In just three seconds—or, in less time than it takes to tie your shoe—you could gain a new customer for your dealership, provided you’re producing solid video ads. Such facts have made Jason Brewer a big believer in video recently.
“I really care about three-second video views,” says Brewer, a social media and content producer for the Andy Mohr Automotive Group in central Indiana. “The reason why is, one, Facebook and Instagram charge us after a three-second video view. But the second is more psychological: The brand recall on a video on social media is 70 percent after three seconds.”
In the last few years, everyone associated with creating videos for the Andy Mohr group has learned that those ads aren’t just important to do, but that they’re also important to do right.
“Consumers are more informed than ever before; they have a wealth of information at their fingertips,” Brewer says. “And so, we are very data driven in how we do things and why we do things, looking at not just how many video views we get, but also how long people are watching the video for, and what kind of engagement are we getting from that type of video.”
The Andy Mohr group has frequently grabbed the attention of consumers recently due to their videos, which are typically no longer than 7 minutes, often provide insight from the likes of service advisors, and occasionally lend behind-the-scenes views of service departments. Because of that, Fixed Ops Business spoke to multiple video experts from the Andy Mohr group to hear their advice for others in the industry.
Why do you feel video is so imperative for dealerships to utilize these days?
John Wolfe, director of fixed operations, Andy Mohr Automotive Group: I think customers expect videos—not necessarily from a dealer, but in general—online. I think now in the marketplace, people mention, “Gee, it sure would have been nice, had I been able to watch a video on a blog, rather than do all this research, or read this whole page of verbage.”
I think it’s more about touching as many senses as you can.
It’s about establishing a relationship. It’s about establishing credibility and not wasting their time.
Why is video featured so prominently on your automotive group’s websites?
Jason Brewer, social media and content producer for the Andy Mohr Automotive Group: It’s two-fold. One, we do a large quantity of videos because we want to be able to be searchable by consumers. It’s another opportunity for them to find Andy Mohr Automotive.
But then, providing value to our audience, as well—being able to say, “Hey, here’s how much an oil change is, and what’s covered in it.” Then, to be able to show them what’s covered in that multi-point inspection.
So, it’s about using video to establish trust in the relationship, but also to be able to communicate in a way that people want to be communicated to.
It really doesn’t take fancy camerawork. It doesn’t take a fancy camera; you can literally film so much good stuff with your iPhone—you can go live on Facebook with your iPhone.
It doesn’t have to be overproduced. If you have an iPhone, just like I have an iPhone, it’s an even playing field. Anybody that has an iPhone and iMovie can be able to create these in an afternoon.
The big thing in media used to be that “content was king”—that, if you made the content, if you build it, they will come. Now, it’s really “context is king”—that, if it’s raining out, show windshield wipers; if it’s snowing out, show collision or all-wheel drive. When there’s context, that type of video usually shows a higher success rate.
How can website video be valuable for fixed operations segments like service, parts and collision?
Benjamin Blanco, director of digital, Andy Mohr Automotive Group: It ends up going back to humanizing the dealership, and I think that’s the key. Humanizing the personalities, humanizing the experience, to give you a look behind the curtain a little bit, and see what all these wrench-turners are doing and give them a voice.
Those are all things that I think really humanize the brand, and give that value proposition back to the customer.
