Video customer testimonials are a great way for B2B companies to advance their business as they are endorsements of a company’s products and services that create trust. We may also add that a video testimonial goes a long way in reaching your prospects. It may be difficult to get your clients to talk to each prospect, but a video testimonial can be sent to all prospects, inspiring them to buy. Your prospects hear the endorsement and see the authenticity.
Many of our readers who offer services, as against a physical product, know that a satisfied customer speaking on video for your services and perhaps showing something of its benefits, can have a great impact on your prospects.
Video testimonials help you to connect emotionally with your target market or prospects. Watching and hearing a person speak, seeing the facial expressions and body language can convey much more than just words to build trust.
In this blog, we talk about why video testimonials are better; then go on to describing different types of video testimonials, their relative advantages, and also how to create a video testimonial quickly.
Text Vs Video Testimonials
While a testimonial, in text form is good, the video testimonial is superior in the impact it makes.
Text Vs Video Testimonials
Text testimonials are good
- Easy to gather and display.
- Can be edited and paraphrased.
- Reading the testimonial builds trust.
- Gives you the option to maintain anonymity on the web – You can display the testimonial with the company name but without the name of the person.
But, video testimonials are better
- Require some scripting and shooting.
- Prospects know they cannot be faked.
- Watching a satisfied customer speak creates more trust.
- Videos can connect emotionally with your audience.
- In the video, the customer can also point to your product.
- Video testimonials are great to market online (YouTube, Social media).
Types of customer testimonial videos
Here are the types of B2B video testimonials you can create:
Single Client-speak Video
Most video testimonials have a single person of your client company speaking. The client appears on video and talks about the product or service offered by your company and what they liked.
An example of a video showing a single client speaking. Copyright: Infosys Ltd
Single Client, Multiple Users-speak Video
Different users from a client company speak about the benefits of your product in a single video and make for a well-rounded testimony. These people appear on video together or one after another to talk about the product.
An example video showing multiple users from the same client speaking. Copyright: Infosys Ltd
Client-speak and Show Video
The client speaks for your services and also shows the product or service provided or benefit of that service. Prospects can see the product in action and hear the endorsement at the same time.
An example video showing multiple users speaking and showing the product. Copyright: Freshdesk
Ways to create a testimonial video
The mode you would choose to create a customer testimonial video depends largely on the budget and time you have.
Hire a video team
Hiring a professional team is expensive, but worth the money because there are many benefits to it. They prepare scripts, storyboards, get professional light, sound and camera to shoot the video and give you a professional customer testimonial.
Do it yourself
You can create a pretty good video testimonial yourself with a hand-held video camera. They are quite powerful, and used with a tripod, can produce a very steady video.
Video conferencing
You can also use paid Video conferencing platforms (such as WebEx) to record testimonials of decent quality if your clients are in a different city. Among the free video conferencing tools, Microsoft’s Skype is the very popular. Use add-on tools like Camtasia, IMCapture, MP3Skype Recorder, Pamela to record. The video may not be very sharp, but it’s better than no video at all. This is really the last resort.
Important tasks in creating a video testimonial
Video testimonials carry more weight because prospects actually see a happy client speak on your behalf. Approaching them and requesting them to appear on a video is the first step. After this;
- Prepare the script: Your video may include one client speaking or many. Write the script accordingly. You should try and see if the chief benefit of your product to the client have been included. If you are including product/ service shots in the video, write the script explaining that. Preparing a script ensures a well-written, engaging narrative and is the foundation of a successful testimonial video.
- Make the storyboard: This is your vision board that helps you to plan how your video will play out. This can be done on paper or software can be used to create this.
- Shoot and record the video: Use the storyboard to shoot a video and also record the voice.
Edit the video: Use an editing software to edit, add the name of the client, music, pictures, image of the product or service.
Add the branding: In the finished video, add the company logo, address.
Why invest in a B2B testimonial video?
It is worth giving B2B testimonial videos a shot despite the cost and time taken to create the video. The simple reason is prospects react better to videos than words and are more likely to buy.
- 52% of consumers said video testimonials build confidence in their purchase decision.
- Video is 50 times more likely to get organic page ranks in Google than plain text results.
- A testimonial video can be marketed very well on social media, unlike a text testimonial and bring in leads and help to convert prospects into customers.
What next?
The effectiveness of client testimonials on video is well established. If you haven’t already created some video testimonials, we suggest you put up at least three, as quickly as possible. Upload to YouTube and share on your social pages as well. Create, keep track, analyze, and let us know how your video testimonial fared.
Data sources
https://www.internetretailer.com/2012/04/05/online-videos-help-build-confidence-purchases
http://blogs.forrester.com/interactive_marketing/2009/01/the-easiest-way.html
http://www.imediaconnection.com/articles/ported-articles/red-dot-articles/2015/oct/why-people-respond-to-video-more-than-text/
Disclaimer: Mantran does not claim ownership to any of the videos in this post. They are used as examples. All rights to the videos are reserved with the respective owners.