You are probably well aware that to enhance your credibility when selling products and services, it's helps to have third party endorsements in the form of testimonials. But are you actually following through and not only asking for testimonials, but also providing testimonials for the vendors, coaches, mentors, service providers you love and appreciate?
I actually thought I had written a blog post about this but if I did, cannot find it. I did write an entire lesson on boosting visibility with testimonials for Online Visibility Secrets. Maybe that's why I'm confused. 🙂
At any rate, I was reminded of this again last week. I interviewed a long-time student, Connie Ragen Green, about blog challenges she hosts. We chatted a bit after the interview and she was raving about Online Visibility Secrets. I know she refers a lot of people to the course as well. But…
…I had never received a testimonial from her. In a previous conversation she had mentioned a reluctance with doing video, so I asked and challenged her to record a testimonial video for the OVS program.
I'm happy to say Connie rose to the challenge and did a great testimonial video. And she didn't stop there. Connie also created a really fun Google Search Story video (watch this one for ideas on how to promote your own business).
Of course Connie's video is good for me – I put it on my sales page, on Facebook, on my blog, etc. And, Connie's video is good for boosting her visibility as well. Look I'm writing about her, for starters.
Here are 6 ways one video testimonial can boost your visibility:
- Upload to Tubemogul.com for broader distribution on multiple platforms
- Tag your video with keywords so it's findable in searches
- The recipient of the testimonial will post it on their website (if it's good), and their sales page if it's product related, and their blog
- Post the video on YouTube (4th largest search engine) – it will be "liked", added as a favorite, and added to a playlist (I did this with Connie's video which means it shows up anytime someone watches my Online Visibility video tips)
- The video may be tweeted and shared on Facebook via YouTube and most other video sites
- Post it on Facebook and tag the person you're talking about. It will show up on their Wall and expose you to all their friends too!
As far as I'm concerned, it's a win-win-win: you win because you get more visibility; the recipient wins because they get a third-party endorsement; and the viewer wins because they learn more about a product or service they're considering and the confidence that it has worked for others.
Video isn't the only way to create testimonials. I cover 9 different types of testimonials in Online Visibility Secrets. What's your preferred way to give and receive testimonials? How else do you use testimonials in your business? Please share in the comments!
Denise… when I ran an e-commerce site we hired an intern to contact all past customers to get a testimonials…then we made slide shows with their comments, added music , and fun pictures…. it is still on the site today (3 yrs latter)… it works when you cannot always get a customer on video because he/she doesn’t want to be filmed or if customers are all over the country… John
Denise… when I ran an e-commerce site we hired an intern to contact all past customers to get a testimonials…then we made slide shows with their comments, added music , and fun pictures…. it is still on the site today (3 yrs latter)… it works when you cannot always get a customer on video because he/she doesn’t want to be filmed or if customers are all over the country… John
John, that is a great idea. Thanks for sharing this tip!