Let’s talk about credible testimonial video marketing. Credible testimonial video marketing content isn’t easy. You could easily be seduced to buy some dodgy video testimonials online. For example, in the US, you’ll find people who are willing to produce a testimonial video for you from the comfort of their home for a fee between $5 and $80. You’ll get a random person that will talk about your product or service without even having used it. Do you really want to be that organisation, buying fake reviews. This article by Forbes discusses the danger of this concept in greater detail.
With this blog, we focus on our approach to testimonial video marketing: honest, credible and authentic stories. The video below is the result of many hours of preparation, four full days of filming and multiple days editing. Please take two minutes to watch the video before diving into the next bit of this blog.
Testimonial Video Marketing structure
An observant viewer might see a layered structure in this video. In fact, there are four layers to this video testimonial tiramisu:
- The voice-over narrative by James Green
- The driving scenes
- The office scenes
- The car detailing scenes
Each of these layers contribute to the credibility of the video as a whole. With this in mind, take a look – or rather listen – to the voice-over narrative. James talks about his car, his busy lifestyle and how he values the service that Richard provides. It’s important to realise that this is actually the essence of the testimonial. In fact, the three other layers simply serve as evidence to add credibility to James’ story. The narrative is based on an interview with James. As such, we asked him a series of questions about his car, his work and his experience with Richard. In the edit, we removed the questions and edited the answers to the narrative you can hear now.
The driving scenes
James talks about the love for his car, that is plain and clear in the narrative. But his words alone don’t really mean that much. More importantly, we have to show the audience that James actually owns, drives and loves this car. We have to provide visual evidence to support his claims in the narrative. As such, James spent a few hours with us driving around the Midlands. Furthermore, we have to tell the full story. The audience needs to see James get in his car. They need to see him drive off and arrive at his destination. This shows James is a real person, and not someone that has just been wheeled in to do a piece to camera.
The office scenes
Since James introduces himself as a busy business owner, we have to provide evidence for that statement as well. Just taking his word for it isn’t enough. As such, the audience needs to see James working and interacting with his staff. That is why we spent time at his office to capture those images. There are no actors in these shots. All the people you see on screen are actually members of staff. This presents James as a relatable person, someone that prospective Reflection Detailing clients can relate to.
The car detailing scenes
These are actually the most important shots of the entire video. This is where we see the actual car detailing process. It shows the skill and precise detail that James values in the service that Richard (Reflections Detailing) provides. The first thing to remember is that Reflections Detailing is our actual client and this video needs to convince prospective customers to book their own car in. Reflections Detailing detail cars and as such, we need to put much emphasis on their skill and ability to achieve perfection.
To summarise
As said in the start of this blog, credible testimonial video marketing isn’t easy. You really have to think of ways to provide evidence that supports the statements made in the video. The ultimate goal is help Reflections Detailing get more clients. All statements and visuals need to support the notion that Reflections Detailing is the place to go to make your car look absolutely perfect. Our carefully layered approach aims to add credibility, honesty and authenticity to a customers’ story.
So when you are looking to create testimonial video content, focus on real stories and provide visual evidence. That is the only way to create credible, honest and authentic testimonial content. Remember – show – don’t tell.
Don’t have the budget to use professionals? Instrktiv have a great tutorial on how to do it yourself! Check it out here.
