With online shopping on the rise, many customers are concerned with the integrity of
the online stores they are buying from. This is why customer testimonial videos are so heavily
relied on when shopping on places like Amazon and Shopify. However, scammers have
caught on to this, and it is very simple to fake a good review.
The answer to showing authentic customer testimonials that work and are convincing is
to video them instead.
Who should be in your customer testimonial videos?
Try not to use actors. Advertise that you are looking for customers to give their
testimonials on camera; you can do this by offering some sort of incentive like a gift card
or entry to a giveaway.
You can film your testimonials anywhere, but a natural setting would be best; it gives
the clips a very genuine, authentic feel. This could be the customers home or within
your place of business. Think about how your environment may affect video quality;
outdoors provides a lovely backdrop, outdoor sounds like weather and animals can
affect the audio quality.
What equipment do you need?
Along with your camera, you should have appropriate audio recording gear. You may
even want to set up lighting to give off a very professional consistent feel to the video.
Ensure that your camera tripod is steady too, this will make it much easier to manipulate
clips in editing to get rid of silences etc.
What should you ask?
You’ll want to allow them time to prepare when you get your equipment set up too.
Being on camera can be very daunting for those who aren’t used to it, especially if they
are the main subject.
Have questions prepared for your testimonials. As you are interviewing genuine
customers and not actors, it can take a while for them to feel more comfortable with
being recorded, and being able to prompt them with questions will allow them to speak
clearer too. It is best to get them to talk away from the camera and towards you; this
gives a more relaxed feel and will allow the testimony to translate a lot more naturally. It
will also distract them from the camera equipment, and the testimonial will flow a lot
more like a conversation rather than an interrogation.
Get as much content as possible.
Try to record as much as possible; it is always easier to cut down lengthier clips than go
back and rerecord because you didn’t get enough content.
Editing
Try to keep your testimonials short and sweet, identify which parts are crucial whilst
watching the footage back and place it in an order that flows well, even if this is not
chronological. By keeping it relevant and not long-winded, you have a better chance of
captivating your audience’s attention.
You may want to add appropriate music in the background or as an outro and intro; this
is simple using websites like Envato elements. Ensure that the backing track does not
overshadow the dialogue though, you’ll want to select something that isn’t distracting
and keep the volume a lot lower than the dialogue audio.
When it comes to transitions, try not to overpower the actual videos themselves and
enhance them instead.
Overall, video testimonials are a great way to convince potential customers that you are
trustworthy and of the quality of your products/services. They work well if they aren’t
scripted and you use real customers.
Want more photography/videography advice? Check out the rest of our blogs here.
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