Short video that actually sells cars

A ninety-second walkaround, filmed sideways in the wind, with a "Hey guys!" intro. It gets four hundred views and no leads. Then the store decides video does not work.

Video works. That video did not.

The first two seconds decide everything

On Reels, TikTok and Shorts, people decide in a second or two whether to keep watching. Do not spend that time on your logo, your name or a greeting. Open on the most interesting thing: the car, the price, the feature, the customer's face at delivery.

• Start mid-action: door opening, engine starting, keys being handed over.
• Put a short text line on screen in the first frame: "$24,900 · one owner · 61,000 km".
• Film vertical. Always.
• Use a cheap clip-on mic. Wind noise kills more dealer videos than anything else.

Five formats you can repeat every week

One ambitious monthly video is hard to keep up. Five simple formats, filmed in batches, are easy.

1. The 30-second walkaround — one vehicle, three things worth knowing, price at the end.
2. "Just traded in" — fresh used units before they hit the website.
3. Delivery moments — with the customer's permission. See the best content isn't made by the dealership.
4. Ask the tech — a service technician answering one real question in under a minute.
5. Meet the team — one staff member, fifteen seconds, who they are and what they do.

Consistency beats production value. A phone and a routine beat a videographer once a quarter.

The approval chain is the real problem

In most stores, video dies in approvals. The salesperson films it, the manager wants changes, the GM wants to see it, it goes to the agency, and two weeks later the car has sold.

Fix it with simple rules everyone agrees to once: what can be posted without approval (walkarounds, team clips, delivery moments with signed consent), and what needs a manager (anything with a price promise or a promotion). Then let the team post.

What to measure

Views are nice. What matters is profile visits, messages, and calls that mention a video. Pin a comment on every walkaround with a link to the vehicle page, and ask walk-ins if they saw the store on social. Give it eight weeks before judging it.