The Video Marketing Blog

The Do's and Don'ts of Video Testimonials

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Done correctly, a video testimonial is a very valuable sales tool for your company. Here's a list of do's and don'ts to help you create knockout video testimonials.

First, the Dos:

1. Broaden your vision. If you create a video testimonial that's a quick, simple statement about your business, or one that provides generalities instead of specifics, it won't do you much good. It won't give your prospects and leads the information they need to know if you're a good fit for them. So instead of a short, general testimonial, create a video testimonial that functions as a case study.

2. Create a structure for your case study before you start to film. Watch one of our testimonial/case studies to see how we put them together. Of course, you can use any structure you want, but remember that the goal is to lead your viewers through the progression that will help them see that you're a great solution for their problem. The formula we like to use is:

•  Name, company name, who are your customers? 
•  What were your problems/challenges?
•  Why did you choose our company?
•  How have we helped to solve your problems?

3. Give your subject the questions beforehand, so they can think about their answers. They'll appreciate your thoroughness, and they'll be less nervous because they know what to expect.

4. Be ruthless when you edit. If your customer likes to talk, you may wind up with half an hour of tape - or more. But your video testimonial must be much, much shorter -four minutes long is a good target. So you'll have to cut out a lot of material. Start with just 30 seconds of the customer telling about their business, and devote the rest of the case study to your main topics -problems and challenges, why they chose your company, and how you solved their problem. Remember that they'll naturally talk about their company a lot - but that's not the point of the testimonial/case study. Don't feel guilty about only using what you need. 

5. Construct a Case Study page on your website, and put your testimonial there. Use text to make the same points the video does - to give the search engines something to chew on and to give the same information to those who might not want to watch a video. You can also elaborate on things your testimonial subject touches on, if you want to give more detail.

6. Find other uses for extra material from the raw video. You'll probably get a lot more material than you can use in your case study. Don't pitch the rest - go through it and extract chunks you can use in a blog post, or in an email newsletter. Or posted on YouTube.

Now, the Don'ts:

1. Don't settle for general statements or short answers. If your happy customer is a little nervous about being videotaped, he or she may give you answers that are very short. But that won't give you enough to work with to construct your case study. So if you find that you're not getting much material from the person you're filming, change the questions you're asking. For example, instead of asking "Who are your customers?" you might say, "Tell me about your customers. Who are they? What are they like? What do they expect from you?" You might even try just having a conversation with them, to help them loosen up, and then working your questions into the conversation.

2. Don't give in to the temptation to make the edited version too long. You may get 30 minutes or more of absolutely excellent material and it may kill you to have to edit it down to four minutes. But remember - people don't watch long videos on the web. No matter how good they are, your viewership will drop off. So keep it short. And use some of that material in other places (see number 6, above)

3. Don't park your finished testimonial on your website and forget about it. Editing your raw tape into a finished testimonial case study is just the beginning. Now you have to use it to connect with many leads and prospects as possible. So put it up on YouTube. Use it on a landing page and write about it in an email newsletter. Send a link to relevant prospects.

Video testimonials are an excellent tool to connect with potential customers. And happy customers are generally willing to help by allowing you to film them. Using these dos and don'ts will help you create knockout marketing and sales assets that speak directly to your leads and prospects, and will help you turn them into customers.