Testimonials are the most powerful marketing tool you can use.
Video is the best testimonials you can have, followed by written testimonials with the full name, business name, and photo of the person giving the testimonial.
The least powerful testimonials are those with just the first name of the person giving the testimonial included.
Video testimonials are by far the most powerful testimonials because:
- They are more engaging and more quickly build trust: Video testimonials are more personal and engaging, so they build trust much faster compared to written reviews and star ratings. People can see that the person on the video is a living and breathing human being not much different from them, so it’s easy to relate to what the person is saying. Also, hand gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice and other forms of body language can be used to appeal to people’s curiosity, something you can’t do with text or numbers.
- They don’t sound too much like sales talk: You can talk about how amazing your business is in your marketing collaterals, but you can’t necessarily make people believe what you’re saying. To break through your target audience’s skepticism, you need video testimonials from the voice of a satisfied customer.
- They’re faster to consume: People have always been busy, but even more so on the Internet. They don’t have time to read long ads with blocks of written text, not when there are so many things that can distract them. Thus, video testimonials are ideal — they’re multimedia and they last for only a few minutes. Also, a mixture of cool music and graphics can grab and sustain attention.
- They’re as close to word-of-mouth marketing as you can get: Word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the most effective marketing methods, but it’s not necessarily as fast or as widespread as you want it to be. However, video testimonials can effectively simulate the feel of word-of-mouth marketing, and reaching a wider audience in a shorter amount of time. Think of how many people you can reach when you upload video testimonials on YouTube, for example.
- They are usually told as a story: Nothing captures our attention like a good story. Stories are scientifically proven to tap into our brains uniquely, pulling us into the plot. Our brains are wired for stories. So, by having these stories being told about your business, you can draw your prospects in and connect with them emotionally.
Of course, there are circumstances where you need written testimonials such as printed material and some places online. So, with your written testimonials, ensure you have the person’s name, business name and if possible a photo of that person.