Customer testimonials are a valuable way to build trust in your brand. To a potential customer, a testimonial is similar to a personal recommendation for a product or service. Videos are also an important tool in your marketing funnel. They are entertaining, engaging and easy to digest. Putting the two together creates a powerful marketing tool to create sincere and entertaining recommendations from existing customers.
Why do video testimonials make great marketing tools?
The power of a video testimonial goes beyond the idea of combining one effective marketing technique with another. When a video testimonial includes the right content, it is the act of one customer sharing the most important details of a product or service with another customer. A potential customer viewing a video testimonial should feel like an impartial bystander is offering them a helping hand. Consider these five reasons to add video testimonials to your marketing plan.
1. Video testimonials build trust.
A written testimonial provides a thought-out opinion of a product or service. Video allows your customers to see and hear a reaction, which makes it more credible, engaging and authentic. Consider conversations in your personal or business life that seem too important to take place over the phone, text or email. You prefer these conversations be carried out face to face so you can see and hear the other person’s reaction. A video testimonial provides the same type of visual confirmation.
2. Video has a higher retention rate.
While a long written review may contain more information, your potential customers might not finish reading it. Even worse, they may only remember a small percentage of what they read. Videos provide an entirely different experience. Viewers are not only more likely to watch a complete video, but they also reportedly retain 95% of a message viewed in a video, compared to 10% when reading text.
3. Video is preferred.
Video is the preferred form of content by most viewers. YouTube is the second most popular search engine on the internet with over two billion users. A video engages viewers with a real person to whom they can relate. Then, it uses the powerful tool of storytelling to show your potential customers why your product or service is worthy.
4. Videos get shared.
Since videos are enjoyable to watch, consumers love sharing them. When video sharing extends to user testimonials, your loyal customers naturally become brand ambassadors.
5. Video testimonials convert.
Conversion is one of the most important parts of your marketing process. It’s that magical moment that turns your potential customers into paying customers. When a potential customer is faced with a decision, they have to find a person they can trust. Customers are more likely to trust one another than an advertisement designed to promote your brand simply because it’s a person to whom they can relate. This relatability is only increased when your viewers see and hear a story similar to their own.
How do you make a good testimonial video?
The purpose of a testimonial video is not the same as that of a polished commercial that features professional actors. Your potential customers want to see the sincere opinions of ordinary customers to whom they can relate. Use these tips to teach your customers to make video testimonials.
• Give direction instead of providing a script. Customers reading from a script don’t provide authentic experiences or genuine emotions. Instead, have a conversation about the customer journey and how your product or service resolved the issue.
• Keep it short. In my experience, the optimal length for a video testimonial is around 90 to 120 seconds. Use the time wisely to give specific details.
• Avoid yes-no questions. When using an interview format, ask questions that evoke emotions and lead to descriptions of how the product solves problems.
• Ask for a testimonial as soon as a project/service is complete. Your happy customers are most likely to create compelling video testimonials when they’re excited about the results of your product or the service you provided.
• Suggest customers compare you to the competition. How do you measure up? Often, before finding a solution to a problem, consumers struggle with disappointments. Your potential customers may be comparing your service to others before making a purchase.
Use these four key areas to create an effective video testimonial.
Providing consumers with guidelines can help them become more confident in creating video testimonials about your product or service. Suggest your customers talk about these four key points.
• Themselves: Your customers want to be able to relate to the person in the video they’re watching. Real people have backgrounds. Your customer should provide a bit of relevant information that makes them relatable (such as age, career or parental status).
• Their challenge: What problem led them to seek your products or service? When the viewer is having a similar problem, they instantly connect with the person sharing the video.
• Why they chose you: Were there other products or services that didn’t measure up to your brand? Did the customer try other potential solutions without success?
• The results: Use these queries to prompt specific experiences. “Are you happy with the product or services provided? Please share specific details about how the product worked to solve the initial problem. Finish with the reason you recommend the product to other customers.”
Video testimonials combine a variety of powerful tactics to promote your brand to potential customers. Videos are an immensely popular medium that provides engaging stories to sell your products or services. Additionally, sincere customers who provide genuine reactions naturally build trust in your brand — and every business wants that.
Article originally posted on Forbes.com
