Video reviews: what are the best places to use them to your marketing advantage? Here are some impactful places you can share your customer testimonial videos to increase visibility and establish your brand.
In 2018, 87% of consumers said they wanted to see more video reviews related to brands in the next year. Today, consumers don’t just want to see videos, they expect to.
The power of customer testimonial videos is two-fold:
Let’s say you’ve done the hard part - you’ve collected some customer testimonial videos. They feature real-life experiences from your happy customers, all while explaining your product/service. It’s time to get these valuable assets out into the world.
For your video testimonials to be effective, you have to know how, when, and where to use them. When used at the right time, videos can push prospective customers through important conversion points down your marketing funnel.
Here are 8 impactful places you can share your customer testimonial videos to increase your visibility, define a consumer-centric or B2B video marketing strategy, and help establish your brand.
You have 8 seconds to make an impression on your landing page. Therefore, when it comes to sharing video testimonials, your website is a great place to start.
Landing pages that feature social proof convert on average at 12.50%, compared to landing pages without, which convert at 11.40%. More specifically, using videos on a landing page increases conversion rate by 86%. Positive feedback is an extremely valuable marketing tool, and your website is the perfect place to utilize it. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to leverage the voice of your happy customers.
Other conversion pages like product pages are also great opportunities to let testimonials prove the value of what you are selling. Videos can show a happy customer sharing their experience or actually demonstrating the product in use. This kind of insight can answer all kinds of questions a prospect may have in trying to decide whether or not to buy.
Social media is all about relatability.
For your campaigns and posts to be relatable, they must feel authentic, and there is nothing more authentic than user-generated content. Sharing testimonial videos on your favored social media outlets (whether that’s Facebook, Instagram, or if you’re in the B2B, LinkedIn) gives your followers access to unbiased feedback from real customers, which builds trust. It also helps followers connect and identify with your customer base, which strengthens brand loyalty and a sense of belonging.
Social media gives you an opportunity to go out to the market with the customer feedback you want prospects to see, unlike your website which requires the prospect to take the first step.
While planning and executing an effective social media strategy can be tough, user-generated video content increases your amount of readily available marketing assets and requires very little work to manage.
Realistically, if you’re like most local businesses, many of your social followers are friends, family, and current customers. Therefore, if your goal is to use your testimonials to generate leads, paid social ads will need to be part of your strategy.
84% of people say that they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service just by watching a brand’s video. Sharing testimonial videos via paid social ads increases visibility for your product/service.
However, that’s not to say that paid social ads don’t come without their challenges. According to Wyzowl, 9 in 10 video marketers feel that levels of competition have increased over the last year, turning our news feeds into overwhelming commercial spaces.
User-generated content is different. In context with social media, it’s less disruptive than traditional overproduced ads, and it feels more natural to viewers. Further, when framed as a “peer-to-peer conversation,” video reviews don’t make potential customers feel like they’re being aggressively sold to, rendering them more effective. Overall, using customer testimonials in paid ads helps prospects learn about your business on their own terms and works to establish a more respectful and honest business-consumer relationship.
Here’s an excellent example of a testimonial video from American Express. It’s conversational, it features 5 real-life customers as opposed to actors, and it isn’t overbearing in terms of convincing you to buy.
Case studies and testimonial videos go hand in hand when it comes to gaining potential customers. While your testimonial videos may prove that people trust and like your product/service, they may not include the type of information needed to convince someone to buy. Your case studies, however, do.
Case studies, which include data, photos, and written quotes from the customers you are documenting, already tell a more in-depth story about how useful your product/service is. Featuring customer review videos in your case studies works to fortify these claims. Further, it makes your content feel more personal and accessible by allowing prospects to physically hear and see proof of real happy customers.
Posting your videos on streaming sites is a great way to expand your brand's online presence and recognition. Sites like YouTube, Vimeo, Streamable, and Dailymotion are all well-trafficked video platforms where you can share your testimonials and promote your product/service.
While it may seem like YouTube has the upper hand in terms of popularity and visibility, smaller streaming sites have their benefits too. Posting your content across multiple sites helps you strengthen your outreach and connect with a more targeted audience. This article does a great job outlining what type of content each site is best for and why.
At Widewail, we are firm believers in the importance of written reviews. However, the effect of video has become impossible to ignore.
More recently, third-party review sites like Amazon, Facebook, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Angi’s List, TripAdvisor, and Glassdoor have begun to support video uploads - from both businesses and customers. Judging by current video marketing trends, those sites that don’t support video most likely will in the future. Get ahead of the game by sharing your video testimonials on review sites. Further, since we know customers trust each other more than your business, encourage them to post their video testimonials to your page directly. This will enhance coverage of your product/service and allow your customers to connect on a more personal level.
Testimonials are persuasive in all phases of the sales process, especially in the decision-making stage when you’ve got a prospect on the line. According to Forbes, 59% of senior executives prefer video over text, and there are countless reasons to take advantage of this. When prospecting, videos can be used to help move deals closer to contract, apply further sales pressure post-meeting, or strengthen your follow-up communications. They allow prospects to envision what their experience working with your business could look like while serving as an added layer of social proof.
However, when using video testimonials while prospecting, remember to choose them carefully. The goal is to make your business seem credible, not to show off, so don’t share your testimonials unless they are relevant to your prospect’s interests. Editing your testimonials can help keep them on brand and to the point.
One out of four marketers are already using video in email campaigns, and you should be too. Specifically, customer testimonials are a very effective marketing tool you can use to nurture emails, vamp up your newsletters, or even make your one-to-one communications more inviting. This article features a great example from Trunk Club of how to share a video testimonial via email.
Like with social media, those signed up for your email newsletters are most likely already invested in your business. Regularly seeing proof of the positive effects of your product/service through testimonials will help keep your customers engaged over time.
Knowing where to share your videos is key when it comes to gaining leads and widening your outreach. As a general rule, you should share your testimonials wherever you engage with your customers, especially at key decision-making points. For more information on all things video, check out our Complete Guide to Video Testimonials for Businesses.
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