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Taking videos of your vehicles

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#32
kevinfrye said:
Thanks Joe. The video links we use within our sales templates are no longer posted on YouTube (we host those at another site - I put some examples below to see, we have a separate set for each of our 9 locations), but trust me - we are very willing to be silly, lol. The golden rule is that you cannot make your people do something they don't want to do, it won't work. If your sales reps don't want to be funny, and they try to force it, it shows. On the other hand, Jeremy (who has the plastic bat and some of the other goofy ones) not only has a loyal following for his videos, he sells cars left and right. At the store level, they shoot clips like that one and post them to the website or use them for email blasts. It works - we know because folks come to the dealership looking for him, lol...

As for "quality" issues, etc - I strongly disagree. First, we do shoot in HD, and if you select the HD button, you get higher quality that way. I have also had several video vendors tell me that our videos are not "professional" enough. I suppose if we spent over $100,000 to have someone else do it, then perhaps they would appear more polished. However, like other dealers watching their money, we are watching every penny. We also learned that people respond to these videos because they are not overly polished - remember, we are a midwest dealer, and our customer base can see that we are making an honest effort to give them useful info. The video is NOT created to try and sell the car online, it is created to provide useful info to our online shopper, and to build value in our name so as to get them to come to us for their next vehicle purchase. And before I fall off my soapbox, lol - everyone that is reading this that is afraid to do this in-house because they are worried their videos might not look the best, etc - take the risk! You have to be willing to get roughed up a bit in this fast moving market to find what works for you. Cheers to all!

Example "Trying to Reach You" video used within our sales templates
Example "Still considering" video used in sales templates
Here is proof that your sales team can have FUN making videos - Bloopers Video
Click to expand...

These are great videos that I think will be very effective. The quality is great! You are setting up a WOW experience and introducing your team. Good job.
 
#33
kevinfrye said:
Thanks Joe. The video links we use within our sales templates are no longer posted on YouTube (we host those at another site - I put some examples below to see, we have a separate set for each of our 9 locations), but trust me - we are very willing to be silly, lol. The golden rule is that you cannot make your people do something they don't want to do, it won't work. If your sales reps don't want to be funny, and they try to force it, it shows. On the other hand, Jeremy (who has the plastic bat and some of the other goofy ones) not only has a loyal following for his videos, he sells cars left and right. At the store level, they shoot clips like that one and post them to the website or use them for email blasts. It works - we know because folks come to the dealership looking for him, lol...

As for "quality" issues, etc - I strongly disagree. First, we do shoot in HD, and if you select the HD button, you get higher quality that way. I have also had several video vendors tell me that our videos are not "professional" enough. I suppose if we spent over $100,000 to have someone else do it, then perhaps they would appear more polished. However, like other dealers watching their money, we are watching every penny. We also learned that people respond to these videos because they are not overly polished - remember, we are a midwest dealer, and our customer base can see that we are making an honest effort to give them useful info. The video is NOT created to try and sell the car online, it is created to provide useful info to our online shopper, and to build value in our name so as to get them to come to us for their next vehicle purchase. And before I fall off my soapbox, lol - everyone that is reading this that is afraid to do this in-house because they are worried their videos might not look the best, etc - take the risk! You have to be willing to get roughed up a bit in this fast moving market to find what works for you. Cheers to all!

Example "Trying to Reach You" video used within our sales templates
Example "Still considering" video used in sales templates
Here is proof that your sales team can have FUN making videos - Bloopers Video
Click to expand...
Kevin - I was wondering how you include the videos in your emails and if you see a higher click through rate for these templates. Do you post a text link to the video or do you include an image (for example a still from the video with a play button)?

This is something that we have been experimenting with. Email marketing statistics show that a video link can increase click throughs to your website by 175 - 200% and that the image gets on average 5x as many clicks as a text link. We have not had much opportunity to judge the success within the automotive industry as of yet.

I would love to get feedback from anyone who is trying this with call to action videos like Kevin's or with inventory videos. If you are creating HTML emails in house and would like to try this, here is the most common method:
- Take a screen shot of the video displaying in a video player (choose a compelling image that may generate more interest)
- Photoshop a "play" button into the center of the image
- Add the screenshot in your email, linked to the page where the video is hosted
- Add a call to action plus a text link to the video

Thanks for any feedback you can provide on your successes!
 
#35
Mann power is a big issue for everyone. One of my challenges has been winning the dealer over to produce shorter funny videos like my buddy Kevin at Wyler. Has anyone experienced this and how have you overcome?

I don't have trouble optimizing the videos and getting views but we could hammer out a lot more funny 30-45 second videos. We don't shoot in HD so we have room for improvement on our quality.


YouTube - New 2009 Acura MDX Review Test Drive Tallahassee ProctorAcur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLJMBrTcw8c&feature=channel_page

YouTube - Proctor Honda Tallahassee Hybrid Intro Civic-Insight Vide...
 
#38
Alex - Thanks for the input. Do you have a wireless microphone you recommend? The one who got stunk.

Joe - I have setup a process where we have about 3 to 5 people involved with our videos. So it depends on who is busy. After I give out the direction of what needs to be done next we take it from there. We have a long way to go though, I think we should have waaaaay more videos. We are working on it though.
 
#39
Alex,

I see a lot of videos, very few do it like you do. I see alot of planning, creativity and directing. IMO, you're just a few steps short of some very high end work.

If you're not happy with your speed, then maybe this ol' geezer:geezer:I can offer a nugget of wisdom.

Back in 92', I was building a new store, laboring over the planning for weeks, trying to totally hit one over the fence. I wanted it all, the layout & look had to be just right, on time and and on budget. The GC saw me trying to work it all in and he told me something that has stayed with me for years. He said "When you're creating something, you have 3 items to manage, Price, Speed and Quality... you can only PICK 2!" That was an "ah ha" moment that I call on all the time.

In your case, you've chosen Low Price and High Quality, so, you have to give up speed! If you want to keep the quality that you have but do it faster, you'll have to give up the low cost (aka Price). Silly little rule works all the time.

Creative Management Exercise:
We Manage: Price. Speed. Quality.
......................Pick 2 that matter most.
 
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