Figuring out where to spend your money when you are trying to market your brand can be quite tricky. It’s hard not to cross the line over to gimmicky territory when trying to create content that attracts the customer’s eye whilst staying interesting. Finding the right balance between smart yet exciting is hard which is why a video testimonial could be just the thing to market your business and gain new customers.
Read on for more tips and tricks on how to create the perfect video testimonial including why video is better than written reviews and the benefits to having them on your website.
One of the answers to this is that video triggers emotions.
It’s one thing reading someone’s written review, but a whole other to watch an engaging, entertaining and well-edited video testimonial. Video conjures up the emotions whereas it takes an extremely good writer to be able to pen an emotional piece of writing which, let’s be honest, does not happen with the average review; this leads me onto my next point.
When a customer comes to you in person to specifically help you create a video testimonial, this shows that the customer is genuinely impressed and pleased with the quality of work you have done for them with your products/service. To a potential customer, this feels more personal than just reading online reviews that may or may not be true. There is no face that you can see when reading reviews on the internet.
In short, video testimonials will always be superior to online reviews. The viewer can trust them more by seeing a happy customer talking about their experience on video rather than seeing some words printed out on a review section with no face to go with it.
It’s no secret that people love to watch videos. In fact, 73% of people worldwide prefer seeing videos on social media that are entertaining. Having a video that is engaging and entertaining pulls the viewer into it. They will feel more inclined to watch the entire video all the way through instead of stopping halfway. Having some good editing in your video always makes it more entertaining. By including graphics, music and text it adds to the whole entertaining experience for your potential customers that watch the videos. In fact, 72% of consumers prefer video to learn about a product or service when video and text are both available on the same page.
Long gone are the days of just filming someone talking and then uploading it completely unedited; now you can use software to edit in more exciting features to your videos!
The number of people watching videos online only continues to grow, with video predicted to make up to 80% of all global traffic by 2019. YouTube is a big social platform for people looking to watch interesting content. YouTube’s target audience is aimed at anyone so your target audience will also be on there looking for videos that are just like yours. Creating a YouTube account and building up subscribers will help you get your brand across and attract more customers. To do that though you will need to upload great video content and video testimonials of all your happy customers is a great place to start.
It’s not just YouTube where you can upload your videos to. Practically any type of social media allows videos such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. By adding more videos onto these platforms, it allows you to build up your following whilst also getting your brand across to potential customers. Did you know that people engage with branded videos the most on Facebook (49%), followed by YouTube (32%), then Instagram (24%)? As you can see, social media is an absolute gold mine for finding potential customers; especially if you decide to upload your video testimonials for the world to see!
1) Make it human!
If you want the video to grip your viewers, then you need to make it engaging, entertaining and real. You want the viewer to be instantly drawn into watching it from the get go! Don’t make it feel like it has been scripted; give the customer a list of questions and get them to think of answers to them. It must seem natural!
2) Use good quality equipment!
Good equipment helps to create better films. Without this, you are going to struggle to make a video that is worth watching. Even if you don’t have access to a proper film camera, then you can always use your smart phone! Smart phones are nearly just as good as video cameras now meaning that you would be able to get a great picture when filming from them. It may also be wise to invest in a tripod for your camera instead of hand holding it. Tripods will keep your camera still and you can also set it to the height you want. You can also get tripods for smart phones too!
3) Prepare a list of questions!
You must make sure that the subject who is going to be doing the video testimonial knows what questions you are going to ask and how you want them answered. Before you plan on a day for filming your video, make sure to send the list of questions over to them. Give them some advice on how you would like the questions to be answered but do not write a script for them. Making them read off a script will make the film feel less personal and unnatural. Instead, let them come up with the answers themselves. You can give them some hints on how you would like it answered but do not guide them entirely. The whole point of a video testimonial is to get across how the subject felt, not how you want them to feel.
4) Add graphics and text!
Using graphics and text in your video is more appealing to the eye. It can be quite boring just watching someone talk for ages whilst nothing else is happening. It’s not just a way to keep viewers engaged, but it’s also good to highlight all the stats and statistics. It might even be an idea to have your questions written out in text instead of reading them out yourself. This way the viewer won’t get confused when different people are speaking. Plus, graphics are fun and exciting to look at!
When editing, it is always best to use some type of software on the computer for it. Software like Adobe Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro or you can go for something cheaper and simpler like iMovie or OpenShot.
5) Use the right filming techniques!
It’s crucial that you are in a setting that is best to film in. Having a plain background with no garish colours would be your best shot at making the testimonial look presentable. Make sure you are in a place where there is no background noise as that is quite hard to edit out of the film. If you are going to film outside, then it would be best to invest in a windbreaker because the camera will pick up any traces of windy noises which we don’t want in your video.
The best shot to have of the customer would be a medium close-up. This means having the camera pointed at the shoulders and upwards. There is no reason to have any other shot here as you are trying to focus on the customer talking, not acting. Also, remember to adjust the tripod so it is facing the customer front on and not an angle. You want a clear picture of them.
Using all the fanciest equipment possible will be of no use if you don’t make a connection with your audience. If that happens then the chances of you gaining more business from the videos will be quite low.
Before you post any videos to your social media, you could send them to some friends first to see if they feel a connection was made when they watched it.
With time and practice, your video testimonials will only become better which will eventually turn the audience into potential customers!
If you want help with your Video Marketing, get in touch our video marketing specialists can help capture the moment.
Meltham Mills, Huddersfield
West Yorkshire, HD9 4AR
Company No. 08413706
Registered in England & Wales
