As a business professional, the concept and value of testimonials should not be something new. For many years we have seen them on everything from billboards and magazine advertisements to packaging and television commercials.
But when it comes to incorporating these valuable little nuggets into an online marketing strategy they seem to have slipped the mind of many business owners completely. I can count the last ten conversations that I have had with a marketing head at a company who, when talking about a redesign to their website, did not mention adding testimonials or social proof at all. Not even to a page called “Testimonials”.
So the question truly is why have these slipped from people’s minds when discussing or strategizing their digital approach? In my humble opinion, when it comes to online marketing there are so many opinions, and so many shiny new toys to choose from. I always have a tough time with this, as I think that many (not all) of the traditional marketing strategic tactics have great value when pivoted into your online strategy.
Just think of it – there is nothing more engaging than a third-party endorsement of your products or your services to help you drive online conversions. This inherent thumbs-up not only shows the value of your business but the results of your products and services. That is a whole bunch of return on investment (ROI) without a dollar spent. In my world, that is marketing gold.
So…why aren’t you asking for them? Many people don’t want to be bothered or are not sure where to start. Others are afraid to see what they find. No matter what your reason for not using them, as marketers it is important to overcome these as the power that you can find in these for your business will pay dividends.
In terms of testimonial generation – you can go the traditional route of simply asking your previous or current clients via an email survey or request. Many online shops will make the request as part of your checkout procedure. At The Go! Agency we even offer a service that requests first party and third party reviews on your behalf…and then automatically post them to your website to drive conversion.
So as you can see, there are many ways to generate valuable testimonials. Now – let’s talk about how you can incorporate these great third-party endorsements into your online strategy:
- Social Proof Pop-Up: you may have seen these before on websites you have visited. These will show up in the bottom corner of the home page, on your website (and any other page you wish), and then cycle through all of the recent reviews of the company and its products and services. You can also have these click directly through to a full testimonial page, or through to a special offer page where you see even MORE testimonials.
- Website Testimonial Page: this is the traditional way of showcasing your positive reviews of products and services. Some people like a mixture of a testimonial plugin (as they will add new reviews automatically) in addition to cutting and pasting them onto the page. This is a great place to showcase your older testimonials or ones that you have received outside a review service or via a third-party website (like Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc).
- Add to Email Signature: have a wonderful review that is succinct and to the point? Add it as a line on your email signature for all to see. Extra credit if you change it monthly to keep it fresh. You could hyperlink it to the testimonial page of your website to drive traffic as well!
- Email Marketing: make sure to feature a new review in your email marketing. If you are doing a newsletter, have a “What They Say About Us” type featured section to pop the testimonials in, or you can even use it as a conversion statement to entice people to order your product or reach out for more information.
- Social Proof: aside from the Social Proof Pop Up I mentioned earlier, you are also able to add your testimonials to your posts on your social media channels. If you feel comfortable and it is relevant – tag the person or company who gave the positive review. Post these in real-time for some on the spot positive social impact.
- Online Advertising: the wonderful world of television and print have been doing this for years, so why not add your testimonials to your online advertisements?
- Video Testimonials: your online audience probably engages more with video than anything else. Get a filmed testimonial and add it everywhere you can. Also – throw some ad dollars behind it to spread the word!
As you can see, these are just a few ways you can incorporate your glowing customer testimonials into your marketing strategy as a way to appeal to your potential customers and increase conversion rates.
If you’re interested in generating more online reviews to showcase on your website, social media, and industry review sites – reach out to The Go! Agency! Every day, our agents help companies gain valuable reviews through our Online Reputation Management & Review Generation Service. Or, if you need help executing a marketing strategy that showcases all of your positive testimonials – we can do that too.
