Customer testimonials, such as case study are stable marketing content tools that many marketers are not utilizing. But when you examine the effectiveness of customer reviews, you realize that they should be part of your content marketing toolbox.
However, if you’re aware of their potentials, how are you utilizing these marketing resources? Do you want to learn the best marketing strategies for using client testimonials in your content?
We are happy to offer assistance. Customer testimonials should be paramount to your content marketing campaigns; whether it is via your blog or website, social media, and or emails, you must use them prominently. Why?
We will address that in a moment.
What is The Purpose of Customer Testimonials?
Using customer testimonial examples in your marketing mix has one primary aim. It is to drive more leads and convert visitors to buyers. Therefore, to effectively carry out this task, you should take advantage of positive reviews to help attract eventual customers.
But if you have a marketing team and or customer service personnel, they can use consumer reviews to increase leads and convert them into paying customers. Nonetheless, don’t get too focused on converting blog readers into customers and forget other vital marketing strategies.
Why are Customer Testimonials so Important to Your Content Strategy?
Customer testimonials are essential because they add more valuable content to your blog and website. These pieces of content, when put together, help in enhancing your brand credibility and trust. There are other name variations of customer testimonials, such as:
- Buyer testimony
- Consumer report
- Client statement
- Client testimonial
All these add up to improve your content marketing campaign. For example, if you have enough positive reviews on your site, it will your trust ratings. It also indicates that your product or services are trustworthy and authentic.
Put differently; client testimonials are essential to your content marketing campaign because they can painlessly convince prospective customers to buy your product. How? They highlight how others have benefited from your products or services, and give the green light that your brand is worth buying.
They come in different types, such as:
- Consumer reviews
- Product reviews
- Testimonials
- Case studies
- Star-ratings
Whatever category you get them, client reports can move your business forward. That is because they help in consumer retention. They serve as a reminder to current customers to keep buying from you. How? Because you put them first by featuring their statements. So, leverage testimonial campaigns to gather enough for your site.
Further Reading: How to Develop a Killer Content Strategy in 18 Easy Steps
How Effective are Customer Testimonials in Content?
To better understand the effectiveness of consumer testimony, let us consider a few testimonial statistics. These numbers will help to confirm the efficiency of buyer statements as one of the most potent forms of content marketing.
These content resources are excellent for addressing consumer objections and customer churn. But they help increase trust in your offerings. And trust enables you to build a loyal community of target buyers who will boost your content marketing Return On Investment.
As illustrated below, acquiring more volume of customer reviews have a significant impact on the ROIs of your marketing efforts.
The areas of impact are:
- Conversions
- Search engine optimization (SEO) organic traffic and
- Product insights
The account points out that up-to-date customer reviews increase organic search traffic and keyword rankings. When your brand gains ten product reviews or more, it can generate 15 to 20% more organic web traffic.
Moreover, the Bazaarvoice report also noted that when users engage with reviews on your site, three things are sure to occur.
- Consumers are 58% likely to convert.
- Your chances to generate more revenue per visitor increases by over 62%.
- Users are likely to increase purchasing by 3%.
Testimonial Statistics
Statistics of user testimony to inspire your content strategy:
- Over 90% of consumers will read online reviews before making a purchasing decision.
- According to 72% of respondents, positive reviews and testimonials increase consumer trust in a brand.
- A client can spend 31% more on a brand with “excellent” reviews.
- Online reviews influence the buying decision of almost 90% of customers.
- Frequent use of client testimonials can increase revenue by over 62%
- Customer testimonials can increase conversions by 380% if you place them side by side with more expensive items.
Further Reading: These are the 23 Types of Content Marketing Your Business Needs to Know About
How to Convert Blog Readers into Buyers With Customer Testimonials (4 Steps That Work)
Client testimonials can help your business in several ways, including strengthening bonds between your brand and customers (existing buyers and eventual clients). You can accomplish this by utilizing testimonials strategically into your content.
So, how can you use client statements to ramp up your content marketing campaign? This article shows you four practical steps that will generate results.
1. Add Testimonials Within Your Blog Posts
Visitors who come to your blog from other sources are interested in what you’re offering. That is why they clicked through to your blog in the first place. So, adding case study testimonials within your blog is one of blogging and content marketing best practices that helps in attracting the attention of your readers.
When they see proof of credibility via the testimonies of others, they’ll have no choice but to become loyal fans and customers. In other words, testimonials confirm your brand’s trustworthiness. But please, be mindful not to be intrusive with this marketing resource.
Where to Add Customer Testimonials Within Your Blog Content
You can screenshot clients’ statements and include them as images within your blog posts. Also, you can use them as quotes within your post. Take a look below to see how I added a quote from Syed Balkhi.
Do the same with social proof within your blogs. The materials add up to strengthen your content. However, your blog’s sidebar and the home/front page are excellent places to include customer comments.
These materials, such as reviews, offer you a consistent stream of fresh content for your blog. And that’s what Google loves. In consequence, search engine bots will reward you with a higher search ranking for frequently publishing fresh and unique blog posts.
2. Use Social Proof
Syed Balkhi of OptinMonster (who also blogs here) wrote:
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of the correct behavior.
To confirm Syed’s statement, research by Nielsen notes that “92% of the populace trust recommendations from their peers. Also, 70% of respondents say they will trust recommendations from strangers.”
Several industry experts view social proof as one of the most effective marketing tactics of recent times. It means that if you don’t have testimonials or customer reviews on your site, and you’re not using them in your content, you’re leaving money on the table. Start now!
But how?
Identify your most prominent clients and start building relationships with them. That is if you haven’t already. Ask them to write positive reviews or testimonials about their experience working with you. That’s what I did to get a handful of social proof on my website and LinkedIn profile.
However, if they’re constrained with time, ask them to tell you what they’ve got as benefits for working with you over time. Then use their responses to craft compelling testimonials that serve as social proof.
You can also use their replies for case studies and wow your blog readers. Also, if you’re selling a product, you can use real-time live-action as social proof. Live-action shows that people are purchasing your products and paying for your services.
Example of Live-action Social Proof
Showing real-time live-action serves two outstanding purposes.
- Social proof that your product or service is authentic.
- It stimulates the fear of missing out (FOMO) on something of value.
When blog readers and site visitors see that people are purchasing your products or paying for the services you offer, it makes them anxious and motivates them to join in. Have a look at how Optinmonster is using live-action social proof to boost revenue.
The website shows that one million customers are using the product. That’s not all; it also displays real-time action below the page, showing that people are interacting with the product and making purchases.
There are other things you can exhibit beside purchases, such as downloads, signups, registration. Moreover, if you’re not selling any products, you can also display clients you have worked with and websites that feature you (As Seen On or Feature In). Each of your client logos appears as a case study example or social proof that enhances your credibility.
Neal Schaffer did a fantastic job combining the two, as you can see on the screenshot below.
So, use these elements as customer testimonials in your content marketing tactics to arouse consumer anxiety, move visitors to action, and increase conversions.
Further Reading: Social Signals and SEO: What You Need to Know (and 7 Steps to Take)
3. Use Video Testimonials in Your Content
Testimonials come in different formats, including videos. In recent times, consumers want to see more video content, and that is because they easily hook viewers and keep them focused on the material.
Also, they’re more entertaining, easy to consume and summarize. These traits make video a formidable force in content marketing. Consumers of all industries love videos; they want to see your product or service in action. That is why visual content, such as video, is so effective.
However, keep in mind that consumer statements are word-of-mouth marketing. So, adding testimonial videos in your content will increase conversion and sales, since they are more engaging than text materials.
Therefore, ask your best customers to film a short video testimonial, and blend it with them using your product if users can see first-hand views of how your merchandise works and the benefits of paying for it, that can be a game-changer.
But if your product is new and you have no one to create customer reviews video, create a video of you demonstrating how users can benefit from your product—then add it within relevant blog posts. Besides, add the video on your sidebar or home page.
For example, Neal Schaffer added a YouTube video of himself on his site’s home page. The video gives you insights about Neal and his journey as a top social media speaker. I didn’t know he went to school in China and played in a band in Japan. Did you know he is fluent in Japanese? !
In consequence, video testimonials help to convince your target market of your proficiencies and show them how you can help make their lives better.
Further Reading: The Power of Customer Reviews in Marketing Videos
4. Use Customer Testimonials in Your Content for SEO Benefits
Did you know? Google bots and other search engine web crawlers value customer testimonials for different considerations. Most prominent of them is for SEO purposes. Why is that so? According to studies, customer testimonials produce fresh content that connects with the reader and signals Googlebot that people are engaging with your blog posts.
And you agree that user experience (UX) is a vital element of Google ranking factors. Moreover, consumer statements, such as reviews, offer natural long-tail keywords that people are searching for online. To prove this point, Yotpo conducted a study of 30,000 eCommerce businesses to understand how reviews impact SEO.
The report shows that marketers who use customer reviews on their blog or website increased organic traffic by over 40%. Also, take into account that you’re driving targeted traffic of excellent quality. Why? Because the keyword terms that drive the traffic are search intent. They point to why people do those searches.
Are they looking to buy something? Are they searching for information about a particular product or service? Or maybe they want to learn something. These criteria improve SEO and drive quality web traffic.
Here are other ways to collect more reviews to enhance your techniques for SEO and search rankings:
- Add case study testimonials on your website and encourage users to write reviews and testimonials by offering gift cards, discounts, or coupons.
- Create a FAQ page on your site and use it to foster discussions among users. It helps you gather long-tail keywords and semantics.
Further Reading: 7 Local SEO Tips For Small Business Owners
Wrapping Up 4 Powerful Ways to Use Customer Testimonials in Your Content to Boost Conversions
When structured into relevant content, customer testimonials can be the difference between a successful content marketing strategy and a failure. The trust signal associated with social proof makes it the most powerful word of mouth marketing tactic.
However, the case study examples and usage are not one-size-fits-all, as there are several other ways to convert blog readers into loyal customers. But the four blogging tips and content marketing hacks highlighted in this article will set you up for the long run.
What is essential is, implementing these blog tips and testing your efforts to define what is working for you. Also, consider the testimonials you publish, what you want prospects to see, and the impact it would have on your business.
I believe you have learned why you should start using customer reviews, and how to use them in your blog posts to increase conversions. If you have more tips that will help our readers, please leave them in the comments!
Hero photo by Zachary Nelson on Unsplash
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