Seeing, and Hearing, is Believing! The Art of the Video Testimonial …

There are abundant reasons to utilize video testimonials as a leading tactic in your content marketing plan. But really, effectiveness should be your main consideration.

• According to the content experts of Curata, customer testimonials are the #1 most effective type of video content.
• And the video pros of Animoto report that 56% of consumers find video testimonials helpful.

Clearly, video testimonials are an effective marketing investment. They can work great on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. And the effort your team puts in before the shoot will largely determine the quality of your finished video. To maximize your investment, here are seven tested tips to make part of your video testimonial preparations:

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate
People get nervous being on camera so prepare them by sharing the schedule, location/directions, format, a rough idea of the questions you’ll ask, wardrobe advice and your vision early on. This makes the day of the shoot less stressful.

2. Question everything
Rather than relying on a script (only talented actors can pull off scripted lines) develop a long list of topics and potential questions. Share this list with your subject in advance. Then have a casual conversation on the day of the shoot.

3. Problem solving
Craft questions to encourage your subject to talk about a problem they struggled with and how their product or service swooped in—like a superhero—to solve it.

4. Video boils down
Ideally your finished video testimonial should be 45-60 seconds (longer is OK for high-tech or -touch subjects). To edit down to a tight 60-seconds, you may need to shoot more than 45 minutes of Q&A, conversation and b-roll.

5. Less is more
A testimonial doesn’t need to—and really should not—cover every benefit of your product or service. Instead, find the best story and tell it with emotion and brevity.

6. Start with a BIG BANG!
Attention spans are (Look, a squirrel!) painfully short today—you only have about 8 seconds to grab attention, less if your video is rolling through a social stream. Make the first seconds of your video exciting enough to engage the audience.

7. Splice it up
No matter how compelling the story, a talking head can only hold rapt attention for so long. A good editor can cut together a masterful mix of your subject, graphics, b-roll and more to create a visually interesting finished piece.

Browse our website to see some great examples of our compete video production expertise, and remember, we can also help you get your video testimonials in front of the right people, at the right time!