn what videos get the most views and what equipment you will need to record them. YouTube uses an algorithm to get the best videos in front of the viewer. You can help your videos by setting up your YouTube channel correctly and uploading your videos with good tags, title, and thumbnail. You will see examples of videos in this session to give you an advantage on your competition.
There are some great camera options, in fact, most cell phones can capture some good quality 1080p video. You don’t need to spend a great deal on equipment to get some high-quality videos and you don’t need a digital media degree to edit some great videos either. There are some easy to use, inexpensive video editing software on the market. Some are free products and there are some budget products under $100 that give you all the features you will need to create great high-quality videos.
Getting your videos in front of YouTube viewers are always the goal of any YouTuber. The more views, comments, and likes you receive, the more likely you are to appear on the “recommended” list, helping you get even more views. Getting views can be hard but if you tag your videos correctly you will show up for people looking for your content. Another great way to get views is by having a great title and thumbnail that tells the viewer what your video is all about. Many viewers will click on videos just based on the video thumbnail, so having an impactful thumbnail can make all the difference. YouTube also looks at descriptions, playlists, cards, and even end screens when recommending videos to viewers. So it is important to make sure your videos have all those things to get the most views for your videos.
Another great way to get in front of customers is on Facebook. Facebook has invested in video with their live stream and their new Facebook Watch. Many people struggle with live streams since you can’t edit out any mistakes but it’s a great way for many industries to help sell their products.
Most people would rather watch a video to learn about a product or service than read an article. So it is critical to get yourself in front of customers where they are looking. Don’t be shy, don’t be scared just start recording video and you will get in front of customers looking for vehicles and looking for dealers to buy them from.
Learn more about Tim Bartz’s upcoming session at Digital Dealer 26 Conference & Expo!
Tim Bartz is the Internet Manager at Long McArthur where he started the internet department. He started doing videos for YouTube in 2014. His Lincoln walk-around videos have been used at the National Lincoln Dealer Meetings and he placed 3rd in the DealerPeople video walk-around competition in 2017. He has over 5 million video views and 9000 subscribers to the dealerships YouTube channel.
