Word of mouth has always been powerful. Genuine reviews, in a customer’s own words, resonate more than a brand promise ever could. So it’s unsurprising that so many businesses now invest in customer testimonial videos.
They’re so persuasive, some even make their way into a brand’s advertising. These authentic ads provide a refreshing change to the scripted brand messages we’re used to, helping them stand out in a saturated space. And with the average person now encountering an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 ads every day, making an impact is harder than ever.
As you might have noticed, we love a video testimonial at Vouch, so to inspire you, we’ve compiled our top five testimonial video examples. Let's break down why they worked so well and how to emulate their success.
1. Apple
As pioneers of innovation and one of the earlier adopters of this trend, we have to start with Apple. The technology company excels at selling experiences, not just products, and their 2002 ‘Switchers’ campaign was the perfect example.
Real Apple customers speak directly to the camera, explaining why they switched to a Macintosh computer. The voice of the customer is used to make direct comparisons to Windows. It’s cheeky in a way Apple would have found difficult alone.
Effective in their simplicity, these early examples prove that with testimonial videos this good, you don’t need any fancy production to make them resonate.
2. Trinny London
Testimonial videos have always been a favourite of results-driven beauty brands. But in the world of social media, polished productions can look a little too conspicuous. That’s why we love this ad from Trinny London.
A customer shares her nighttime routine, shot in the bathroom, in a testimonial video that emulates trending social content. This familiarity stops it from feeling too disruptive in the feed. It’s warm, engaging and doesn’t instantly stand out as an advert, encouraging scrollers to linger for longer.
It’s also a great example of how testimonials can feel more emotive than a list of product benefits. Here, the customer says that “taking some time for herself” is something she “looks forward to every day”. Crucially sharing how the products make her feel as well as look.
This attitude is consistent with the personality of the brand. Trinny London champions building real relationships with its customers, moving beyond the staged, fake, sometimes patronising approach of advertising. It’s an approach that’s proved incredibly effective. Trinny London is one of Europe's fastest-growing direct-to-consumer startups, with a £180 million [$250 million] valuation.
3. Mr Yum
When hiring, employee testimonial videos can help companies stand out and give potential candidates an insight into the culture of your company. But scripted reviews can often feel awkward and forced.
Menu platform Mr Yum dials up the relatability factor to the max with this team testimonial, providing a diverse snapshot of the team while promoting their values and vacancies. In leaving the funny outtakes in, the video feels warm and energetic from the outset. So while Vouch lets you record takes until you’re happy with the result, just remember there can be gold in those outtakes!
Featuring multiple faces and voices not only provides greater insights in this testimonial video, but allows for more variety and a faster, more captivating edit. This is particularly important when trying to capture attention on social and why we’ve made it so easy to collect video at scale with Vouch.
4. Notion
Making a software service feel personable can be a challenge, but video helps to bring it to life. Seeing someone who you can relate to, saying a product made their life easier, is a powerful marketing tactic.
This is something Notion realises and nails this with their ad. A combination of lo-fi video supported by graphics and star ratings come together to tell the story. And while you only hear from one customer, its clever design, showing multiple faces alongside five star reviews, suggests a whole host of people with similar things to say.
They’ve also effectively used text on screen to help land the points they want the audience to focus on, calling on a second sensory cue.
5. I’m Your New
Recruitment platform I’m Your New uses testimonial videos to support their product benefit claims on this web page. Each has been shot simply in the user’s home environment, a stark contrast to the studio sets and professional lighting we’re used to seeing in traditional testimonial videos.
This helps, rather than hinders, the impact. Videos instantly feel more modern and authentic, and are reminiscent of WFH scenes we’ve all got so used to following various lockdowns!
We love their use of the Q&A feature to structure these longer videos. Viewers can even use the bottom nav to jump to the question they’re most interested in. Vouch’s platform uses a Q&A function to help you get the most value from your testimonials. You can use it in the same way, guiding your customers to speak about the issues your prospective users will most want to know about and making sure you get maximum value.
Start capturing your own testimonials
These examples show how varied and impactful video testimonials can be. Vouch’s platform has been designed to capture the most engaging content from your customers, with an accessible recording experience for them and easy editing and sharing tools for you. Get started for free.