What you do is pretty awesome. Where you work is great and the product or service you sell is outstanding. We don’t doubt it. But your prospects might. That’s why video testimonials are key.

Testimonials provide evidence that you actually do solve customers problems and in fact, offer some very good benefits.

Set Expectations

Being on camera can be nerve-racking for some … err most, actually. So help your customer feel at ease by setting appropriate expectations. Explain the schedule for the day of the shoot, who else you’ll be bringing with you, and any other details you think they should know. Offer guidelines on what your customer should wear and think about before you come for a candid conversation. Share your vision for the video, too.

Benefits, Benefits, Benefits

What really captures viewers are the benefits you provide for customers and the problems you so smoothly solve. So instead of focusing a customer testimonial on “automation” think of “time saved”, instead of “web-based” think “easy access”. Think benefits all the time.

Aim for Simplicity

Cramming every single benefit into one video might seem like it will get you the biggest bang for your buck. First, it’s probably difficult to fit all of those benefits into such a short video and secondly, consumers can only digest so many messages within a short time period. Stuff your video with too many benefits and the viewer will become overwhelmed and walk from your testimonial video without taking away a single thing.

Keep the Video Short … but the conversation long

Video testimonials, like most marketing videos, should be kept short. The sweet spot is about 45-60 seconds, although anything up to 3 minutes can work. But this doesn’t mean that you should only spend 45 seconds interviewing your customer. So take your time. Encourage a genuine conversation and more casual chat where there just happen to be cameras in the background. The more genuine the conversation, the more believable the testimonial.

Keep in mind that you’ll probably use multiple snippets from the conversation, so don’t worry about having one 45 second segment from your half hour discussion that’s pure gold. You can create that goldmine in post-production.

Remember the key is to produce believable video testimonials, so in order to do that, make your client comfortable, have a genuine conversation about the benefits they are experiencing, and edit some short but engaging testimonials in post-production. 

Still have a few questions about adding video to your marketing strategy?

Schedule a Discovery Session to see how our talents can match your vision.