It’s no surprise that marketing trends come and go at a fast pace. The latest and greatest trend to grace dealerships these days is full motion walk-around videos. A lot of dealerships are quick to jump on the bandwagon of whatever new marketing strategy is out. However, there are a fair few that don’t. Most that don’t generally do it because they view as an unnecessary or complicated challenge.
You’ll be pleased to know that creating these videos does not have to be a great, big challenge as some might think. But, it is a great and powerful way for a salesperson to great buzz about a car or general dealership’s atmosphere. The greatest challenge that many dealers face, is that they simply don’t know how to go about creating these types of views.
Put yourself in your consumers’ shoes for a minute. Here’s a situation for you.
You’re sitting on your computer, looking through the vehicles on the lot for your nearest dealership. All they have are pictures and a few details. You’re looking to get a whole scene, but having to switch around and click through the pictures won’t let you do so. So, then you have to figure out when you can make time to visit the dealership. You would go on the weekend, but there are so many people during that time.
What could have easily solved your dilemma? A full motion walk-around video of a specific car.
Let’s try another situation. Put yourself back into your consumers’ shoes.
You just got a brand new car that you’ve been wanting to get and you’re driving off the dealership lot. You pull into your driveway and start to set up all the techy features of the car, such as the Pandora Radio, Bluetooth hookup, driver information center, etc. You’re trying to fumble your way through figuring everything out. But, when that proves to be unsuccessful, you turn towards the owners manual to help you out. Unfortunately, those manuals rarely come with informative pictures – just text.
What could have easily solved your dilemma? A full motion walk-around video of a specific car.
These are only two of the most common scenarios where a walkthrough video could be extremely helpful to your consumers. Having such a video helps you engage with your consumers in a personalized way. It also shoes your consumers that you’re willing to take the time out to make sure that your customers understand all the features that a car has to offer you.
What Is A Walk-Around Video?
Though this form of video marketing is referred to as a ‘walk-around’ video, you don’t actually have to physically walk around your entire dealership while shooting a video. The topic or focus of the video can really be anything – special events, employees, inventory, etc.
You also don’t need to have a fifteen-minute long video showing off your entire dealership – though you can if you really wanted to. You really only need three to four minutes to get through the topic chosen to engage and educate your potential and current customers.
All you need is a specific topic that you wish to cover and then you simply need to film yourself showcasing that. Be as detailed and as thorough as you feel is needed. Afterward, you can get advice from fellow employees and/or customers to see what they liked and what they didn’t like.
5 Tips For A Successful Full Motion Walk-Around Video
With that out of the way, you might still be wondering, so how do I make an educational and successful walk-around video? How do I make one that will add value to the digital marketing plan of my dealership?
Not sure how to start? Here are five tips to make a great full motion walk-around video.
- Solve The Logistics
Before you even start shooting your video, figure out a few of the logistical items, such as sound, lighting, device, mode, etc.
Sound and lighting are an easy but essential thing to test before you shoot the entire video. Try to take a thirty-second testing video and watch it back to see if the lighting and sound are okay before continuing on. If you’re shooting outside, aspects such as shadows, sun, and wind should also be looked at as they can affect the sound and lighting quality of a video.
If you’re going to be shooting your video on a smartphone [i.e. Android or iPhone, etc.] and you’re worried about the audio, you could invest in a type of lav mic. These are inexpensive and can be easily attached to your smartphone device. These mics are great for picking up audio while also improving the quality of the video.
You should also always be shooting their videos in a landscape mode. It might be easier to hold your phone vertically but think about all the platforms you’ll be using. Even if you shoot it in a landscape mode, as long as you make sure that the focus point is centered, you can crop it to be vertical for platforms such as Instagram’s IGTV.
- Use Humans
For a personalized car purchasing experience, you should endeavor to use humans in your video. Featuring a face rather than an off-camera narrator can help the consumer get a better feel for everything.
For example, if you’re making a how-to video, it’s better to see an actual person doing all the steps rather than just a video with a voiceover. You can also have them introduce themselves, in the beginning, to get a name to a face.
- Brand Your Dealership
Making these videos is great and all, but they won’t benefit your dealership unless you brand yourself effectively. It’s important for your viewers to know that the videos are being made by your automotive dealership and that you are the ones providing them with educational and helpful content.
You can do this by simply starting with a shot of the outside view of your dealership to give viewers a good idea of your location. Followed by introducing the person that’ll be speaking, so giving their name and their role at the dealership.
It can be something like this:
“Hi everyone! My name is [name], [job role] here at [dealership name]. Today, I’m going to be giving/showing you [purpose of the video].”
You’ll also want to close off your video with a mention of your dealership, similar to a CTA, but verbal.
- Make It Easy To Follow Along
If you’re making a how-to instructional type of video, keep in mind that many viewers will try to perform the process while they watch the video. So, maybe pause for around five seconds after each step you’re explaining in the video to give time to your audience to do those steps.
Without having those pauses, a customer might need to watch a video numerous times in order to complete the process which can often lead to frustration. You can also try to incorporate textual overlays at certain points without needing to subtitle your entire video.
- Make It Simple and Short
You don’t need to be a professional videographer to do this, but you do need to be proficient at making videos and editing them. If you aren’t then maybe find an employee who is or opt to hire out. But regardless of how you do it, ensure that they are kept simple and short.
The attention span of humans decreases year by year, so it can be difficult to capture the attention of your consumers. Videos are some of the best ways to keep your customers engaged in a concise but effective way.
