In the classic movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, we received a filmmaker’s glimpse into what humanity would experience in the event of a U.F.O encounter and actual physical contact with an alien. To many dealers, Millennials are very similar. They’re very different from past generations, are far more technologically advanced, and we really don’t know much about them -- Or do we?

Millennials, defined as people born between 1980 and 2000, between the ages of 16-26, represent a large buying demographic. So large, in fact, that many estimate the buying power of this demographic to be $200 billion, and a whopping $500 billion when indirect purchasing power is included. That’s pretty significant.

These are the kids raised on VH1’s pop-up videos, YouTube and other video content. This is the type of content that they not only like, but use. When they’re considering a movie to watch, do they read the IMDB description? No. They head over to YouTube and watch the trailer. That’s how influential video content is for this demographic.

In fact, according to an article on Business 2 Community, 8 out of 10 Millennials find video helpful in making purchasing decisions. They are also 85 percent more likely to purchase an item they watched a video about. Why? Because that’s how they like to take in information. 2/3 of Millennials prefer video over text. And a whopping 50% ONLY watch video!

In a recent blog I covered how Facebook predicts that its content will eventually be purely video-based content. Think about that. These social platforms cater to the users. If their users wanted all music, that’s what it would be. Pictures? Done. Text? That’s Twitter (for now). The point is Millennials increasingly dictate the type of content that is delivered. The sole reason being that they represent a large portion of the current consumer demographic for most products and they are absolutely the dominant demographic for the near future!

What does that mean for the auto industry?

It means that a good percentage of current car shoppers, and an even larger percentage of future car shoppers, will be influenced by video in their buying decisions. Other retail sectors already realize this. It’s no longer relegated to Super Bowl time. It’s all of the time. Videos are engaging, entertaining and connect with consumers on an emotional level. Unlike past generations, Millennials don’t want to be SOLD to, they want to CONNECT with a company or a brand.

The article further stated that half of all Millennials consider companies that produce video content on their products to be experts in their field. And let’s not forget that videos on product pages convert at a much higher rate than product pages with no videos. So why wouldn’t any retail business want to embrace this cultural shift? Most of them are -- but some of the automotive industry is still a little stuck in just pictures and are not taking full advantage of video.

In order to secure market share now and for the future you need to have a good handle on Millennials. And they need and want videos. There’s no ifs ands or buts. If Millennials want to buy cars from a desk in your parking lot, you’d put a desk out there and sell it to them, right? Well, these Millennial consumers are tech-savvy, have access to more information than any other generation before them and will happily move to your competition for $50 in price, or a $20 oil change, whichever they need at the time. So you need to be in front of them so that YOU are top of mind when that need arises.

Do yourself a favor. Video marketing isn’t expensive and with the right process does not need to take a lot of time or effort. In fact, this is something that your porter could do with the cell phone in his pocket. Or, you can get as sophisticated as professional equipment and a branded staging area. It’s your choice. The bottom line is that you need video to engage Millennials. And you need Millennials to sell cars – now and for decades to come. So get yourself a video marketing strategy in place and sell some cars. That is what it’s all about, right?

Quality video content can manipulate emotions and convey meaning far beyond the capability of written words or any still images. But videos aren’t effective simply because customers can see you or view the vehicle, they also work well because another sense is stimulated – sound. In a personalized video email, your voice and message is conveyed without ambiguity. Customers can see your facial expressions, hear your tone of voice and interpret what you’re saying in the most effective way. And, music can take the experience to a whole new level.

Imagine going to see Jaws with no soundtrack. That “duh na duh na” whenever Jaws is around instills fear without the shark even being on screen. In fact, many of you probably had the sound from the famous score come into your head as you read this. That music is just as famous as the movie. It was specifically created to instill a sense of fear and foreboding. Most viewers would know when that music plays – and it gets faster – nothing good is about to happen.

Music is a great addition to video as it can more easily convey emotion to viewers. Consider adding music to your inventory videos as they then become that much more powerful at playing on the customer’s emotions and pulling them into your message. That being said, due to copyright issues, you can’t simply download a popular artist’s song and stick it in your inventory video. So what do you do?

There are plenty of music libraries out there for dealers of all sizes and budgets. Some offer royalty -free or public domain music. And, there are also sites that offer extensive music libraries which you can subscribe to and use in your videos as needed. Here are a few resources I like, which were also highlighted in this article by Vidyard:

• www.bedtracks.com
• www.premiumbeat.com
• www.pumpaudio.com

There is a reason why some businesses choose certain types of music – because it sets a mood. If the customer wants luxury, play to that by choosing suitable music. Cars targeted to younger demographics could work well with a little more pop or hip-hop type background tracks.

Playing to consumers’ senses is not a new concept. However, auto dealers as a whole could to a lot more with it, especially in video. Did you know that Disneyland pumps the smell of popcorn into their parks before opening every day and throughout the day? They do this because the smell of popcorn instills a sense of happiness into people as they’re entering. And, while we may not be able to add new car smell into videos yet, you can use the same techniques and tricks that play to customer’s senses to make your videos that much more engaging, attractive and interesting to the viewer. And, if you get their attention and keep it, chances are much better that the customer will inquire about or come in to see the vehicle in person… which is exactly what you want them to do.

Note: Be aware of companies that administer copyrights on behalf of artists. Some have been known to aggressively file unsubstantiated Content ID claims with YouTube on a broad scale. This mostly only impacts videos that are hosted on YouTube. If hosted on an alternate platform, you don’t have these concerns. Their motive is to create an unscrupulous stream of revenue and they are a huge inconvenience to those following the rules -- namely, you!  Best-in-class video production and hosting platform solutions typically own their own library of exclusive music tracks and are knowledgeable on how to handle these kinds of minor setbacks for their clients.

Words, both written and spoken, have been the primary form of communication for centuries. We use them to share news and stories, comfort loved ones and to connect with long distance friends.

Then along came social media, which almost instantly transformed society from one which was largely based on local interactions, to a more global community. The written word, however, was still the primary method of communication. Through email, status updates and tweets, people had no choice but to use words to express themselves.

The problem with words, however, is that language can be ambiguous and misunderstood.

A misplaced comma, incorrectly used word, or lack of clarity, can easily transform the intended meaning to something else entirely, so that it is interpreted much differently. And, in many cases a video or picture can relay a concept much more efficiently.

As technology developed, social networks started including the ability to upload pictures and, ultimately, video. And Facebook believes that’s the future of communication.

At a recent conference in London, Nicola Mendelsohn, who heads up Facebook’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told the audience that Facebook “will be definitely mobile, [and that] it will probably be all video.” She suggested that Facebook’s data shows that the written word will become obsolete, replaced by images and video on the platform. “The best way to tell stories in this world, where so much information is coming at us, actually is video. It conveys so much more information in a much quicker period. So actually the trend helps us to digest much more information,” continued Mendelsohn.

Think about it. It can take an author pages of text to set a scene for a story which could be relayed to a viewer in seconds via video. There is no ambiguity in video. When you talk to someone – whether that’s in person, or via a video call – you can hear what they are saying and put their words into context through such things as body language and facial expressions.

As Facebook continues to make it easier for anyone to create and publish video, regardless of skill level, people are choosing to share their memories in that format. Why? Because it’s easier.

With Facebook’s mass roll-out of live streaming video, anyone can share these moments with their friends and families live… allowing them to experience the moments just as if they were with them.

Think about how long a written status update would have to be to accurately describe the beauty of the sun setting on a beach while that cool tropical breeze blows through your hair. It’s much easier to simply record it, or live-stream it. No description necessary. The video will tell the story for you.

It’s easy to see the signs of this shift in communication. Most people no longer have landlines. We’re communicating via text message, emojis, Facetime and Skype. Advertisers are increasingly shifting budgets towards video because it is a more effective medium – and the preferred form of communication by the masses.

It is not hard to envision a future in which TWO-WAY live video communication will become possible via Facebook. We’re already seeing 360 degree interactive videos on Facebook. And, virtual reality, while in its infancy, may also be coming to a Facebook wall near you soon.

With 2 billion users and growing, Facebook isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, it is very good at adapting to and implementing features users want. And, at least according to Facebook, that medium is video.

Nicola Mendelsohn’s concluding statement at the recent conference says it all. “We’re seeing a year-on-year decline of text…If I was having a bet I’d say: video, video, video.”

While Facebook is the most recognized platform, let’s not end here without pointing out the other trailblazers which make it easy for auto dealers to take advantage of live streaming and even Virtual Reality technology specific to the car shopper journey. It's no longer the future. It's the now!

Live streaming -- and even Virtual Reality-- IS the reality in many automotive-specific platforms. And these platforms are hard to beat as far as the level of personalization and customizability which allows you to target shoppers who are “in market,” capture their data and have real-time access to this information.

Facebook videos are more popular than ever, but the challenge for marketers is that people have to 'unmute' the videos. Flick Fusion Director of Marketing Gina Reuscher shares a nifty trick that will increase the number of "unmutes" and overall video views.

For dealerships that are considering video marketing, or in the early stages of developing their video marketing strategies, we recommend starting with inventory videos. Inventory videos are a great way to attract and emotionally engage car shoppers. According to a recent Gallup study, “businesses that optimize this (emotional) connection outperform competitors by 26% in gross margin and 85% in sales growth.”

Emotion sells because it happens on a very instinctive level. People may not be aware of why they're buying--they just know they feel good about it.

So how do you create emotionally appealing inventory videos? Visually, most inventory videos are pretty straightforward. Typically they're two to four minutes in length and show the interior and exterior of the vehicle. They should also highlight popular features such as infotainment systems, cameras or hands-free tailgate openers.

Although these visual features by themselves do stimulate some emotion, let's face it: there's only so much you can do with lighting or mood effects without getting cheesy. It's an inventory video after all, not a Hollywood movie.

The best way to make your inventory videos emotionally appealing is to create a custom, unique voiceover track for each vehicle. Most inventory videos, including virtually all automated voiceover videos, simply recite the features and data that the consumer can already see on the Vehicle Details Page (VDP).

To differentiate your dealership and generate a powerful emotional response in viewers, create inventory videos with voiceovers that focus on how owning the vehicle will make the buyer feel.

For each video, identify one or two emotional opportunities that you want to tap into. The emotions will be different depending on the type of vehicle. Then, decide on a specific call-to-action that you want the car shopper to perform during or after viewing the video. Include hyperlinks or an audio prompt for the call-to-action in the video along with phrases designed to generate emotion.

In Barry Feig’s book Hot Button Marketing: Push the Emotional Buttons That Get People to Buy, he uncovered 16 emotional opportunities that drive conversion:

1. Desire for control
2. I’m better than you
3. Excitement of discovery
4. Revaluing
5. Family values
6. Desire to belong
7. Fun is its own reward
8. Poverty of time
9. Desire to get the best
10. Self-achievement
11. Sex, love, romance
12. Nurturing response
13. Reinventing oneself
14. Make me smarter
15. Power, dominance and influence
16. Wish-fulfillment

To get you started, here is a list of emotions and sample phrases that you may want to incorporate into inventory videos.

These phrases are just suggestions. Feel free to brainstorm and come up with your own! It will take some practice to feel comfortable producing custom inventory video audio tracks, but with time it will become second nature.

One thing is certain: creating inventory videos with emotional appeal will be worth the effort. Emotion plus a call-to-action will convert more shoppers into buyers because emotion sells.

Video emails are a great way to engage customers and set your dealership apart from the competition. In this live interview from NADA, Gina Reuscher, Director of Marketing with Flick Fusion, shares four tips for effective video emails.