Happy customers are some of the best marketing experts out there. When a potential customer sees countless reviews and positive feedback, they are far more likely to give your brand or product a second look. How can you effectively leverage customer testimonials, then, to help increase the likelihood of converting prospective customers?
Every success story involving your brand, services, or products has the potential to highlight to incoming customers and clients the very real and abundant presence of satisfied customers. Knowing that, however, does not automatically make it easy to learn how to use customer testimonials to your benefit. I have pulled together some of the best ways to use social media posts and more to develop an effective testimonial use practice.
Let’s get started! First: Why are client testimonials so important?
The Importance of Customer Testimonials
Client testimonials are important because they demonstrate to people who are new to you, on the fence, or uncertain how real customers feel about you and your company. Testimonials are a powerful tool, because they have the ability to convince potential customers to do business with you. Why is this so much more effective with testimonials than standard advertising practices?
At the end of the day, people believe real customers far more than they buy into advertisements. No matter the types of testimonial being shown, incoming customers are far more likely to trust a positive customer testimonial than they are to trust the words and phrases put forth by actual advertisements. Think of it this way: how often do you turn to positive reviews before purchasing a product? Online reviews are powerful to help convert potential buyers, and testimonial videos, notes, and recordings can all be utilized.
Testimonials from real people also foster deeper relationships with your current customer base. Current customers are more likely to become loyal customers if they feel seen and heard. By highlighting the experiences of your existing customers, you can help a potential client make a decision and develop a relationship with customers who are already on board with your products.
To demonstrate how exactly to use testimonials on your site and across social media channels, I have put together 13 incredible examples of testimonial videos, blog posts, quote testimonials, and more. Take a look below!
13 Customer Testimonial Examples
From quote testimonials to video testimonials, there are many different ways to reach out to previous customers to get a customer story and subsequently produce customer success stories. To show incoming customers how many happy clients you have and how they, too, might benefit from your products or services, consider using some (or all!) of the following testimonial examples.
1. Video Testimonials
Video testimonials can be short blips, such as the videos found on Instagram Stories or Reels, and on TikTok, or can be far more substantial, and posted on YouTube. Video testimonials are not for everyone; although using video as a whole is a great marketing strategy, not all customers will feel comfortable offering a video as part of a testimonial.
Video testimonials can look different from one person to the next and even one product to the next. For some social media platforms, it might make the most sense to have a short clip raving about a product. For another, a more comprehensive testimonial with a larger review component may be necessary. You can also provide testimonial questions for longer video reviews to help customers develop their testimonial.
Further Reading: The Power of Customer Reviews in Marketing Videos
2. Customer Reviews and Ratings
Customer reviews and ratings are, arguably, the most common type of testimonial that people come across. These are often seen on Amazon, Google business pages, and Facebook. Reviews can be displayed as text on a website, in a revolving door of testimonials, or they can be dressed up in the form of individual posts on your social platforms.
Online testimonials can be highlighted well when they are attached to a site or your social platforms, but do not underestimate the value of simple Google reviews. When customer feedback comes in this form, it is organic and easy to access, and can help soothe common customer doubts or concerns.
3. Case Studies
Case studies typically involve more intention and preparation than your standard repost of reviews from customers, but this is what can make them great: they are social testimonials with some very real heft behind them. A case study is typically used in a B2B setting, though they can be used elsewhere, and they are essentially a deep dive into the experience of actual customers, including how the product or service was of use or benefit to that user.
Case studies are commonly seen in reference to programs or management systems, as these are easy to run through an evaluation of efficacy. If someone begins using a CRM, for instance, the company from whom the CRM originates can take that customer and determine how well the product helped streamline efficiency and show the product’s return on investment (ROI). These are not quick tidbits, but can help encourage people who are truly on the fence.
4. Interviews
Interviews can be great to showcase customer endorsements because they function as a testimonial and they provide a script, of sorts, to ease some of the pressure from the customer. They also provide a simple way to provide a customer satisfaction score, as they give customers a framework within which to work.
Interviews can be delivered directly from a customer service representative or brand ambassador, or can be done through text, and with questions delivered to the customer, who can complete the questionnaire at their leisure. Either way, you can develop customer quotes for shorter quips and show prospective clients what your products or services are about.
Further Reading: 4 Effective Ways to Use Customer Testimonials in Your Content to Increase Conversion
5. Quote Testimonials
Quote testimonials are typically smaller customer references, used to highlight a specific aspect of an experience. Quote testimonials are easy to identify, as they are surrounded by quotes, and are frequently found on a dedicated page. Quote testimonials can also be used the way that reviews are used: with the quote overlaid onto an aesthetically pleasing background, and posted.
You have likely seen quote testimonials on some of your favorite brand or product pages, as they are often seen in a revolving door of reviews, with an easy-to-read, italicized font. Quote testimonials are great for sites and social platforms, because they offer a quick and easy window into how a product is used or how it is performing in the hands of actual customers or users.
6. Social Media Testimonials
Social media testimonials can fall under plenty of umbrellas, but typically come in the form of quote testimonials, video testimonials, or reviews. All of these forms of social media testimonials can perform well on social platforms, and all can be an effective client testimonial format.
Social media testimonials can also come in the form of a repost or a tagged post. Someone might mention your product in their own Stories or Reels, and those mentions can then be repurposed into testimonials generated from user-generated content. These types of mentions are useful, as they require very little effort on the part of your marketing team and require little to no additional investment.
Further Reading: What is User Generated Content? The Definitive Guide to Leverage UGC for Marketing
7. Influencer Testimonials
Influencer testimonials are a little bit more nuanced than a standard customer testimonial, in that there is a recognition of some type of relationship between the company or brand and the influencer completing the review. Despite the existence of a relationship, however, many people continue to look to influencers for insights regarding what products and services to buy, so these types of testimonials are far from useless.
Influencer testimonials can also cover a wide range of types. Blog post reviews can be delivered by influencers, but YouTube videos and social mentions are the most common types of reviews. From intangibles, like marketing courses and mentorships, to actual products, such as sunscreen, influencer testimonials can help you build relationships and extend your audience reach.
8. Media Coverage/Press Release
Media coverage is often used to tackle larger stories and testimonials. This type of coverage often points to long-term effects of a product or service. Media coverage can be in the form of video coverage, which can be posted to your site or a YouTube channel (as well as shorter clips on your socials) or in the form of text, as might be the case with a blog post or page.
9. Image Testimonials
Image testimonials can take on a few forms. They can be similar to quote testimonials, in that they can be quotes set over images or they can be images of the actual customer as they use the product, accompanied by text. Image testimonials are useful, in that so many of us have become more image-centered in the way we take in information. An image testimonial delivers information in an attention-grabbing, interesting way.
Image testimonials can also lead to other types of testimonials. The beginning of a review, for instance, can be found in an image testimonial, with the remainder of the review or testimonial found in the caption or in a longer video format.
Further Reading: The 17 Best Infographic Maker and Graphics Tools for Your Marketing and Business Needs
10. Industry Experts
Another testimonial related primarily to B2B solutions, an industry expert testimonial is one that comes from an expert in a given industry, to lend additional credibility to the review. While it is most often seen in B2B products and services, this type of testimonial can also apply to products laymen use. An industry expert testimonial is typically one that discusses how a product or service works well with a specific production or management need, and recommends it to other industry leaders.
These are useful for targeting industry leaders and a general audience, alike, as leaders in a given industry are regarded with respect and given greater consideration.
11. Blog Post Testimonials
Blog post testimonials are often a testimonial and review in one, and they are especially useful marketing materials because of their long-form nature. A blog post allows users and customers to more fully dive into their experiences and ideas, which in turn allows readers to get a more complete and robust picture of what to expect from that service or product.
Blog post testimonials can also embed images and videos to further punctuate a point and illustrate an experience. Images and videos can be as simple or polished as your company requires; some images and videos are simple ones shot on a customer’s phone, while others are more high-quality images generated by an influencer. In both cases, open-ended questions and basic outlines can be useful to provide for customers or clients.
Further Reading: Short Form vs. Long Form Content…and the Winner is?
12. Audio Testimonials
Audio testimonials are also common avenues through which to deliver reviews. Podcasts are a great platform for audio testimonials, whether they come in the form of a dedicated episode, a segment, or even a short blip featured on another customer or company’s podcast. Audio testimonials hearken back to simple radio ads, and can certainly be featured on radio stations and music streaming platforms, as well.
Audio platforms may not be the most common avenue through which to deliver reviews, but an audio review can grab attention, and convey a wide range of emotions and excitement to an audience to increase interest.
13. Online Peers
Online peers are similar to industry expert testimonials, in that they come from a contemporary rather than a customer without a particular affiliation or stronghold in your niche. Online peers can lend an additional air of expertise or trust, because they might be competitors, or operate within the same circles as your brand or company. This means that they will likely have some insider knowledge, or have a greater understanding of what you offer–making it all the more impressive if they give you their endorsement.
Further Reading: Brand Storytelling: How to Tell Stories That Will Increase Conversions
Conclusion
As a quick browse through Amazon can attest, testimonials and reviews have truly become the lifeblood of marketing and business growth. A litany of good reviews can catapult a product or service, making it extremely important to factor testimonials into your overall marketing strategy.
To make sure that your customers are likely to take the time to develop reviews for your products, you can develop your own templates with suggested topics, questions to answer, or even just a leading question to help generate ideas. Some companies encourage reviews through offering discount codes for reviews (good or bad, to prevent unfair skewing of those testimonials) or promising customer mentions on social media.
From podcasts to blogs, to social platforms and more, testimonials can help support your business or brand in a way that standard marketing materials and campaigns do not. Although you do not have to use every single testimonial idea I have put in this list, consider implementing at least one or two, to build trust with new and existing customers, and establish yourself as a reputable brand.
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