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Video testimonials are one the most effective ways to promote your product and build credibility for your service. Especially if your business is something that cannot be held, tested, or tried on in the changing room, they’re invaluable tools for explaining your “offer” and building an emotional appeal. And having someone else talk about your product creates a sense of popularity. As PT Barnum famously said, “nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.”

“Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd” – PT Barnum

The problem is that testimonials often feel unreal. Because we know the speaker is here to sell us a product, they immediately lack credibility. They’re biased, perhaps bought, definitely cherry-picked… and that makes them un-credible. So if you want to create a customer testimonial, how do you bridge the credibility gap to create a killer testimonial?

Here are some best practices.

The first step is choosing the right person… and the right location. Choose someone who represents the customers you want to attract, and who can speak clearly about your product or service. Your business offers a solution; their problem should as meaningful to them as possible. If your product saves customer’s money, the speaker shouldn’t be a millionaire, they should be hard working regular joes. Select a filming location that represents them. If possible, avoid your place of business. Placing your testimonial in an “unnatural” setting strips away it’s credibility.

By far, the number one mistake businesses make is focusing the testimonial on their service or product. They want the client to say positive things about them, which is natural considering the goal is to highlight its benefits. The key to a good testimonial, however, is in telling a relatable story. There are three ingredients of a compelling story: character, conflict, and resolution (or solution). They don’t necessarily need equal time in your video, but that’s not a bad rule of thumb to go by: one minute to show who the speaker is, one minute to describe the problem and the impact on their lives, one minute to sing praises about your product.

If you want viewers to trust your testimonial customer, it’s important to first establish who they are, what they do for a living, and what passion drives them. You need to take the time to build empathy, for your audience to see themselves within the client. This can be difficult to do without sounding prescriptive— as if the questions and answers are pre-rehearsed. There are a number of techniques to capture authenticity on camera. One of the ways I avoid a “rehearsed” feeling is by simply… not… rehearsing. I ask them questions in the moment. It’s fine for them to have their planned “statement,” and in some circumstances I’ll even share some questions I have for them. But not all of the questions. Specificity is what makes stories feel authentic, so don’t worry about getting lost in the weeds for a bit— that’s what editing is for. The key is to make sure they are telling their own personal story.

“Emotion is the magic ingredient”

Once you’ve established your “character,” it’s time to look deeper at the obstacle in their way. What are they trying to accomplish? How does this problem affect their lives? This is your conflict. Too often, testimonial videos skim over this aspect of the story to immediately talk about the benefits of the service. Simply put, don’t skim! If you’ve chosen the right client, the impact of the problem will have an emotional response.

Experienced producers will use a variety of tools to illicit character, conflict, and build emotional connection– from rolling the camera early, to creating humor on set… or conversely– allowing space for the seriousness of the situation to become present. Emotion is the magic ingredient here.

Only when you’ve explored the character and the conflict should you turn to the resolution, that is, your product or service. Show how your product helped the customer solve their problem and the affect it had on their lives. The key here is to keep it simple: solve one problem per video. Don’t try to highlight all the features and benefits at once. This comes across as a sales job and invalidates all of the trust you’ve built.

If you look at the three images used in this post, I’m betting you’re curious to know just what they had to say. Why? I can’t answer that for everyone, but I can tell you why I chose them: for the twinkle in his eye, the candid (pre-interview) moment, and the unabashed emotional response to an unexpected question. They don’t appear to be experts, but they all seem authentic. Trustworthy.

Getting a spot-on video testimonial is hard. It requires not just planning but a bit of luck, too. Which is why it’s better to tape several people and then pick the best testimonials. Yes, everyone will say nice things about your service or product, but only the strongest stories will be interesting, and only the most credible will convert viewers into customers. Take those other nice statements and use them in print.

Quick Tips:

• ~ Pick a speaker who represents who you want as your new client
• ~ Select a location that represents them, not you
• ~ Establish a connection with them before the interview starts
• ~ Roll the camera while they’re getting ready
• ~ Ask “unscripted” questions
• ~ Ask follow-up questions
• ~ Focus the first part of the interview on who they are
• ~ Focus the second part of the interview on the impact of the problem on their lives
• ~ Focus the last part of the interview on the solution and what it’s meant for them
• ~ Shoot three times as many interviews as you need so you have choices

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