Transparent....Not Invisible!

During a recent Facebook Live Jeff Parton and myself decided we would discuss why we are trying to be so transparent on social media and what we hope to accomplish by doing so. Now, when I am talking about being transparent I’m not talking about being invisible nor am I talking about making yourself unseen on social media. It’s really the opposite and it’s very important so let’s discuss a little bit of what we talked about.

In the business we are in, the car business, it is very important to continue to learn and adapt. The old school mentality and way of doing business is basically headed out the door. It’s getting both harder and easier to sell cars. What do I mean? Well, with the expansion of the internet it has created a new culture of buyers. The new buyer does much of their actual research online before they even go to the dealership and now, because of that, they are visiting far fewer dealerships. So why do I say this is a good and a bad thing? Well, the good is the fact that buyers are far more educated and knowledgeable about what they want but the bad is the fact that if they are indeed doing most of their research online then they are also shopping online which in turns causes less actual dealership visits. What this does is gives us fewer chances to physically be in front of customers on the lot but the good thing about that is, though you may have fewer customers on the lot, the ones that actually make it to the lot are probably buyers. 

So, that being said, being transparent online is important and could prove to be beneficial. Why? Well, if people are doing most shopping online then it would be important because if they do happen across your info or social media during their searching then they will be able to see who you really are and see what you’re all about. I’m not saying that you must expose all of your deepest darkest secrets but it’s about sharing your ups and downs. It’s about showing your good times and some of your struggles. It’s much easier to trust people that are open and transparent and that’s part of why it’s important to be so.

I know you’re probably thinking that you don’t want to share things online for everyone to see. I get that and I sometimes have issues giving everyone every single one of my struggles so I try to be selective but I still try to give the ones that I believe may help someone else. One thing I try to remember and that is the fact that here in the near future video is going to be the most rendered result during online searches and if that’s the case you have to be able to be found on video and video is the best way to show people who you really are. Now, I’m not suggesting that everyone needs to run out and start doing videos because not everyone is going to be good at video but there are other ways to be transparent and let people know who you are such as regular written post or maybe even a blog post.

So, I have touched a little about why I try to be transparent online but let me go a little further.

The fact is that people buy from who they like, know and trust. Just a few years ago customers would come to a business or dealership and that’s how they got to know you. Now, they can know about you and your business beforehand and decide if they want to even visit you or not while sitting behind a computer or phone. So, if that’s the case, you not only want to have online presence but you also want to be real. The more real you are then the more people can get to know you. Again, I’m not saying to expose all of your past transgressions necessarily but you must be real nonetheless. 

Having said all of that, there are basically 2 reasons why I want to be transparent to some extent online.

1) I do it so people can get to know me and possibly like and trust me. If most people are searching and shopping online and most people buy from people they like, know and trust then it only makes sense to help them during that process. First, if you have no online presence at all you will probably struggle in the future but second, if you aren’t open and transparent then people may think you’re fake. It doesn’t help that most people have a negative view of car salesmen anyway so why must we continue to confirm what they already believe and act like we have things to hide. Often times if they see you being upfront and transparent about possible struggles in your life then it may be a little easier for the customer to actually believe what you’re telling them during a buying transaction.

2) I try to be transparent in order to help others. Ultimately this is the one that I think of most of the time. I think about who I can help with what I say or do. If I am sharing a struggle or tough time in my life it is usually because I think there may be someone else out there with a similar struggle that might can relate and maybe what I have to say may help them. Also, if I have something positive or uplifting that I think may help someone then I share that as well. This could be anything from motivation, a certain way to do something or helping a customer buy a car. I try to have a wide range of videos and avenues in order to get information out that may can help others. 

Again, I am not saying that everyone needs to run out and do videos and to share all of your deepest darkest secrets. I am simply sharing the reasons I do it and how it may help. If you’re in sales then videos and online presence will be helpful but I totally understand that not everyone is comfortable doing them and posting them but you must find another way to get a presence online and let people know who you are and what you’re about and in doing so it is very important to let people see who you really are because no one likes a fake person. If they see you as fake they definitely won’t like, know or trust you. 

You struggle at video?

In this social media age it is important to have an online presence especially if you are primarily commission based selling! There are many professions that would benefit from social media but it’s getting to be more and more important for those with there own business or in sales to be noticed online and not merely for just picking up customers but maybe also future employers or opportunities so why are so many hesitant about getting online?

Some of the main reasons are that people are private and don’t want to mingle there personal and professional life. This thought process is the same thought process I had before I started but I finally realized that your personal and professional lives are forever mingled especially if you’re in sales so this thought process has got to go. Another reason is some people are just being stubborn about jumping on the social media bandwagon especially those that might be “old school”. The “old school” mentality can hinder your future business I’m sad to say because there are more and more companies advertising and recruiting on social media than ever before and it’s only going to get worse as well as the amount of consumers that are searching online sources and sites to get the info they need so why wouldn’t you want to be found in online searches?

Are you struggling to want to do videos and post them on social media sites? Does it scare you to death to put yourself out there like that for everyone to see? The answer is probably yes to both of those questions. 

To be honest, I was the same way! Heck, I even get a little nervous about posting videos online now after hundreds of videos posted. I get nervous about how they will do, what kind of engagement I will have and even what kind of good or bad comments they will get so I get it. I understand that you might be scared or timid about putting a video out there for anyone and everyone to see! The best thing I can do is tell you to just do the first one! 

I know it’s easier to say than to do but that’s what I did to begin with! I picked up the phone, actually my 1st video was with a mini hand held recorder, and started recording. My first videos were terrible in my opinion and never thought I would ever reach 1 million views on my YouTube channel but I did! That’s not counting the hundreds of videos I’ve done on Facebook. 

So the question is how did I do that or what advice would I give someone that’s wanting to do video. I came up with 3 that I think will help. 1) Be consistent and don’t give up. This is a very important one to remember because even when you finally pick up that camera to record you may not get the interaction and engagement that you want to get and you’ll want to give up. It takes time to build subscribers and followers so don’t think you will be an overnight success with video and on YouTube because it probably won’t happen. You could put out a good video that may go viral but it’s very hard to do and not many actually do it. But don’t give up and stick with it and you will be okay. Also, you will have haters and naysayers that will tell you that your videos are stupid and you’re wasting your time, I did, but you have to ignore them and keep shooting! You will have people saying negative things about you and your videos on YouTube as well but you have to keep them coming. Just remember that you will most likely have people talking about you anyways so you might as well give them something more to talk about while you’re getting your name and face out there. 2) Your videos won’t be that good in the beginning but the more you do the better they’ll get. The better they get the more comfortable you’ll be on camera. Once you start being comfortable on camera you will be more comfortable being you and making mistakes because we all do. It’s okay to be critical of your videos a little bit because you always want to improve but don’t be overly critical and just put the video out there! You don’t have a choice really once you start doing Lives so you might as well get use to it in your prerecorded ones too! 3) When finally doing videos make sure you understand that Facebook and YouTube are different animals with different types followings. You might post a video on Facebook and get 1,000 views and might also post the same video on YouTube and get 20 so it takes time to learn what does well where which I am still learning for sure. Also know that you’re likely to get many more people commenting, both good and bad, on your YouTube channel so be prepared because when you get those first few negative comments about a video you posted you will want to give up probably. Don’t let that push you away because that’s part of posting online videos and that’s you have to take the good with the bad!

As I continue to learn and grow with my video I want you to understand how tiring it can be to be consistent and not give up. It gets tough to watch some of your videos not get the views you think they deserve but that’s why you have to keep striving to come up with more and better content that people might want to watch. 

Pick the camera up and press record!! That’s the only way to get started!!!