The Importance Of Online Videos To Auto Dealerships

By Author: Nate Rodney
Total Articles: 499
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For many auto dealerships the money that is put towards TV commercials is being called into question. This should come as no surprise as devices like the DVR – Digital Video Recorder – let viewers fast-forward through commercials and according to Forrester 85% of U.S. tablet owners use their tablets while watching TV, mostly during commercials. That is why many dealerships are now starting to integrate online video strategies into their overall marketing mix.

Many Dealerships are Using Online Video
The integration of online video marketing into dealers’ overall marketing strategies is readily apparent. According to Ad Age 25% of U.S. Dealers already use online video and that number continues to grow. This should come as no surprise as the total U.S. Internet audience watched 40.9 billion videos in 2011, according to comScore.

As a dealer there are many opportunities to create content for online videos that engage consumers. Many videos that dealers use are introductions to the dealership, customer testimonials and even repurposing old TV commercials. Many dealerships upload their videos and create ...
... brand channels on sites like Youtube or Vimeo, but many also upload their videos to their own sites. This is a smart strategy as GM found that dealer sites with videos are likely to generate two times as many phone calls or emails as sites without videos.

Online Videos are Cheaper & Easier to Produce and Distribute
As a dealer there is a great advantage to creating online videos for consumers to see. Especially when you consider that the average online video generally costs less than $100 to make and the average 30-second TV spot costs – at a minimum - $2,000. The ease of making these videos also makes integrating online video into a dealership’s overall marketing strategy a no-brainer. Using the money you would use to buy a 30-second TV ad a dealer could create upwards of 20 online videos. This stable of content would allow a dealership to rotate the videos that they place on their site or online video sites, creating a fresh experience for consumers every time they view a dealer’s video.

Videos that are uploaded to major video watching sites like Youtube or Vimeo can also show up in search engine results. If a dealer’s videos are uploaded to these sites and are properly optimized – including descriptions, keyword tags, etc. – then when a consumer makes a search within a search engine, the dealer’s video could show up in the results. This will increase the dealer’s presence in the search engine results page and creates another avenue for consumers to learn about the dealership.

Dealers Can Still Advertise Using Online Videos
For dealerships that are uneasy about the prospects of creating videos, but not guaranteeing that people will see them, there is a solution. There are several options for dealerships to advertise their videos online. Websites, like Autotrader.com, will allow dealerships to buy ad space on their sites where the dealer’s video can play on certain pages. On Youtube, dealerships can also utilize pre-roll video advertising. Pre-roll advertising plays a dealer’s short video advertisement before the Youtube video that a user wants to view. These forms of advertising can guarantee that people will view the online videos that dealerships create.

With so many people watching videos online, and not watching TV ads, it’s no wonder that dealerships across the country are adding online videos as a part of their digital marketing strategy. More and more the importance of creating online videos is becoming apparent, especially for dealerships.

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