Years ago acquiring customer testimonials was a complicated process, but since the Internet was developed and social media channels were introduced, customers can share a testimonial at any given moment. In fact, testimonials are now mostly unsolicited. However, the value has increased, especially when given through third party resources. Online testimonials provide social proof that your business is a quality business that can be trusted. Take advantage of the value of testimonials with your marketing strategy using the ideas below.
Embed testimonial channels on your website.
Websites like Angie’s List and Yelp solicit testimonials from end users with a primary purpose of providing real life experiences to other potential users. If your business has been reviewed by a mainstream site, embed the testimonials onto one or more of your webpages.
These sites were developed to pull information from actual users and businesses have no input in the testimonial. High quality products and service statistically garner high reviews on these channels. Savvy users also can spot a whiner a mile away, so businesses need not worry about the occasional bad review, as long as other reviews contradict it. Whenever possible, respond to unfavorable reviews with an apology and share your plan of action for correcting the issue. This proactive engagement is another demonstration of the quality of service your business provides.
Share testimonials from one channel across all channels.
The secret sauce needed to be successful on any social media channel is genuine engagement. If you only use the channel to make announcements and tout products, it’s likely your updates are falling on deaf ears. When you use the channels to engage with fans, the engagement will organically garner testimonials. Grab a screenshot of testimonials from your most productive channel and share it across other channels. For example, if your business draws engagement on primarily on Facebook, clip screenshots of client testimonials and share them as images on Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, and Pinterest.
Use video testimonials to share the “Why” value of your business.
Video testimonials can be the most valuable form of testimonial. Videos share the answer to “why” your business is the one to choose. The platform is easily embedded into webpages, blog pages, email campaigns and is one of the most widely shared types of content on the Internet. Video content is especially valuable because it captures emotions and actions while sharing a message in a very short amount of time. It paints a picture for the audience and brings them into the customer experience. If you serve a targeted or niche audience, video testimonials can serve as a primary marketing tactic. Clients will be able to see themselves in the video and relate to the content. Consider a company that manufactures surf boards. When this company uses video in the marketing strategy, its niche audience of surfers will directly relate to the content on the videos.
Is your company using testimonials with the marketing plan? Share about your success in the comments below.