How To Create Powerful Video Testimonials To Boost Your Business

Picture this. You go online to buy a product you've been thinking about for weeks. But then you see no one has left a review on it.  The fact that nobody has an opinion about the product made you hesitate.

That’s the power of a review.

Reviews come into play when your potential customer has reached the decision stage in the sales funnel. You’re going to have to nudge your customer into picking you instead of your competitors.

This is essential for them to move on to the action stage of the buyer. This motivation, my friend, will be provided by your previous customer reviews. 

Statistics say that 49 per cent of all customers value online reviews when considering a buy. Obviously, this number is climbing.

Now, we’re in an age where video is dominating the world.

So why not make video testimonials?

They’re great for engaging potential customers!

A customer testimonial video basically involves a person reviewing a product, but in video form. 

These video testimonials are more powerful because there’s now a real person speaking on screen. This makes the review more believable, giving it more substance.                                                                         

Video testimonials come under the golden trifecta of effective video marketing strategies along with tutorials and demonstrations. 

Why do you think memes are so popular? Because of how relatable they are!  In the same way, the “relatability" of video testimonials makes them popular among consumers. 

The whole idea might sound simple at a glance. But let me tell you, there are some nuances that go into making a great video testimonial. 

In this article we will show you the major points you need to keep in mind when creating powerful videos of customer testimonials. 

• Some great tips for creating video testimonials.
• Useful questions that will help you create a great video testimonial.
• Links to software that will make the process easier for you.
• Examples of brilliant video testimonials for inspiration. 

Tips for creating powerful video testimonials

We’re going to start off with the major points you need to keep in mind to get the best out of your video testimonial:

1. Don’t even think about using a script

Video testimonials attract potential customers because they are authentic. This is the first thing to keep in mind while creating customer testimonials.

You can lose the authentic feel of the video if the interviewee's responses are scripted rather than genuine.

Make sure that you do not overtly push the person into speaking the way you want them to. This is going to make your subject nervous and they won’t be completely honest.

2. Humanize your video testimonial with emotions

An emotional story is a sure fire way to grab a person’s attention. This doesn’t mean you have to go for an all-out tragedy. Instead, go for something that was bugging the speaker for a while.

The person could start out by explaining the issues they had faced until they found the solution in your product.  They then talk about how your product fixed all their problems - and all's now sunshine and rainbows.

Boom - Emotion.

3. Keep things short

Nobody likes to listen to a person drone on and on about something for hours. (Unless it is to discuss a new game of thrones theory). A short video will hold your viewers’ attention and also get the point across.

Make sure that your video testimonial is only a few minutes long, preferably under 3 mins. You can also save time by using text to state your interviewee's name and title while they're speaking.

4. Tell A Story!

Presenting a testimonial in the form of a story can make it much more interesting for the listener. No matter what age they are!

While creating video testimonials, ask the interviewee questions that suggest the trail of a story.

Ask them about the problem they faced. 

How did they find out about your product?

How did the product or service helped them overcome their problem?

This will nudge them into adding a narrative to their review that engages the audience better.

We have provided some more questions for you to use below. 

5. Don’t Complicate.

Stick to simple terms and not technical jargon. Include data and statistics from time to time, but make sure that their part in the testimonials is small.

6. Send out the questions prior to the interview

If you decide to surprise your speaker with the questions, the video might turn out to be rather awkward. So, give them the questions prior to the filming of the video.

This does not mean that the speaker is expected to memorize lines for the recording. Letting them know the questions earlier gives them time to outline answers in their minds. This allows them to better plan their responses.

7. Keep things interesting

The target audience will easily lose their interest if you keep a single camera focused on the speaker’s face. Change it up - use cameras from different angles. Zoom in, zoom out.

Use footage of your product or of the speaker’s life that is relevant for your video. 

This is not an option for everyone since it would require multiple cameras and a considerably large crew.

If you are a small firm and are thinking, “Nah, this ain’t for me. I don’t have the budget to create such a high-quality video.” Wait just a second. You can publish video testimonials online by spending basically nothing.

For this, you need customers who love your product and have said so before. You do not have to invite them over to film using pieces of expensive equipment.

Instead, you could ask your favorite customers to film a video of themselves speaking about the product using their phone.

And don’t worry.

Customers aren’t going to find filming themselves much of an issue. A huge section of the population consists of regular Tiktok users - They’re used to it. 

But if you do have a massive budget for advertising strategies, by all means go for it. Bring in the equipment and shoot videos of IMAX quality. You can also make the video more attractive and accessible by using graphics and texts.

8. Don’t interrupt

It is always better to have more material than to not have enough. The video will definitely undergo an editing process during the post-production stage. You will get the chance to delete the parts you think aren’t necessary and keep the ones you like.

So no matter what you do, don’t interrupt the speaker and also record everything they say.

Useful Questions To Start Off Your Video Testimonial

Benjamin Franklin once said, “by failing to prepare, you prepare to fail”. The same applies to video testimonials too. Note down the questions you will be asking way before you film the video.

This constitutes your video testimonial script! Here is a list of great questions you can use for a video testimonial.

1. What issues were you facing before you came across our product?
2. How did you first hear about our product?
3. Why did you choose our product in particular/ Which feature of our product attracted you?
4. How did our product help you out? (B2C)
5. How has the product improved your business? (B2B)
6. What do you like most about this product?
7. Would you recommend the product to others? And why?
8. Will you continue using it in the future?

You don’t have to stick to these questions. Tailor them according to your needs.

If you think that this whole deal is too complicated for your company, we’ve got good news for you! 

There are several video testimonial software out there that will help you simplify the process.

Softwares that will help you make great video testimonials

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, it’s time to get your testimonial on the road. After trying out tens of softwares, we narrowed down three of the best to help you create a quality video testimonial.

1. Boast

Boast is a website/app that lets you send your customers a link to which they can upload their testimonials. You can name the video within the site, choose a thumbnail and publish immediately. Boast gives you a demo video depicting how it can be used to collect testimonials from your previous customers. 

Price: $16 - $199/month

2. Magnfi

Magnfi lets you message your customers directly and enables them to shoot and upload videos straight onto your magnfi page. Magnfi then adds your logo, suitable background music and a call to action giving you immediately publishable video testimonials. 

Price: $29/month OR $199/year

3. Getbravo

Getbravo is another unique software for testimonial collections. It adds an option in your webpage that allows customers to directly upload their testimonials. You can provide a short description on how to upload the videos and what to say in the customer stories. This makes the software extremely efficient and user-friendly.

Price: $5 - $199/month

Some Great Video Testimonials - For Your Inspiration

Having a hard time understanding how to go about the testimonial? Don’t worry! We’ve compiled a list of some of the best testimonials out there for your inspiration.

1. Carlthorp School

In this video by Carlthorp School, a number of schoolchildren were brought in to give their testimonials. The children’s innocence gave a rosy picture of the school’s atmosphere.  

Children being the speakers instead of adults gave the school a friendly and innocent image. This is sure to grab the viewers’ interest. The kids also talk about their likes and interests, giving the viewer an open and accommodating outlook on the school. 

At the beginning of the video, kids mention the qualities they had learned in the school. This will be an effective strategy to pique the interests of a large number of parents.

Parents out there who are looking for holistic growth and learning of their children will take note of this.

2. True Vision

True Vision, in their video testimonial, filmed people who took their pills - and they did it in a pool. The customers cover a wide range of reasons why they started taking the pills.

Weight loss isn’t the only result we see in True Vision’s testimonials. Multiple benefits of the product are displayed via this testimonial. 

They also included before and after shots of their customers. You know this is one of the most popular formulas for marketing products that bring about a physical change.

This, along with the footage of happy customers at the end created a very impactful video testimonial.

3. Fictiv

Fictiv produced a short but powerful video testimonial. It depicts the impact Fictiv had on the lives of the employees at Mindtribe. They were employed by Mindtribe to help them in developing the hardwares they had designed. But each employee talk of how working with Fictiv has improved their individual lives.

Fictiv's video shows how testimonials are great for showcasing the wider and deeper reach of a business.

4. NHT Global

NHT Global products asked a renowned athlete to speak about them in their video testimonial. They used shots of her family to give the supplements a wider reception. Footage of the actual products are included throughout the video, giving it a professional air.

Having an athlete vouch for the product gives the company better credibility in the eyes of the viewer. This is a point to keep in mind while choosing who your interviewee is going to be.

The video highlights the athletes' achievements while humanizing her through pictures of her family.

5. Lavit

The video testimonial for Lavit water cooler has three employees at a firm as the speakers. They gush about their favorite flavors and how their habits changed since the cooler’s introduction.

The employees are filmed at their workplace and are also shown to be using the product in question. They happily demonstrate how to use the water cooler, another detail that could help improve a video testimonial.

Including footage of the interviewees using your product will greatly increase the engagement your viewers have with the video.  The testimonials depicted have the sort of authenticity and a real-life feel that most viewers would enjoy.

6. Northridge Toyota

Northridge Toyota uses a long time customer for its video testimonial. The speaker uses adjectives like “comfortable, friendly, sincere, etc” . These words help create a positive and welcoming impression of the dealership.

The client is extremely impressed by the way the firm treats him. This comes out when he vouches for the dealership and says that they know exactly what they are doing.

Towards the end of the video he strongly recommends the dealership to all the viewers. This testimonial shows us how a loyal customer’s testimonial could greatly impact the opinions of potential clients.

7. Roku TV

Here, we again have multiple satisfied customers giving amazing reviews of the product. The producers of the video have used parts of their testimonials as quotations right on the screen.

A variety of individuals from different walks of life give their unique takes on Roku TV. Some talk about how easy it is to install. Others about viewing Netflix on it.

They included both children and adults to paint a picture of a product that can be loved by the whole family. However, more effort and a bigger budget will be required for the production of these kinds of videos. 

8. Bloomreach

This testimonial begins with the VP of a Bridal shop explaining the issues they had faced in the industry. The music changes when she starts to talk about Bloomreach and how it has benefited the business.

The B-roll footage takes the video to a very interesting level. The video features models posing at a photoshoot and employees working at bloomreach. The testimonial presents a stark contrast between the experiences of the store before and after working with Bloomreach.

9. Lucidworks

Lucidworks’ video testimonial includes a narration of exactly what it does. The narrator describes how the software helps clients develop improved search applications.

Clients from different companies are brought in two give their testimonials regarding Fusion. They speak about how Fusion has helped them considerably and cut down their work.

Lucidworks used shots of the webpage and clients in between the testimonials to engage more viewers. 

10. Gillette

In this Gillette ad, we follow a firefighter as he talks about the issues he used to face while shaving. He breaks into a smile when he talks about the product in question and expresses his approval.

We get to see a customer facing a particular issue. The introduction of the product is shown to help with his troubles. Finally, the transformation of his life undergoes is depicted through the client’s body language and change in tone.

This is also a great example of how a short video testimonial can be used as an advertisement. 

Video testimonials are a great option for those who are looking to improve their sales and brand image. Asking customers to be themselves in front of a camera might seem like a challenging feat.

But it's worth it! A couple of great testimonials can go a long way in attracting new customers and sparking curiosity.

So why don’t you kickstart the process by going through your online reviews or fan mail? Choose the customers you think will be right for you and reach out to them ASAP. 

Don’t forget to tell us in the comments section about the amazing video testimonials you get to make.