So how did you get into the automotive industry?
In 2013 I was unemployed. I was doing some photos and videos kind of sporadically at home. But, you know, collecting unemployment, which was an eye-opener, because I had three boys, two in high school and one elementary at the time, taking care of, and my wife wasn't working.
I got a call from somebody, and they were like, "Hey, we worked on a video a few years ago. Do you remember?" I'm like, yeah, he's like, "Well, it's not necessarily that, but I work at Valley Hi Toyota. I'm the Social Media Manager. And they're looking for a photographer to take pictures of used cars." Yeah, and I was like, it's quite a commute. But my wife said it's a job, and if it doesn't work out, just quit. We were managing at the time, but that's how I got started. Just taking pictures of used cars for a few months, actually.
About 10 years, all at Valley Hi?
Yeah, 10 years this year.
Toyota Todd said, "it's going to be interesting because you have no clue what this industry is about." And he was right, but I graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a film studies degree. So always told the guy who got me the job, "dude, we should do a video of the cars driving through the desert!" Eventually, he started sending me out to make them.
How long was it before you moved into more of like a self-directed role?
I think it was about five or six months.
Before that, I had a contracted position at March Air Reserve Base for American Forces Network. I was doing TV stuff, but it wasn't production stuff. So I worked there for about 13 years and never had room for growth. Coming here, just seeing what automotive do when they recognize talent, you know the cream just rises. Slowly and surely, I just kind of took over that guy's role. I felt bad at the time. But you know, I just saw the opportunity. And the room for growth.
So what is it like now? Big team and million-dollar cameras?
It's just Frankie and myself, doing the creative things, you know, he's actually taking over the taking pictures of the used cars, but, you know, we're having conversations to maybe get somebody else to take that position. Because, like we said before, we recognize Frankie's importance, him being 23 years old and me being no spring chicken, he knows about the Gen Z group coming up, and his talent is valuable.
We want to reach all groups and ages. We just surpassed 2000 followers on TikTok. One of our videos has up to 1.3 million views. So we just want to have the, you know, the array of selective, you know, creative content out there, you know, the typical commercials that we do, but also, you know, trying to venture into the Tick Tock quack, you know, stuff in and out.
Wow! In ten years, I imagine you've become comfortable with the way the platforms and tech change?
First, it was pictures on Facebook of people with their vehicles, that's what I took over, but not being really into cars myself, I just wanted to get the human element. And that is still where we are now. Different technology but helping the business with whatever Facebook or YouTube or Periscope live stream we can use to make something fun that grabs people's attention.
It is a team effort. Everybody does what they need for the business. I'm writing commercials and radio ads. I'm doing the graphic design for our billboards. Website content, blog posts, and learning SEO tricks. I even started implementing some ChatGPT.
When somebody walks into Valley Hi Toyota that has seen our commercials, they know we are fun. Everybody gets on board. If our General Manager has the audacity to put makeup on or to dress up as Superman or to, you know, dress up as a cowboy, then darn well, the rest of the team better adapt and be able to welcome any customer, any visitor that sees that that's what we're all about.
All in addition to the commercial!
We've been doing themed commercials every month for, like, seven years now. It's evolving, and we're making sure that we manage our reputation. We're really all in on reviews, whether they're good or bad. You know, we'll get people like, "well, can't we just get rid of Yelp?" No, you can't.
That's where the people are. That's what we're concentrating on. You know, it's to the point where that is the forefront. Google reviews, and Yelp reviews, those are at the forefront. That's what other people see. So we want to make sure that those are, are aligning with our goals and having that customer satisfaction.
That's why we do these car giveaways. And this year, we're going full blast. We just finished one last month. I had over 6000 entries, and we kept this content contest really short. Usually, we would stretch it out for three months to do a car giveaway. This time, it was just all in February.
It was TV show style. I have local businesses donate prizes. And if somebody was watching live, we would ask a question and just have that engagement, that interaction. And so it's a win win win, because, you know, our viewers win a prize, like whether it's pizza or a spa, or, you know, we gave away gift cards, eyelashes, pancakes, so a bunch of local businesses, and then the business wins because we have close to 20,000 followers likes on Facebook and over 4000 on Instagram. So we went live there on Instagram and YouTube, and even Tik Tok. And so it's a win win win. Because, you know, we get our name out there.
We love win-win-wins! What are you excited to work on next?
We're talking about doing a podcast.
Because we have some great personalities here at the dealership. I mean, I'm kind of the face. But our GM, our sales manager, our friend, our service manager, Jared, our parts manager, Eddie, and even Frankie, he does a little podcast himself.
We want to do something that we can feature artists and business owners. I was talking to a Grid Iron pizza shop owner this week. They're out in a base called Fort Irwin. They have a standalone pizza truck, and they're always donating prizes to our live streams. I'll call like, "Hey, Dan, we're going live today." He's like, "Yeah, go ahead give away two number 42s."
So yeah, we want to bring some cameras and catch him throwing some pizza crust or something. Content for him and content for us. We want to make more stuff with the community. Our branding says, "Valley High Toyota, you're a community dealership," and we just want to live up to that moniker?
Nobody expects you to know it all, but we all pick up helpful stuff along the way in life, do you have any tips or advice for the community?
Don't don't be afraid to be different. You know, go ahead and be weird, especially in this industry.
I mean, you got to stand out. I know it's cliche, but you see the typical posts and forums, and it's just weird now because now it seems forced. So set a goal and have intention with what you're posting. Don't do it just because it's trending. Do it because there's a purpose behind it, you know? You want to have an array of content out there. Don't be afraid to brand yourself, brand the business, and brand your employees.