Using your customers experiences can increase sales

Video testimonials are a valuable tool for businesses looking to shine a light on a product or service. They lend an air of credibility and unbiased opinion. Consumers considering a purchase tend to conduct research on the business, it’s services and products online before buying. Having your own customer testimonials on your website and promoting them on social media are an effective way to increase future sales. By utilizing video testimonials, you can allow potential customers to see and hear the positive feedback from others like them. This allows video to reinforce your product descriptions and claims using real people. Authentic testimonials in a real customer or employees own voice, ring much truer than scripted advertising copy. People can relate to others in the same position and are more likely to be influenced by their peers. If you need some convincing that your business should be using video, consider the following 7 reasons why video testimonials are effective.


1)      Mobile customers are even more likely to watch a video testimonial on their devices than to read a review. By not having videos available, your business is missing out on a key marketing opportunity. If one is searching for a video testimonial they will search until they find one. If you offer the exact same product or services as your competitors, having the video testimonial can set you apart in several ways. The first is the consumer will be more likely to find the video on your website, hence lending you more credibility in the consumers eyes than a competitor who does not.  Video now accounts for nearly half of all internet traffic, and with trends in viewing habits that number is expected to soar in the coming years. People tend to share what they consider important information with others, in fact a whopping 92% of mobile video viewers share videos with others. To top it all off, the average visitor spends 88% more time on a website with video, then one that does not. As phones become more powerful and useful tools to shoppers, having viewable testimonial videos is a must to remain competitive in the digital marketplace.


2)      Video testimonials help customers to visualize your possible solution to their problem. The average person now watches about 2 videos every week online, or 17 minutes a month of product descriptions and ads. 90% of shoppers say they find videos extremely helpful when making a buying decision. Retention rates of viewers who watch a video are 85% higher than those who read text about a topic. If you can offer your potential customers visual, audible and text proof of performance you are enhancing the odds that your message will come across effectively. At the same time, you are keeping them engaged meaning they will spend more time on your site. Testimonials should be informative and honest first and foremost. Customers tend to view everything with a skeptical eye, and that should not be lost when creating testimonials. If the person in the video comes off as being ingenuine, customers will see right through it. That could hurt your product sales and bottom line, so keep it real with your customers. It will pay off for both you and the customer in the end. In fact, 46% of viewers act after watching a video.


3)      Boost your search engine optimization rankings by using video testimonials. It is important to understand that video SEO is different from regular SEO. Where you rank in search engine query returns can be greatly enhanced by having videos in addition to text, infographics and pictures. Where you rank has a lot to do with your websites authority, and how much video your site offers. Many factors should be paid attention to when posting your videos to help boost how they are ranked and displayed by search engines. Tags and keywords relevant to the specific product and what terms potential customers might be searching for should be included. Get creative with keywords and use them along with the title and description to make your video stand out. Googles algorithm Penguin, ranks content with video better, making video essential for your website. Make sure to index each video to help make it easier for google to find. The more a video is shared, liked and reviewed the higher the ranking will be.  You will want to post your videos across as many video channels as possible, YouTube, Vine, Vimeo and social media account that you have. Posting links on social media and in the comment sections of relevant discussions, and moderating any discussions on your video posts all help boost the videos ranking. Keep watch over the analytics for your videos and learn from the information, which videos are getting a lot of views and how long are people watching? Which of your videos are getting a lot of likes and shares? Review this information frequently and figure out how to make future videos better. Not only can your SEO rank benefit, but you can gain valuable insight into your business as well.


4)      Using yourself and your employees in a testimonial can build trust. Employee testimonials can give the customer good insight into your brand and company culture. Hearing the true stories of why your employees like working for your company, or why they like selling the goods or services you offer can be an effective marketing tool, create a familiarity with the company, even though the customers ever never met you in person. Let’s say Jim works for Best Craft Beers. A part of Jim’s job is to select the ingredients that go into the beer, the barley, malt, hops etc. Jim takes great care and pride in selecting the best ingredients for your great tasting beer. Hearing and seeing how Jim does this, to hear the passion in his voice, to show customers the behind the scenes process, and taking them through the process can build a familiarity to both Jim and the beer. The customer feels more knowledgeable about your brand and staff, when they go to buy beer the next time, they will feel more empowered to purchase a Best Craft Beer. You will of course want to choose an employee who has that passion for their job and the product. Not everyone does well in front of a camera and speaking from the heart. But when you can find one who can convey your message, it can be golden. You as the business owner can give insight into why you chose to start your business. Tell your story, tell them what makes you different than your competition, why they should choose your brand over the others. Every business has a startup story, tell it. Explain the day you had the epiphany and said “I can do this better” and launched your business. Walk the customer through the company’s history until the present day, or why you came up with the product or sell what you sell. Every business has a story and everyone loves to hear a good story, tell yours.


5)      Video Testimonials have a positive impact on your websites landing page. By using video testimonials positioned prominently on a landing page can lead to higher conversion rates for your business. Build on the testimonials credibility and use it to boost your landing pages call to action. These videos should be relatively short, under 2 minutes and inspire the customer to respond to your call for action. These videos really are your first chance to “wow” the customer so be sure this is your best video possible. If you can identify with the customers problem they are trying to solve and offer them a solution, and proof of performance in one video under 2 minutes, you are off to a strong start. If you are fortunate to have several different customer testimonials, experiment with using each one on the landing page and analyze the results of which ones worked best. Including a video on your landing page can increase conversion by 80%, so why wouldn’t you want to?


6)      Visualizing increases relatability. When a visitor to your site can see what their experience can be like through testimonials it is more compelling. We are more likely to believe a statement when we can see the person who is making that claim, rather than reading it. We can connect with the audience and humanize a product or company through visualization. When we see the person making a claim, we feel like we are getting a genuine message, not so much a sales pitch. When we feel we are being “sold to” or “pitched” as consumers, we are much more defense and skeptical. Hearing how a real person benefited is much more compelling and believable as true.


7)      Online video reviews are the next best thing to a recommendation from family or friends. 84% of people trust online reviews as much as hearing them from friends or family. Everyone has asked family or friends for recommendations at some point. Whether we are looking for a good restaurant, a doctor, lawyer or mechanic. We respect the opinions of others we know, and like to learn from their experiences. If they had a bad experience we are less likely to patronize that business. If they had a positive experience we are more likely to try a product, good or service. 70% of Americans say they will look at product reviews before making a purchase with 63% more likely to make a purchase from a site that has ratings and reviews. The proof is in the numbers, we are more likely to purchase after hearing, seeing or reading positive reviews from our peers. Being able to see the person giving the review lends to their credibility, and makes them relatable if they are from someone who is like them, or were looking for a solution to the same problem they are faced with.


Video testimonials are an excellent way of building social proof of your company, products and services. Customer testimonials offer potential customers a different perspective from their peers who have already tried and had a positive experience with your offerings. These perspectives lead to increased trust, familiarity and more conversions. By taking this approach businesses can answer a potential customers questions, and overcome the negative connotations and skepticism that come with traditional advertising. They allow potential customers to visualize a solution to their own problems, and for your business to build a relationship with them. Effective video testimonials should empower the viewer to act and try your offerings for themselves. By positioning a testimonial on your websites landing page, you are increasing the likelihood of sales conversions. Videos are great for attracting mobile customers, and can lead to more shares on social media by your customers. They are a great time saver for the customer, as viewing a video typically takes much less time than reading an article and they encourage sharing with others. Make sure that your video doesn’t “sell” too hard, make them informative and educational so they explain the value of your products or service.


There are many ways to incorporate video testimonials into your marketing efforts. You can use them for very specific products and services, to tout a new product or service, for sales or giveaways and even contests or giveaways that can ask your customers to share what they love about what you do. You can offer freebies or discounts to those customers who make, share and like testimonials on your behalf.


Make sure to keep adding fresh and relevant video testimonials, it’s important to viewers and to your web traffic that they are recent. 73% of consumers think that reviews older think 3 months are not relevant.


Start making and posting video testimonials to your businesses website, and give your consumers what they are looking for. At the same time, giving your business a boost with more sales conversions.


Sources: BrightLocal 2016 Local Consumer Review Survey, PowerReviews Best Practices for Ratings and Reviews, Kissmetrics, People Claim



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