Customer testimonials are a powerful way to drive conversions and land more sales. They are often so effective because they showcase real people who have worked with you or benefitted from your products. Rather than coming off as a strong sales pitch, a testimonial allows you to spotlight your value from an unbiased voice: your client.

Video testimonials are especially effective because they enable prospects to hear directly from others who have worked with you. So, how do you get your video testimonials right? According to Clint Fontanella, manager of the HubSpot Service Blog, you can follow some important best practices to make the most of your testimonials.

Keep reading this issue of Promotional Consultant Today for Fontanella’s five tips for getting your great customer testimonials seen.

1. Clearly indicate your testimonials are from your real clients. Many people are skeptical of testimonials—and for good reason. Companies sometimes pay actors to give glowing reviews. That’s why Fontanella says it is critical that you mention upfront that your video is from your real clients—and that you have not paid them to say positive things. He recommends that instead of praising your product or service, you should encourage your clients to share their success stories. What did they achieve with your help? This will help potential clients envision what you could do for them, as well.

2. Share your videos across various platforms. When you get a fantastic customer testimonial video, make sure your prospects can easily see it. That means sharing it across multiple communication platforms. According to Fontanella, you can substantially broaden your reach and make your content more accessible when you employ a combined media strategy.

3. Feature a link to your website. A primary goal of customer testimonial videos is to land new business. When prospects see your previous and current clients talking about their experience working with you, you should make it easy for them to contact you by including a link in the video. Alternately, you could include a link in the copy shared with the testimonial.

4. Leverage all available data. Remember that data is important when sharing your testimonials because it tells you how many people are watching your content. Consider metrics such as average play length to see if viewers watch the whole testimonial or leave before it’s over, says Fontanella. You can also track video metrics such as total plays and total subscribers through your social media platforms or CMS tools.

5. Consider your buyer persona. To get the most out of your customer testimonial videos, Fontanella recommends focusing on the channels that appeal to your buyer persona. When you want to reach a B2B audience, for example, you may want to prioritize sharing your videos on your website over social media channels such as Instagram. Fontanella says that the more you can anticipate your customers’ viewing habits, the easier it will be to put content in front of them.

When you have a collection of strong customer testimonial videos, you have several valuable marketing tools at your disposal. To maximize these testimonials, be sure to share them strategically and watch the data to see how viewers respond to them. When you succeed at sharing at your customer testimonial videos, you set the stage to build connections and drive conversions.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Clint Fontanella manages the HubSpot Service Blog.