As you might expect, here at Film Division HQ, we often talk to our clients about their video marketing strategy. In those conversations, we always try to pinpoint the right moment in the customer buyers journey to get the most out of the video content. One of the more obvious types of video content we talk about and recommend are Testimonial Videos. But the weird thing is, we actually didn’t practice what we preached. How can we recommend Testimonial Video content if we, the self-proclaimed experts in video marketing strategy, aren’t using them?

Why would you use testimonial video content

Here at Film Division, we believe that video has the power to change minds, attitudes and behaviours. A great example of how film can change the world is the iTV series “Mr Bates vs. The Post Office“. This example clearly demonstrates what great storytelling can achieve. So if we acknowledge this, let’s take a look at testimonial videos.

Ultimately, testimonial videos aim to persuade your audience through stories of existing customers. These stories from peers build authority, believability and credibility to your organisation. Those three pillars are key in every customer journey. In addition, real stories from real people, through powerful testimonial video content, also serve as a great recruitment tool. However, do remember that there is a difference between a testimonial and a case study video. We’ve written a whole piece on case study content here.

Testimonial Video Content Medley

So what did we do? We called up a handful of our clients and asked them if they wanted to say a few words about us and the projects we did together. And to our surprise, every single client we approached took the time to sit down and have a chat. Check out our little medley of the testimonials right here:

I must be honest here, some of the feedback we got really made us blush. But enough with the compliments. Let’s get real here. in this process, we did learn a few new things that helped us in the post-production process to get better content. But one thing struck us most.

Lessons learnt

The key lesson learnt in this testimonial video content process relates to listening. When the cameras were running, our interviewees were extremely helpful and gave us some really cool feedback and amazing comments. But off camera, the conversations were much more interesting.

In these moments between takes, our interviewees felt less pressure to ‘perform’ and we had a real conversation about the impact of our projects. On camera, they wanted to say things that made us look good, but off camera, we learnt much about how we can improve our service.

Whether it is managing the video feedback process or assisting with the delivery of the content itself, these conversations gave us honest insights in how the content fits in the workflow of our clients. This helps us to shape or service. Creating these videos became a vital part of our own internal communication strategy.

Producing your testimonial video content

So if you’re ready to create your own testimonial video content, and you found some willing interviewees, schedule some time with the quintessential tea & biscuits for an informal follow-up conversation. Trust me, you’ll learn much from this experience. It gives you valuable qualitative insights in impact of your product or services. And that might even be a bigger return of investment than the testimonial video content itself.