When a car shopper is looking for a particular type of vehicle — for example, a used Honda Civic — and you happen to have one on your lot, how do you convince the shopper that your Civic is better than a similar one at your competitor’s car lot? What if the car shopper asks why your Civic is more expensive than the other one?

If the customer is right in front of you, you can explain why. You can explain that your Civic has less mileage, new tires and upgraded features. If the customer calls, a salesperson might be able to explain all that over the phone, although perhaps not as effectively as in person.

But what about all the customers who never call or visit your lot? What if they are still in the process of deciding which vehicle they want to see?

Car shoppers can look at inventory photos and read vehicle specifications all day long, but it can be difficult to discern the true value of a car from photos alone. To generate interest and ensure that an active car shopper chooses to visit your dealership, some of the selling process needs to happen online.

Live walkaround videos

Video is the ultimate differentiator.

Imagine two 2018 Honda Civics. The cars might look similar in photos, but one costs $1,000 more than the other. Which one do you think an uninformed car shopper will choose to see first? Most often, they go for the cheaper one.

But what if that same car shopper watches a live walkaround video? This type of inventory video can easily be created by a salesperson or another employee, holding a smartphone and walking around the vehicle. As the salesperson is walking, they are talking, just as they would if the customer is standing in front of them.

Live walkaround videos allow the salesperson to value sell the vehicle to car shoppers who are sitting at home. If there are special features, certifications, or reconditioning that has been done to the vehicle, a walkaround video gives you a chance to talk about these details and how they contribute to the overall price.

Videos are a proven method for getting car shoppers emotionally attached to that vehicle — the one on your lot. When information and emotion collide, it creates the desire to buy.

How to make a video that sells

You don’t have to be a professional videographer and you don’t need expensive equipment. You can start with a smartphone. The important thing is to just start. The first few videos you shoot won’t be good and that’s OK. Practice makes perfect.

The newest smartphones have adequate video quality, but you might want to experiment with audio quality. When it comes to audio in inventory videos, there are two options.

—Talk while shooting the video. If you want to do this, invest in a good quality wireless microphone with noise reduction.

—Add voiceover in post-production. This is a better option if you’re located on a busy road or in an area with a lot of background noise.

When you are deciding what to say in your videos, the most important thing to remember is this: information is important, but emotion sells! Your job is to make the car shopper want this car instead of the other vehicle they are considering.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to tell the viewer why a feature is important. For example, if a vehicle has new tires, emphasize how they increase safety by keeping your car on the road in wet weather. If a car has an upgraded entertainment system, tell viewers how much fun they will have listening to their favorite music on their next road trip.

When it comes to the length of the video, in general, shorter is better. Somewhere between two and three minutes is recommended, but some dealerships produce videos that are three to four minutes in length with very high completion rates. It depends on the presentation of the video and how much pertinent information there is to convey.

Don’t forget to discuss your dealership’s unique selling proposition. Why should the viewer buy this car from your dealership instead of from the dealership across town? What car-buying experience can you offer them that no other dealership can?

Reach more customers

When your video is ready for prime time, make sure it gets seen. The more touch points you post the video on, the more leads you will get. Make sure that your inventory videos are viewable on:

—Your dealership website’s vehicle display pages (VDPs)

—YouTube, Facebook and other social media channels

—Third-party shopping sites such as Cars.com, Autotrader.com or eBay

—Craigslist (provide a URL link to a video landing page)

Consumers are relying on videos more than ever to help them with their car-purchasing decisions. Producing quality live walkaround videos is the first step in an online video marketing strategy that will draw more car shoppers to your website and convert them into leads.

In his role as national sales director, Ben Freedman oversees sales and marketing operations in FlickFusion’s direct-to-dealership sales division. With more than 17 years of experience in retail automotive, Freedman brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm in the areas of video marketing, merchandising and communications.