10 important distinctions between video and written testimonials.

Video versus written testimonials.

10 important distinctions between video and written testimonials.

10 important distinctions between video and written testimonials.

In our years of experience collecting video testimonials, a few common questions always come up. Consent, privacy, regulations and claims. I’ll address each of these in this short video.

Video testimonials are more impactful and persuasive than written ones for several very important reasons:

1. Conversion Rates: According to a study by Wistia, videos embedded on websites can increase conversion rates by up to 80%. This suggests that video content, including video testimonials, can have a substantial impact on influencing purchase decisions.

 

2. Retention and Understanding: According to a report by Forrester Research, viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to only 10% when reading it in text.  This can make video testimonials more memorable and likely to influence decision-making.

 

3. Emotional Connection: Video testimonials allow viewers to see and hear the genuine emotions and expressions of the person giving the testimonial. This can create a stronger emotional connection between the viewer and the testimonial, making it more relatable and trustworthy.

 

4. Trust and Credibility: The Web Video Marketing Council found that 57% of consumers said that videos gave them more confidence to purchase online. This indicates that video testimonials can contribute to building trust and credibility in the minds of potential customers.

 

5. Non-Verbal Cues: In a video, you can observe non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. These cues can convey sincerity, enthusiasm, and authenticity, which are harder to capture in written testimonials.

 

6. Personalization: Video testimonials provide a personal touch, as the person giving the testimonial becomes a real person rather than just text on a page. This human element can resonate better with potential customers or viewers.

 

7. Engagement: Videos tend to capture attention more effectively than text. People are more likely to watch a video than read a lengthy written testimonial, increasing the chances of your message being heard.

 

8. Social Sharing: Videos are highly shareable on social media platforms, which can help your testimonials reach a wider audience and potentially go viral.

 

9. Email Effectiveness: Including the word “video” in an email subject line can increase open rates and reduce unsubscribes, as suggested by research from Syndacast.

 

10. Search Engine Visibility: Google’s algorithms tend to favor websites that incorporate videos, potentially improving the overall search engine visibility of your content, including video testimonials.

 

It’s important to know that video testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing opportunities and having a trained interviewer can pull out the best sound bites for your business. At share.one, we take special care in understanding your business and your customer buying journey and we craft unique story formulas for your needs. To learn more how our program works, please visit our “How it works page”  www.share.one/how-does-it-work/

 

 

Video Testimonials: Worth the Investment? (Spoiler Alert: YES!)

Increase sales with video testimonials.

Video Testimonials: Worth the Investment? (Spoiler Alert: YES!)​

Video Testimonials: Worth the Investment? (Spoiler Alert: YES!)

Social media. It’s changed the world. It’s changed how everyone advertises, sells, and buys just about everything. It’s changed the marketing and business development paradigm completely. It’s the new word-of-mouth.

 

The reason word-of-mouth was so effective was because a real human told you a real experience. And your willingness to participate, patronize, or make a purchase could be decided from just one story, good or bad.

 

Then came Yelp, which has been a great online source. But its relatively anonymous reviews, where someone can hide behind a keyboard and could be anyone – the business owner, a competitor, or even a personal rival – made it very difficult to know the trustworthiness and validity of reviews. Who is this person? IS IT a person, or a bot? 

 

The limitations of the online written reviews have prompted a better way. A more honest, real, true experience being shared because someone truly cares about sharing their experience. 

 

The video testimonial. A return to human experience sharing.

 

Dan Lievens, President and Co-Founder of Share.One has been at the forefront of the video testimonial movement, and his clients have shared with him the increase in business after using video testimonials as a part of their social media marketing, website content, event media, and broader applications.

“I named our company Share.One,” Lievens said, “because that’s exactly what we want people to do: share one experience. I have clients telling me what a game-changer it’s been for their business, which is so fulfilling. We love helping businesses grow by creating tailored, authentic, useful testimonials.”

 

Customer testimonials have an incredible amount of influence. Word-of-mouth advertising, known as “earned advertising” in the marketing world, is a great way to build your company’s reputation, attract new clients, and reward existing ones. It’s found that 9 out of 10 people say they trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself, and a whopping 79 percent of people prefer video testimonials to learn more about a company or product. Because of this, testimonials are frequently cited as the most effective form of advertising by marketers.

 

The Proof is in the Data

 

A study by Brightcove, a Boston, Massachusetts–based software company that produces an online video platform, found that video testimonials can increase conversion rates by up to 80% because they provide potential customers with a legitimate understanding of the benefits and value of your product or service.

According to another study, 72 percent of customers reported that positive testimonials improved their trust in a company.

 

Then, in October, 2021, a team of psychology professionals and professors which had set out to test the effectiveness of testimonials, published an article to share their findings on the persuasive effects of testimonials. They found that:

  • Exposure to testimonials was associated with higher usage intentions and more positive attitudes, and

  • Group differences in intentions were significantly higher after exposure to testimonials.

 

The conclusion of this study was that the acceptance (of a product, service, or program) can be substantially increased by providing a simple, context-sensitive testimonial.

 

Costs of Video Testimonials

 

The costs of producing video testimonials will vary depending upon what method you use: DIY software platforms where you do the work or ask your interviewee to self-conduct their testimony, or full-service video testimonial companies where questions are tailored, and interviews are conducted by trained professionals. The range can be a few hundred dollars per testimonial to tens of thousands. Pro tip: listen to what their clients are saying in their own testimonials! 

With the necessity of video testimonials as an integral component of your marketing efforts, one thing’s for sure: the bigger cost here is in not doing testimonials.