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Morning Guys I think this might be useful to some of you. I was struggling to get a video embedded into my eBay listing. Managed to get some code to paste in using this tool http://www.isdntek.com/tagbot/YouTubeConverter.htm but eBay immediately rejected it as 'active content'. So I did a bit of digging and found that there is an alternative on a site called 'Flipper Tools' which is much simpler and seems to work much better. You can find it here: https://www.flippertools.com/ebayYoutube/embed-youtube-videos-in-ebay-listings.htm You simply generate the code and copy it in the the HTML editor section. You can then switch back to the Standard Editor and add your text and position everything. The other benefit of using this one is that it *seems* to work on mobile devices too! Certainly works on my iPhone. Give it a try and let me know if it works on your device! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143260376333 Scrawf

So after months of experimenting, talking to customers, punters, competitors, £££ spent on gadgets and hours in front of a computer screen I can confidently say that while video MIGHT be the future we are not quite there yet. Yes, it is currently overrated. It's a bit like Boris Johnson and Borat from the thread the other night. Lots of noise. Not a lot of result. I am on target for my best month ever, videos (albeit short) on every car, on every ad, nice desirable cars, lots of calls, ad views and interest but very few video views. "Did you watch my video?": Yes I saw it for a couple of seconds but it was your pictures that mainly drew me to your car although it was more expensive than others. "What made you travel 80 miles, was it my video?": No, everyone does videos now, it was your ad and the exact spec on your car. "How did you decide to buy from me and not from somewhere closer to you, was it my video?": No, we saw many adverts, sent several emails and your reply was the first that came back. Your car had the right spec too. So you can be Steven Spielberg and a magician with a video camera but the fact of the matter is: People are still searching for used cars in quite a conventional way and for the moment it's probably best to spend more time writing effective ads on AT than editing movies. The above is my own personal experience of course, maybe affected by my inability to create astonishing video content and I know there will be replies that "videos sell cars" etc etc. All I am saying is that for me, today, they don't. Something else drives my buyers.

Hi everyone, I'm a private dealer, new to the forum & i'm thinking about hiring a video production company to record a video ad for my company or even video some of my cars. Before I invest I wanted to ask for some of your advice as I know many of you are experienced dealers and I don't want to make a mistake. I know I could do it myself but, i'm thinking a video production company would give me a higher quality video right? What are your thoughts on investing in video? pros and cons from your experience or perspective

So we’re in the final week of February, Talking to lots and lots of dealers it’s been a tough month for leads, sales, profit (According to the majority!) So who, what do we blame – the climate, the stock, the advertising platforms i.e. Autotrader, Motors, eBay, Piston heads, local press, Google, Gumtree ,sales staff (for those who have staff!) or ourselves or maybe the weather – whatever we all blame it doesn’t change the fact we’re all not happy with the results. Sometimes I guess we need to look at what we are offering to our customers , I’m no marketing guru but I try and put myself into the customers shoes , IF I was looking for a car searched the net from where ever and eventually landed at the dealer website what do I want to see. Well believe me it’s shocking, dealers trying to sell cars with poor images , quality and quantity , dirty floor mats in the foot well, dirty cars, stains on the seats, flat tyre ( Oh Yes!) and the list continues .. Would YOU even bother to call or visit that dealer? NO! Then why do these dealers expect the customer to even call never mind visit or buy the car. Back to basics! Preparation and presentation has to be 1st surely? Now I probably go overboard with the number of images between 25/60 ! and a Full HD Video walk around of every car..But It SELLS CARS ! Only last night a customer collected a Galaxy and he told me about his experience, his words “ You would not believe the state of some of the cars I've seen , some dealers have 2/3 pictures and not even been valeted , when I saw the video of your car I knew you had nothing to hide , and that made me buy the car – I've not seen anyone else do that , think it’s a fantastic idea†I've sold quite a number of cars simply down to the video ( Now I should keep that secret to myself) In all honesty if it helps some of you guys sell more cars – fantastic ! Some of you may think waste of time and don’t have time to do them, that’s fine , some may be saying I sell loads without doing all these ..great continue with what works for you. Please feel free to check out my website and video’s AND Please shout if you think i could improve on anything – all feedback appreciated – positive or negative ! Happy Selling guys and remember keep smiling and enjoying what you do , most of all have FUN ! www.autochange.co.uk

Not sure who’s seen this video by Marc Thornborough – Brand Director AutotraderI think its a great video and insight to what Marc and his team are doing back at base https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIldk77jpDs Its just over 6 minutes and well worth watching !Would be great to get some feedback , and did you know what exactly went on at AT – HQ?

I'm always interested to know what type's of marketing dealers [business] do ? Is everyone just focused on ' on line' website full stop! I've tried Radio but personally feel that it should work but never produces the desired results - maybe its good for 'branding' but difficult to monitor even with call to action ads. I do mail shots, direct mail, leaflet drops, email marketing, local press, not fully ventured in to sms/ text as yet. Any thoughts out there ? Anything you've tried and thought it was good? or tried something which you thought was great but it failed to deliver any results ?

I'm planning a feature on the importance of video to dealers in a forthcoming issue of Car Dealer. I'd love to hear how you use video in your business. Have you got a video introduction to your showroom on your website? Do you use video to showcase your cars? Do you have a YouTube channel and is it important to drive traffic to your site? How do you think dealers should be using video now and in the future? I'll be interested to hear your thoughts and will use the best comments as part of my feature. Thanks for your input!