What is a Testimonial?
In its simplest form, a testimonial is a positive statement or endorsement of a product, service, or company.
Testimonials most often originate from current or former customers who have used a company’s products or services.
However, they can also come from others in a unique position to endorse that company, such as colleagues, peers, and other industry associates.
To be effective, testimonials really need to be more than just a quote from a customer that confirms a product or service delivers the promised results.
A great testimonial successfully engages an audience, cultivates trust, and tells a story that inspires that audience to act.
Social proof is an influential motivating factor in a consumer’s decision-making process, so an entire testimonial page filled with stellar endorsements is a powerful marketing tool for any company to have in its corner.
Testimonials differ from consumer reviews in that reviews are typically written by the customer in an unguided format.
In contrast, testimonials are usually written by the business itself based on a customer’s answers to specific interview questions, before-and-after case studies, and similar resources.
Types of Testimonials
Testimonials can take many different forms, and there are just as many ways you can use a well-crafted testimonial page to showcase yours.
Which is the right fit for your company depends on who your target audience is and what effect you want your testimonial page to have on them.
Here are a few popular examples to consider.
Quote Testimonials
When most people picture a typical testimonial, a simple quote is the most likely type to come to mind.
The quote can be as simple as a sentence endorsing a product’s effectiveness or as complex as a story that details how the person behind it benefited from that product.
Quote testimonials are often accompanied by a photograph of the person behind the words to make them seem more authentic and relatable.
Audio Testimonials
Audio testimonials help personalize the idea behind an endorser’s words by adding the human element of a voice to the mix.
They’re also relatively cost-effective to produce, as all you really need is some basic recording software, a microphone, and a quiet spot where you can complete your recordings.
Many marketers like to combine multiple customer quotes into one track to create one easily accessible piece of marketing content to share around.
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Video Testimonials
The rise of smartphones and mobile technology has made it easier than ever to consume and create compelling video content, so it’s understandable that video testimonials are red hot, as well.
Video testimonials combine the power of engaging audio, compelling visuals, and solid storytelling to connect with an audience.
They’re also easy to share and fun to watch, making them a big hit with consumers.
Another advantage of choosing video for your testimonial content is it has the potential to go viral and get everyone talking about your brand or product virtually overnight.
Authority Testimonials
Also sometimes known as influencer testimonials, authority testimonials are noteworthy because they come from trusted heavy-hitters in your industry — people whose opinions your audience likely already trusts.
The spokesperson behind an authority testimonial may be a celebrity, social media influencer, or other known personality within your chosen niche.
Although the production process for authority testimonials can be expensive, especially when it comes to securing the right spokesperson, they can also be highly effective when done well.
Blog Post Testimonials
Particularly compelling testimonials can also make incredible blog posts.
They give you the unique opportunity to dig deeply into a customer’s personal story and tell it from your own perspective to let your audience get to know your company a bit better.
When properly optimized, they support a thorough SEO campaign, as well.
Blog post testimonials also leave a lot of room for creativity. You can base them on case studies, customer interviews, peer reviews, and more.
Press Testimonials
Another great way to raise the trust factor attached to your brand is to get it featured by respected news sources.
Press testimonials aren’t easy to obtain, but they’re highly effective, as they potentially expose your brand to many millions of consumers who might be interested in what you sell.
This type of testimonial is also a must-add to an ongoing testimonial page, as they’re highly convincing, even for people who have never heard of your brand before.
How to Write a Compelling Testimonial
Whether you choose just one of the above formats or a combination of several of them for your testimonial page, it’s essential to have an intelligent approach to the process.
Here are some standard best practices for crafting compelling, authentic-feeling testimonials that really resonate with your audience.
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#1. Decide on a background narrative
Again, the best testimonials do more than simply repeat something positive a customer or peer has said about your products or services.
Instead, they leverage the facts of how your best customers feel about their experiences with you to tell your audience a story.
That said, the first order of business is to decide what that story will say.
Given the opportunity to make your future customers feel anything about your product, what would it be? What challenges have your existing customers finally overcome thanks to finding and trying that product?
Figure out how the answers to those questions fit into the larger narrative of your brand and use that as a guide when building your testimonial page.
#2. Know the characteristics of a good testimonial
As with any other type of content, the execution style really matters when it comes to your testimonials. Good examples that get results are:
Short: Extremely lengthy testimonials that ramble on are unlikely to be read from start to finish, so keep yours concise.
Direct: A good testimonial gets straight to the point, preferably within the very first sentence.
Authentic: Letting your customer do the talking for you gives your words an authenticity they wouldn’t have any other way, so don’t miss that opportunity.
Be sure to include any and all relevant information in your testimonials to make them as credible as possible. Names, companies, titles, and pictures are all excellent examples.
#3. Guide your customers with specific questions
Keep in mind that while you will be building your testimonial on factual statements from your customers, you’re not simply asking them for a review.
Instead, you want specific types of statements that will fit the background story you’ve decided on for your testimonial page content, so guide your interviews with preselected questions.
Great testimonial questions are not only specific but also open-ended to give the interviewee a chance to express themselves authentically.
Be sure to emphasize critical issues or concerns your customer had before they tried your product and precisely how the product helped resolve them.
#4. Preserve your customer’s original tone
The genuine human voice behind a testimonial is what makes it so compelling and convincing, especially for customers who have no previous experience with your brand.
That said, you’ll want to preserve that to the greatest extent possible.
While editing testimonials for lengthiness and readability is OK, keeping your customer’s general tone and word choices is essential.
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