The statistics change from source to source, but they all reveal the same simple truth: People trust online reviews and testimonials offered by complete strangers. In fact, in every survey I researched while preparing to write this post, one thing remained constant. A majority of people polled stated that they would trust the testimony of a stranger at least as much – and oftentimes more – than a close friend, relative, co-worker, etc.
Let that sink in for a minute and try telling me I’m wrong. I’d be willing to bet real money that even if Jill in accounting were to run up to you excitedly proclaiming that the new Greek yogurt cereal bar she just tried is the best thing she’s ever tasted, you probably won’t be convinced until you go look up some reviews of the product for yourself. Enough five-star ratings, and you’ll probably give it a go.
So what does this mean for you and your business?
Quite simply, it means that there is a tremendous amount of leverage in testimonials and you would have to be crazy not to figure out ways to incorporate them into your marketing materials. Today, I want to show you how you can use that leverage to your greatest advantage and show you, from the point of view of a copywriter and custom writing professional, just how to insert them into your overall content strategy. Here are several key examples, and I think you’ll find all of them to be adaptable to some part of your marketing efforts.
Testimonials on Review Sites
If your business has been mentioned favorably on sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor, your interests would be well served by harvesting a few of them for your marketing materials. It’s a good idea to check and see if this is an allowed practice by the source (some sites claim copyright on all content posted to them, so be careful) and to reach out to the person who wrote the review and get permission to use it. The former, however, is much more important.
Once you’ve gathered a few good testimonials, it’s time to decide where they will work best. Longer ones (more than a sentence or two) will work well in email campaigns, landing pages, and long-form sales letters. Shorter ones can be used as headlines in marketing materials and even incorporated into visuals that you use on your social media channels. The possibilities are endless – just remember that short quotes work better when they stand alone; longer ones work better when they are part of a lengthier ad campaign.
Unsolicited Testimonials
These can be some of the most powerful and motivating types of testimonials, and they always work in your favor when you use them in marketing. Here I strongly recommend asking for permission to use them. No, it isn’t necessary, but it is professional, and it will help motivate the person who wrote it to be a brand evangelist for you for years to come. These follow the same usage rules, although they tend to work best on social media. Again, I’ll recommend incorporating them into (or at least having them accompany) a strong visual. People already know about the product or service. Now it’s time to show them what raw enthusiasm for it looks like.
Solicited Testimonials
If you already have an impassioned audience, why not just come out and ask them to publicly praise your product? Make it a game or a contest: the best one gets some kind of low-cost freebie, and you’ll use the testimonial in an upcoming ad campaign. People love giving their opinion, especially when it comes to things they like. If you have a good relationship with your audience on social media, you can use this strategy every time you launch a new product or service and get fresh momentum out of it every time.
Placement Within the Copy
Quotes are a great tool for reeling people in and getting them excited about your brand message (or a specific product or service associated with it). This is why I say to always feature quotes prominently on the page. Block them off, use a larger font, use visuals to draw attention to them. Quite often, it’s what keeps the reader engaged and motivates them to read the rest of the page or follow a carefully crafted call to action.
A Word About Manufactured Testimonials
Now, I have to address this because there’s just so much of it going on out there (and it’s almost always easy to spot).
Simply put, don’t use fake testimonials. It’s bad for business.
If your brand is as good as you think it is, there are definitely people out there who know it and would love to tell the world their opinion. There is typically never a need to fabricate or embellish a testimonial. If you don’t have any, ask for them. People will oblige you.
If, however, you decide to include testimonials for a product you’ve just told people is “launching soon,” you’re busted. It’s that simple. Instead of perpetrating a fraud on your audience, revert to testimonials that give an idea of the overall experience of interacting with your brand. To be honest, it’s better to establish a relationship with the brand than with a single product anyway.
So what’s the key takeaway here? Simply put, testimonials work well when you use them well. Gather and use them with every deference to professionalism, and be genuine with your audience. They will thank you in many different ways, including continuing to give you their business and support.