How valuable are video testimonials to you? The answer should be a lot, and here’s why.
Today, 79% of consumers have watched this form of visual content to get further information about a company. What’s more, over 75% of those who have watched a video testimonial have also bought the product or service the reviewer talked about. These are some impressive statistics.
In fact, video testimonials have overtaken professional shoots simply because they show how the purchase has improved a real customer’s life. It’s all about authenticity and trust, a belief consumers desperately seek when making informed purchasing decisions, especially considering how much choice is available.
Social Media Has Shaped Video Testimonials
Each day, people spend roughly 6.4 hours on the internet, where 2.4 of it is solely on social media.
Social media has become an integral part of a person’s day-to-day life. So much so that many are dependent on these platforms and post on a daily basis.
In fact, hundreds of millions of user-generated content is created and posted every day. With the rise of Tik Tok, content in the form of short videos has also gained momentum and extreme popularity in the last few years.
But how exactly have these videos turned into our communication and entertainment language?
Most likely, influencer marketing sparked this social phenomenon.
The Power of Influencers
Influencers are individuals that have authority or insight into a specific industry and can sway its target audience. They could be within any niche: food, fashion, sport, video games, interior design, you name it. Nowadays, they will most likely use social media, such as Instagram or Youtube, to interact with and influence their supporters through the power of image and video.
Due to these influential abilities, marketers have been partnering with these individuals to promote products and services.
Indeed, in the past five years, worldwide searches for “influencer marketing” have increased by over 415%. Also, the influencer marketing industry is predicted to reach $84.89 billion by 2028.
Thanks to their persuasive power, it’s no surprise that around 80% of consumers have purchased something due to an influencer recommendation.
Anyone Can Be an influencer
Today, known influencers aren’t the only ones that can exert power. With the global rise of social media, anyone can become influential in some way, no matter who they are, what they do or how many followers they have.
Through video formats such as reels, stories, posts and live recordings, anyone can post about pretty much anything, even daily life events.
Social media users will post anything they might be doing, such as heading to a restaurant and showing the food they ordered. They might take you along on their holiday and virtually show you around their hotel room. And those who watch, like you and me, could be emotionally influenced to visit that specific hotel or restaurant. Followers could even share the content around, gaining even more popularity.
Social media is giving everyone a voice by allowing them to create short creative videos.
The Rise of Video Testimonials
Many companies now use video testimonials in marketing strategies due to their effectiveness when looking to increase their conversion rate.
The truth is that a consumer will always trust this type of content over professional advertising simply because it’s a real review from a real person. The testimonial will even mirror how people record themselves on social media (aka the ‘selfie’ mode), which further underlines the authenticity and familiarity of content on popular platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and YouTube.
How Video Testimonials Exert Social Proof
In the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini coined the term social proof. He explained it as a social phenomenon where people copy the actions of others to feel accepted and validated within society.
Here’s an example. When you see your favourite influencer praising and recommending a service through a video (e.g. a subscription to Hello Fresh), you will likely feel more inclined to purchase it. Whether it’s because you trust them, admire them or want to feel validated, you’ll think that you need it in your life. The question is: if their life has improved by having that service, why can’t yours? Persuasion through trust is one of the best marketing strategies when looking to build interest and generate conversions.
The same goes for video testimonials. Their existence began as a way for real customers to give authentic feedback about a business; for potential customers to get a real insight into a product or service they are interested in buying. So, the more social proof (aka testimonials) there is, the more inclined someone will be to make a purchase.
Due to their trustworthiness, video testimonials have become the digital version of word-of-mouth recommendations, having the power to influence a buyer’s purchasing decision.
Video Testimonials Spark an Emotional Response
The instant gratification of the digital age and our rapidly diminishing attention spans have made this form of feedback more effective than ever before. However, the true power of video testimonials lies in the ability to create a connection with the reviewer and spark an emotional response.
The reason video testimonials generate positive emotions such as trust is because viewers can see an actual person behind the camera. Potential customers can see and hear the positive or negative reactions and associate the feedback with that particular individual.
Also, by seeing another customer, we can put ourselves in their shoes and empathise with them. After all, we are all shoppers, and a person’s frustration or joy could easily reflect someone else’s, even our own. Especially when looking for the same product or service.
For instance, let’s say you’re looking for teeth whitening strips. For some time you’ve been trying different brands, and none of them have done the trick. So, when you finally watch a video of a past customer showing how beneficial a whitening product has been to them, it only makes sense that you will be more inclined to make a purchase.
Due to shared desires and fears, it’s easier to empathise and connect with a past customer. In turn, this emotional connection can lead to a possible sale.
Video Testimonials Are Highly Insightful
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million.
Text reviews can certainly go into descriptive detail, but videos can demonstrate all that information in seconds. In fact, considering all the types of reviews online (text, image, video and voice recordings), video testimonials are undoubtedly the best.
It’s not just about the information told, but also about the person. The reviewer has a face, name, personality and opinions which can convey a lot about their purchasing journey. Do they seem happy and satisfied? Have they shown how they are using the product or service? Has the purchase solved their problem/issue? Video testimonials can give you all the information you need.
However, it’s also true that unless the video grabs the attention of the shopper, they will not hear or see all that vital insight. That’s why text is also crucial. The title, star rating and the description can introduce the consumer to the type of content within the video. It incentivises shoppers to watch the video if they want to learn more about the journey that past customer had with a certain company.
Your Most Powerful Marketing Asset
As we’ve seen, video testimonials are extremely useful to potential customers, but they are also equally important to businesses. Through this visual feedback, not only can companies understand what they are exceeding at and what needs further improvement, but they can also use this existing brand rich content in their marketing strategies.
Video testimonials are precious pieces of user-generated content that can show how a company’s product or service is being used by its customers. It’s also seen as genuine customer advocacy as the person behind the camera is vouching for the business, making this content authentic and trusted. It’s no wonder credible testimonials can increase purchasing intent by over 92%.
As a business, you can publish this valuable content on social media, your website, PPC marketing, email campaigns and anywhere else you feel it could have a positive effect on your existing and potential customers.
Video testimonials can become your greatest marketing tool if used strategically.
Collect More Video Testimonials With Psydro
When you become a Psydro verified business, you’ll be able to send email invitations to your customers asking them to leave reviews of your product or service.
What’s more, you can customise your invite and change its layout, content and design to match your company’s identity. For instance, you could specifically ask for video testimonials by editing the text.
However, if you feel like you don’t have time to manually send these invitations, you can easily automate the process.
But email invitations are not the only way to request this visual feedback. With our Capture tool, you can collect real-time feedback by sharing your review link with your customers on SMS, WhatsApp, email, app on mobile devices, QR codes, chatbots, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and more. It allows you to collect reviews anywhere, anytime and on any device. Plus, as with email invitations, you can specifically request video testimonials by simply adding a message.
At the end of the day, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!
It’s Time to Use Video Testimonials in Your Marketing
Social media has helped shape and empower video testimonials, and today they have become a force to be reckoned with.
There are many benefits attributed to this type of testimonial. Firstly, it’s a powerful source of social proof, making the overall content fully trustworthy and reliable. Also, this video content can emotionally connect potential customers to reviewers, increasing the chances of the former making the same purchase. These reviews can even be extremely insightful and helpful to both consumers and businesses.
Overall, video testimonials can become one of your most important marketing assets if used wisely and strategically.
