The power of testimonials

Online Marketing

September 2018

The role of your website should be to drive sales, generate leads and excite your customers, but this can be difficult to achieve in a digital age where trust and transparency is the new currency. As a business, your words of self-promotion or marketing campaigns have become an enormous turnoff as users tune out of advertising messages of any kind.

Social media now provides everyone with access to thousands of customers just like us who share their unbiased opinions with the global community. Raw unvarnished dialogue from an authentic voice is proving to be a big hit online and one of the biggest reasons why agencies are turning to online influencers to spread the message of their brand.

Social proof has become one of the most powerful persuaders in the marketplace and provides businesses with the elusive online credibility they have been searching for. By showcasing testimonials on your website, you are offering a third-party endorsement that will increase trust in your brand.

Where can I find testimonials?

It’s never been easier to email or ask your visitors to fill out a survey or ask their permission to share their stories. By actively listening for opportunities in every phone call or communication with your clients, you can showcase authentic soundbites captured directly from your customers.

An online search of your brand, product or service will also reveal reviews, comments, and experiences with your business. Testimonials already surround you, now is the time to think about how you can leverage these conversations to highlight what makes your company unique and stand out from your competitors.

Be authentic

Attempting to manufacture or control the messaging of a testimonial by drafting the words will result in an embarrassing own-goal. Don’t be tempted to add a testimony with a fake name either, and savvy audiences will smell of fakery within a few clicks or swipes, so it’s crucial to capture the authentic voice of your audience.

The rise of the influencer

YouTube vloggers and Instagram users are attracting huge followings online by sharing their relatable voices online and sharing their personal lives with the online community. By communicating directly with their audience a d offering their opinions on products, they are much more accessible and trusted than a celebrity who has been paid to promote a product.

Digital influencers have now become more powerful than any form of brand messaging or even traditional celebrities. As customers increasingly search for authentic brand relationships, testimonials from real people have never been more critical.

Maybe, it’s time that you engaged more with your audience and understand who your loyal customers and how they can act as a brand advocate.

Testimonial Examples

Testimonials come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some brands present information as an aesthetically pleasing infographic while others will opt for a text-only approach. But, adding a photo or even video to the voice of the person giving the testimonial can strengthen the message.

According to Hubspot, visual content is predictably shared on social media 40x more than any other content. Equally, video content will provide 3x inbound links as plain text posts. But, you should not forget, the real purpose of featuring testimonials on your website.

Storify, have a refreshing approach of making their testimonials all about their customers rather than themselves. By featuring customer success stories, they can highlight the value they can provide their customers without making it all about them.

There is an inconvenient truth that visitors to your website, do not care about your product, service, or the long list of awards that you have won. They have arrived with a problem that they need a solution for or an objective that they need help to achieve.

Zendesk tackles these issues by showcasing a wide range of case studies from clients of all sizes and how they have helped them reach their goals. Essentially, they are helping their audience visualize precisely how their company can help them deliver value without a sales pitch.

Conclusion

Word-of-mouth marketing remains the best way to grow your business organically. However, the way in which we communicate with each other has moved online. As you read this, there will be conversations around your brand across Google, social media and sites such as Yelp.

It’s easy to work with your customers and collect testimonials to showcase on your website. When visitors are browsing your products or services, it’s testimonials that help you establish trust and meaningfully engage with your customers to improve their experience.

However, it’s not all about you and your product or service. You should want your customers to look good too. If you want your audience to trust your business, you must not only earn it but prove it also. Testimonials can help you secure social proof, so what are you waiting for?

At Pelling we value what our clients say about us very much and you can check out some of the reviews we have received here.