You probably know that client video testimonials can be great for your business, but… how do you go about creating them? On the one hand, you want client video testimonials to be great, the kind of content that will make a prospect get excited about working with you. On the other hand, just the thought of bothering your clients, asking them a favor, having them invest a lot of time… that doesn’t get YOU too excited.
Well, my advice for you is, first of all stop thinking like that!
If you have clients that love you – and I’m sure you do – they will be more than happy to give a testimonial on your behalf. After all, they are very grateful for your outstanding service.
So, let me tell you about four ways in which you can create client video testimonials, and what are the pros and the cons on each method.
1. THEY DO IT
This is easy. Just ask your client to grab their phone and record a testimonial. When they agree, just make sure to give them these important instructions:
- They should make it short, not more than 60 or 90 seconds
- They should say something relevant, not just that you’re great.
- They should shoot it in a quiet place, so what they are saying can be clearly heard.
- There should be good lighting on them, so the video looks good.
- It’s better if they ask someone else to shoot them, so no selfie mode, or even better, they should use a tripod.
- If they can connect a microphone to their phone, that would make the audio much better.
PROS: The big pro of this method is that it is FREE.
CONS: First, despite you giving them all the instructions above, most chances are that the video will look bad and sound even worse. Second, you have absolutely no control over what they are saying so, even if the image and audio quality are good, the content may not be really useful.
2. YOU DO IT
With this method, you will be interviewing your client. That will increase the chance that the resulting video will be something you can use. By the way, any effective testimonial should be interview-based, never “say whatever you want”. So, you’ll schedule a time with your client, and you’ll go to them to interview them using your smartphone, or even better, a video camera. A few things you’ll need to do:
1. Prepare questions upfront. Ideally, you should base the questions you ask on the most frequent questions you know your prospects ask. You want your testimonial video to answer these questions.
2. Use a tripod. If you’re using your smartphone or a camera, you want a steady picture. So don’t hold it in your hand.
3. Use a microphone. Built-in microphones, both in smartphones or in cameras, are always two wide – meaning, they catch a lot of noise. You need clean audio, so an external microphone such as a lapel mic is ideal.
4. Choose a place with good lighting or bring lights with you. Never shoot with a window as the background.
5. If your client gives you one-word answers, prompt them to expand on what they said.
6. Edit the interview to around 90 seconds, never more than 2 minutes. You may need to learn how to use an editing software, if you’ve never done this before.
PROS: You will get good audio, good video and mainly good usable content.
CONS: Despite of it costing you no money, it will cost you a lot of time, and your time is expensive. It will also require you to learn skills that you don’t have, if you’ve never interviewed, shot video and edited before. Lastly, this will require a big time investment from your client.
3. PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION
If you hire a production company to create client video
testimonials for you, and if they have the experience and the talent necessary,
you can be sure that your videos will look great, sound great and that the
content will be exactly what you need in order to help prospects trust you and
decide to do business with you.
PROS: Professionals will work with you to understand what are the best questions to ask your clients, will make sure that all the technical aspects are taken care of and will edit your videos to perfection. You will just need to know how to use your client testimonials correctly when you get them.
CONS: First, if you’re doing it with a real professional (don’t do it otherwise), it will be quite expensive. And since no one wants just one testimonial (you need different kinds of clients for different kinds of prospects), it will be very expensive. Second, a professional production will always mean that your client will have to invest a lot of time, even if the interview is being filmed at their office or house. And that may be asking too much..
4. REMOTE VIDEO TESTIMONIALS
This is a fairly new option; one you probably haven’t heard about yet. Remote Video Testimonials are a method that combines innovative remote video technology with professional directing, interviewing and editing. It involves your client using their smartphone or their computer’s webcam and an app.
On the other end of the app sits a video professional that will interview your client according to questions you determine and also make sure that image and audio are the best they can be. Your client can do it from home, from the office, or wherever they want, as long as it is a quiet place. The footage is then professionally edited, and you get a high quality video with relevant content for you to leverage as a sales tool.
PROS: First and foremost, it doesn’t require your client to invest more than 15-20 minutes of their time. Second, if you have clients all over the country, that’s not a problem, since it is done remotely. Third, it is interview-based, so the content will be highly relevant.
CONS: Well, it is not free. The good news is, this kind of testimonial will cost you a fraction of one done in the conventional professional way, with a film crew.
If you want more detailed information about Remote Video Testimonials, please CLICK HERE
Well, I hope this information was useful. In the end, the most important message to take from this is that, no matter how you do it, if you are in business, you absolutely need client video testimonials. The only wrong way to do it is not doing it.