Consumers are twice as likely to share video content with friends compared to all other types of content. And video content helps 96% of users better understand a product or service.
It’s clearly important—and effective—to use videos as social proof for the value of your service or product. Video testimonials are an authentic, engaging way to show prospective customers how your satisfied customers feel about your brand. In an age where consumers are skeptical about paid ads, they’re much more likely to trust a review from a real customer.
That’s why in this article, we’ll tell you how to create video testimonials. Then, we’ll examine nine real-life examples of video testimonials from successful brands across industries.
What is a video testimonial?
A video testimonial is a short video of a customer explaining how your product or service helped them solve a problem.
The customer uses their own speaking style to share an authentic struggle, then genuinely endorse your company.
Why should you create customer video testimonials?
One reason to create customer video testimonials is that your potential customers will be more likely to trust real people’s experiences than your claims about your product. After all, you’re trying to sell them something!
Video testimonials also appeal to your customers’ emotional reasoning. It’s powerful to see a real person share a struggle; it draws you in. It then makes you want to try the solution that worked for them.
In other words, customer video testimonials provide both the logical and emotional reassurance your prospective customers need to click “Purchase.”
10 Best examples of video testimonials to learn from
Below, we’ll give you 10 video testimonial examples to show you how the professionals do it.
1. Amazon Web Services
This testimonial describes a problem that Amazon Web Services solved for Dropbox. The speaker identifies the problem in detail within the first few seconds of the video, then explains the solution Dropbox developed using AWS. The creators broke the video into clear sections: the problem, the solution, and the impact.
What to learn:
- Add text over a creative background to break testimonials into distinct sections
- Text-only screens also add variety if you only have one person speaking
- Playing music in the background keeps the pace of the video moving
2. Google Ads
Google Ads takes the idea of using customer testimonials to tell stories quite literally by calling its collection of testimonial videos “Success Stories.” This one is the story of Princess Polly, a fashion retail start-up that found its success using Google.
What to learn:
- Ask for testimonials from companies that lend themselves to aesthetically appealing videos—like a company that started on the Gold Coast of Australia
- Start your testimonial video with a dramatic excerpt taken from the customer interview
- Have customers highlight especially attractive features of your product or service
3. Dove
In this video filmed by GENUINE: The Real People Company for Dove, a sight-impaired artist named Molly Burke discusses her experience with Dove’s shower foam body wash. She points out that as someone who relies heavily on her sense of touch, she’s uniquely sensitive to the way a product feels. She then praises the feel of Dove’s body wash.
What to learn:
- Customers with an inspiring story will provide powerful testimonials
- Insert relevant video clips between scenes of the customer speaking
- The creators used emotion well in the video by emphasizing the subject’s personal story
4. Medical Guardian
At only 15 seconds, this video testimonial is considerably shorter than most—but no less powerful. It highlights how Medical Guardian, a personal emergency alert device, brought peace of mind to a woman and her out-of-town adult children after the passing of her husband.
What to learn:
- Begin your video testimonial with a hook that appeals to viewers’ emotions
- Use a mix of still images and video clips
- Use captions to introduce speakers
5. Salesforce
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In this testimonial, several members of the Humana team discuss the problem of building trust among a large patient base. They then identify data-based insights into patients as the solution and introduce Salesforce as a platform that has given them that data.
What to learn:
- Don’t just talk about the problem and solution; if you can, show an example of them
- Show real people interacting with your product or service in real-life contexts
6. Slack
The CEO of Virtual Dining Concepts explains how Slack helps their complex business run smoothly in this video testimonial. The company president even compellingly points out that Slack is vital because “the core for any good business is communication, and without good communication, everything breaks down.”
What to learn:
- Show photos and videos with an instinctual appeal to any audience, such as those of food
- Use background music that fits the tone of the video
- If the customer is less well-known, use the first few seconds of the video to give an overview of what they do
7. DataBricks
In this video, the Senior Vice President of Data and Consumer Analytics at Showtime discusses how DataBricks has helped the company. He even provides statistics—DataBricks shortened a process that previously took over a day to just four hours.
What to learn:
- Include a mix of emotional appeal and concrete evidence
- Show your product’s impact on important customer goals
8. HP
The President of Print and Packaging at Elanders, a printing company, demonstrates HP’s value to their company. Because of HP, he explains, they can print anything they want, and that gives them an advantage over competitors.
What to learn:
- If you’re selling an expensive product or service, it’s especially important to get compelling video testimonials from big-name companies or individuals
- Showcase perspectives from multiple company leaders
9. OurBus
This last example is an older but powerful video testimonial. It tells the story of a woman named Emily who found out her grandmother had just suffered a stroke but didn’t have the money for a plane ticket home. It goes on to explain that OurBus, a commuter bus service on the U.S. east coast, allowed her to get there in time at a price she could afford.
What to learn:
- Start the video with an attention-grabber
- Use graphics that stand out
- Tell a relatable story with ups and downs and a happy ending
Now that you’ve seen a few concrete examples, we’ll show you how companies like these make professional video testimonials.
How to make an effective customer video testimonial
Step 1: Source your customer
One of the most impactful elements of a good customer testimonial is its authenticity.
That’s why it’s important to choose a customer who has had genuine success with your product or service. You can sometimes find these people through reviews on your website or, even better, social media posts in which they’ve tagged you.
Once you’ve found them, send them an email. Keep it short and focused on what the customer has to offer. Clarify why you chose them, what they would have to do to make the testimonial, and how long it would take.
If they don’t reply, sending one follow-up email is okay. If you don’t hear back, move on to the next customer.
Step 2: Prepare your customer
Once you have someone willing to endorse your company, think about what you want them to say in the video. Then send them a list of suggested talking points. Their responses should be their own, of course, but you can give them specific topics to cover.
Alternatively, if you’ll be interviewing them, send them the questions you’ll ask. Keep these few and short.
Step 3: Set the stage
If you’ll record the video in person, allow time for your customer to get comfortable before you begin filming. It helps to have the cameras and props ready before the customer arrives and to spend time having a casual conversation with them before the cameras start rolling.
It’s also good to give them a few pointers for improving their camera presence. Many people are unsure in front of a camera, so giving them guidance may calm their fears that they’re doing something wrong. Just be sure to stress that they don’t need to be perfect.
If you can, set up multiple filming locations. For example, you could show your customer sitting in a room in your building, walking down the stairs, and walking down the sidewalk.
Variety keeps videos interesting.
If you plan to do that, walk the customer through each location before you begin filming. Or if you’re recording remotely, encourage your subject to set up a quiet filming studio to maximize recording quality.
Tip: If you’re recording remotely, make sure you use specialized software like Riverside. Riverside uses local recordings to ensure internet connection doesn’t ruin your recording quality, no matter where your guests are located.
Step 4: Record
The quality of your raw footage limits the quality of your overall video, so we recommend recording in at least 1080p video resolution and preferably in 4K resolution.
It’s also important to keep video testimonials short. Aim to cover 4–5 points in around three minutes.
During that time, focus on the customer while subtly showcasing the product or service. You can do that by putting it in the background, cutting to it while the customer is talking, or showing the customer using it.
It’s also a good idea to film several takes so you can use the best parts of each.
Check out our article on recording video testimonials for an in-depth guide to completing this step.
Step 5: Edit
This is the step in which you turn your raw footage into a masterpiece—as long as you recorded it in high resolution, that is.
You should edit these videos the way you’d edit any other: with the goal of breaking up long chunks of talking time.
If you filmed different scenes or used multiple camera angles, you can edit those in. You can also add video captions, like the customer’s name and title or the questions you asked. Lastly, putting your company logo and colors into the video is a good idea.
Step 6: Promote
Your video testimonial will do you no good if it’s sitting in a file somewhere. You need to get it in front of potential customers.
You can do that by posting the full video on your website, your YouTube channel, and on social media sites your target customer uses. You can also create short clips of the testimonial and post them on sites like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok as a teaser that will draw viewers to your website for more.
Lastly, put the video on your relevant product or service pages so that prospective customers see it at the right time.
Video testimonial software: Riverside
Now you know what good video testimonials look like and how to make them, but what good is that without a sense of which video testimonial software to use?
For both recording and editing professional-quality video testimonials, we recommend Riverside.
Riverside is a simple, streamlined tool that records video in up to 4K resolution. With Riverside, you no longer have to bring customers to an in-person studio to record video testimonials. Instead, all they have to do is get comfortable in their own homes and join your online studio straight from their browser with a click, without needing to download software.
You’ll hit Record, and in just a few minutes, you’ll have a studio-quality testimonial that’s efficient and cost-effective. After you’ve finished recording, Riverside’s Editor makes video editing as easy as editing a text document. Riverside uses Ai transcriptions which you can use to directly navigate and edit through your videos. Any changes you make in these recording transcripts, automatically reflect in the matching audio and video in your recording. Super simple and fast! Plus, you can add some visual branding and customize your layout with just a few quick clicks. You can also turn key moments of your recordings into short shareable clips for social media, all in one quick click with our AI Magic Clips tool.
Riverside’s remote videos are lossless, uncompressed, and ultra-high-definition, making it seem like customers are sitting right beside you. All files record locally, meaning the software captures them on each participant’s device instead of the internet. This ensures a high-quality recording regardless of the quality of your internet connection.
Lastly, each customer’s audio and video are recorded as separate tracks, giving you maximum control in post-production.
Get started with Riverside today at Riverside.fm.
Bonus tips for making successful testimonial videos
1. Reach out to customers by email, not over the phone.
Reaching out over the phone will put them on the spot, and they may agree to film a testimonial video out of obligation.
Remember how important authenticity is in these videos? A testimonial given out of obligation will not come across as genuine.
2. Don’t offer a participation incentive.
That will also take away from the testimonial’s authenticity; the customer will likely give your product a more positive review than they otherwise would have.
3. Let the customer watch the final review video before you post it.
If you don’t, you risk turning a loyal customer into a dissatisfied one.
FAQs on Video Testimonials
What makes a video testimonial effective?
An effective video testimonial tells a customer’s authentic story in their own words. At the same time, it speaks to the most important elements of your product or service.
It is also short—no more than about 3 minutes—and full of variety. That means different speakers, music, camera angles, and filming locations.
How do you show testimonials in a video?
You can show customer testimonials in a video by asking a satisfied customer to discuss their experience with your product or service. It’s helpful to give them a list of talking points before the shoot and to edit out unwanted footage.
With Riverside, both recording and editing professional-quality video testimonials is simple. Go to Riverside.fm and let us do the work for you.
