As appearing in Digital Dealer magazine
Online Listings Videos Create Sticky Eyeballs
Growing in popularity, video adds emotional appeal to online vehicle listings
By Mike Baker
As a marketing tool for the digital dealer, streaming video makes online inventory listings really
sticky. Research shows that shoppers:
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Remain much longer on listings that feature video of the vehicles they’re considering
Click on video-enhanced listings four times more than they do on standard listings.
That would be good news by itself, but the blockbuster moment is that streaming video is
changing the sales process. Customers visiting your store who’ve viewed the videos of the
vehicles you sell online are already well into the sales funnel when they step foot onto your lot.
This is being accomplished online two ways. Otherwise static online vehicle listings enhanced by
streaming video do a much better job of appealing to the shopper’s emotions. People buy from
emotion and justify their decision on knowledge. Video not only appeals to shoppers at this level,
but when further enhanced with human narration video appeals to their need for product
knowledge too.
Video-enhanced online listings really grab shopper eyeballs. Research shows that consumers’
eyes are attracted to listings that display a video-available tab or other flag. This small but
dynamic advantage makes video-enhanced listings stand out from among all the other listings
on a given search results page on popular online car shopping sites.
Adding streaming video is not expensive. It can be added to online listings for as little as 15
cents to $2 per stream per listing. This is a very affordable cost to deliver a vehicle-specific
virtual walkaround and narration to sell that vehicle and tell consumers about your dealership.
Blended content enhances traffic
The iProspect Blended Search Results Study conducted by JupiterResearch highlights the growing
influence of enhanced content – news, images and video --on search pages to reach viewers.
While the study specifically looked at search engine users, the suggestions it infers for auto
retailers is clear: The more digital assets, for example video, a marketer features in its online
content the better positioned that marketer is to reap benefits – traffic and branding -- from
blended search.
According to Phil Sura of MediaWorks Media, online shoppers who click on listings flagged as
having streaming video watch, on average, 85 to 90 percent of the entire video. Their time
investment in doing so moves them deeper into the sales funnel. It also means that as long as
your listing has their attention they’re not engaged with a competitor. Also, listings having
streaming video generate four-times the click through rate compared to listings displaying only
static vehicle images.
When it comes to harvesting leads from online listings, listings enhanced by video and video
narration push the consumer to take action, to pick up the phone or send an e-mail to your
dealership and inquiry about their choice.
Trend ready to explode
Streaming video-enhanced online listings have yet to hit full stride in our industry. Internet
consultant David Kain notes that of autotrader.com’s vast number of dealership online car
listings, fewer than 3,000 of them feature streaming video today. But some big players have
recognized its potential.
The recent Kelsey Group Auto Dealer survey notes that 59 percent of dealers surveyed online in
February said they plan to use video on their own websites within the next 12 months, up from
the current usage rate of 33 percent. Statistics for use of video for online inventory listing use
isn’t so clear, though UnityWorks Media’s Sura notes that 12 percent of dealers have begun to
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test or embrace it. He expects that percentage to triple this year, with every metro market
dealer employing it on their online and dealership web listings.
For example, General Motors has begun conducting nationwide e-commerce seminars promoting
streaming video as an opportunity its dealers should embrace.
If your dealership is not yet exploring this exciting emerging digital tool, it is not too late, but
don’t wait too long.
Getting started
Like most any investment your dealership will make, start from a plan and clearly defined
objectives for that investment. What type of video is right? Who will produce it? How will it be
posted to online listings and your web? If your video will be enhanced with narration, who will be
the spokesperson – and what script will be used to ensure the right presentation?
These online inventory videos should be brief – no more than 10 seconds or so. While creating,
producing and posting videos is certainly within the capabilities of many dealerships given the
simplicity of much of today’s video technology, that activity might not be the best use of
dealership staff time and effort.
After all, isn’t your staff busy enough (or should be) selling vehicles? Imaging vehicles for highquality results, editing the raw video footage, writing narration scripts and other activities
involved are time consuming and to the novice, frustrating. Most dealerships will find the process
unwieldy.
If you currently use an online listing service to upload your used inventory to your web and
third-party lead-generation sites, it should be able to handle streaming video production for you.
The fastest and least expensive production method for such videos is to use what you already
have, the still or static images of online inventory. Your listing service should be able to convert
your still images into a flowing, movie-like, 360-degree inside-and-out vehicle presentation. Any
narration you choose to add helps brand your story and present your special call to action –
perhaps a discount offer, free life-time oil changes or a similar incentive. The next step is to
upload the video to your listings. If any of the third-party sites to which your listing service
uploads don’t yet accept streaming video your video and its link automatically won’t be sent to
those listing sites.
Get in front of this curve
There is just no realistic way to say as much about the vehicle you’re marketing online any other
way than by streaming video. For instance, providing online text to describe your vehicle and sell
your dealership would be lengthy, much too much text for most online shoppers to read
completely.
To attract stickier eyeballs to your online vehicle listings, to keep those shoppers on your
vehicles longer, and to enhance the click-through rates of your online vehicle classifieds,
consider adding streaming video to your digital marketing. Get involved in this fast-emerging
next generation of online marketing to establish your competitive edge now.
Mike Baker is president of AutoUpLinkUSA, a leading provider of online vehicle inventory listing
and image publishing marketing services. He can be reached at mbaker@autouplinkusa.com or
www.autouplinkusa.com