In the social media age, word of mouth is more important than ever for businesses. Imagine you have two restaurants side by side. They both sell burgers. They both look great from the outside, but how do you choose which one you’ll try? In the past you might have looked at the menu and taken a gamble, but now you’d give both restaurants a quick Google, check their customer reviews and most likely pick the one getting rave reviews from dozens of people. People trust these reviews, even if they have no relation to the reviewer. With video testimonials from real customers or clients, you can distill the positive stories of your business into a potent marketing tool.
The Importance of Word of Mouth
That’s how powerful other people’s opinions are when choosing who to give your hard earned cash to. The same principle applies for all businesses that rely on positive experiences with customers, whether you are a mechanic or a beauty salon, good reviews are worth their weight in gold. As a business there’s only so much persuading you can do to a potential customer. But obviously your opinions are inherently biased as you want the business to succeed, so hearing positive stories from unbiased, real clients or customers can go a long way to creating buzz around your business. And the best part is, if you have happy customers, they do the marketing for you!
Why Video Testimonials?
Social media is the new wilderness for marketing. As it’s a relatively new medium for marketing, there are still plenty of things to learn and progress to be made. But you will notice how much video content is being released on social media and this is a brilliant way to show the world how well you treat your clientele. When people see a real customer or client willing to put their name and face to a product they are far more likely to associate your brand positively and will remember your name in the future.
How to Get the Best Out of People
Your testimonial will only be as good as the responses given, so you have to plan your questions and set-up carefully when it comes to recording time. Your questions need to be open-ended and phrased in such a way as to encourage them to tell a story. Instead of asking, “why do you like our brand?” Ask something like, “what problems did our brand solve for you?” or “how have we helped your business?”
You should also find a comfortable environment to conduct your interview in, if possible a location related to your industry. If possible you can put together a series of video testimonials in a single day. It may be several representatives from the same company, or you can have people visit your office throughout the day. Just make sure you make it as easy as possible for your guests, they are doing you a favour after all.
If you want to create some video testimonials for your website, get in touch with Dream Engine today.
Ryan Spanger is one of Melbourne’s most respected and sought-after video production professionals. Ryan founded Dream Engine in 2002, and specialises in helping medium to large corporates, government departments, and the non-profit sector to connect with their audience more effectively by using video.
