Video testimonials are the most trusted form of company reviews by customers. They are seen as more genuine and harder to fake. And given that 65% of people are visual learners, a video testimony is often the preferred way to get information.
Just think about it, humans are hardwired to respond to visual and audio cues they don’t even know they are responding to. When we see a face or listen to a voice’s intonations, we gather a lot of rich information. Without considering the content, this information is turned into meaningful messages. We also watch for movements and emotions – how others feel is contagious to us.
As a tour company, the benefits of collecting video testimonials are endless. You’ll be learning a lot about your customers and their experiences while collecting tons of marketable content. Below are some helpful tips on how to get and share video testimonials.
Video testimonials need to be short and real
Consumers aren’t looking to sit through a mini-series documentary. They are looking for quick, relevant information, and they want it to be easy to digest. A testimony that gives a long-winded overview of a company isn’t relevant information. Aim for more tailored testimonies that will give people specific information about your tours.
Consumers also won’t believe a video testimony that seems overly enthusiastic or fake. One of the main reasons video testimonials are powerful converters is that people want to relate to the person on camera.
How to ask
Don’t ask last minute. It’s best to make your customers aware before the tour that they may be asked to give a video testimonial. Bring this to their attention beforehand. People will feel more prepared and pay closer attention throughout the tour.
If your tour company needs signed waivers, you can include a request for video release right in the waiver. Keep in mind a customer may express to your company that they are not comfortable being filmed. That’s fine! You don’t need to take videos on every trip and tour. But most customers will be happy to express themselves on camera.
If your tour company doesn’t need signed waivers, ask at the time of check-in. Let your customers know you would like to shoot videos and take photos while on the tour and that they can talk about their experience on camera when they return.
Easy ways to get video testimonials
You don’t need a whole camera crew and editing studio unless you’re looking for a big production. Video testimonials can easily be filmed on a smartphone, tablet or iPad. And your customer is likely to feel more comfortable in front of these devices. Your tour guides can shoot videos and take pictures of their group on their phone throughout the tour and upload them to a shared cloud (like Google Drive or Dropbox). They can even do simple editing on their phone if needed, such as cutting and trimming the video and putting filters on.
Check out this blog on how to ask for TripAdvisor reviews.
Need to create a video right now? Don’t have a customer to interview or the time to set this up? You can create a great testimonial video without people! Use photos from your tours and mix them in with screenshots of reviews that are already public on social media and review sites. Check out this video done by a restaurant called Vien. In this example, they used photos of their dishes and screenshots of customer reviews from Yelp.
Businesses are using Snapchat! You can use the Snapchat app on your phone to capture short videos. All videos and photos can be saved on your device, uploaded onto social media, and even onto your website. Snapchat is great for capturing exciting moments. You can ask customers about their experience throughout the tour.
Instagram is another great way to capture video testimonies. You can film or upload short videos in the moment to your company’s profile grid.
Have a tablet or iPad set up at your check-in desk or kiosk and invite customers to record testimonials sharing how much fun they had after returning from their tour.
Getting a variety of unique content
Just asking your customer how they liked their tour after they’ve finished can get repetitive and stale. Have different types of questions prepared so there is variety in what people say about their experience.
Here are some samples:
- What was your favourite part?
- Did anything unexpected happen?
- Would you recommend the tour?
- Did you learn anything interesting from the tour?
- Are you interested in other tours we offer?
- Why did you pick us over…?
- Was the tour good value?
Encourage customers to tell a joke or any story. Good content marketing isn’t always about your company.
Also, encourage your customers to make reviews in their native language. It will make for more relatable and exciting content! Just don’t forget to ask them for a translation if possible.
Get the most value out of your video testimonials
Once you have got some videos, make sure people can find them. Upload them to Facebook, Pinterest, even your directory pages and tour review websites. Tag your customers in the videos to keep the conversation rolling online.
Use a hashtag! Create a hashtag for your company and look to see if there are relevant, trending hashtags. Use these hashtags on your videos so people can find them. To get some ideas, look at what your local tourism organization is using.
Use the most authentic videos on your website – but in the right places. Some good places to embed video testimonials are next to tour information and on the booking page. Use them at key places where people find them.
You can also include video testimonials in your emails. If your company keeps an email list and sends out newsletters and updates, feature a recent video. Select a favorite video and embed it in your confirmation email that goes out to all bookings to keep your customers excited!
With all this video content power, your customers will know what to expect and be excited by the video testimonies. While you’re developing this video marketing strategy, also think about interviewing your tour guides. Ask them to share why they are passionate about their tours, or to share some of their favourite tour stories.
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