Using testimonial advertising is an excellent way to promote your business, build trust, and establish social proof among potential customers.
Customer testimonials can help boost sales and conversions when used effectively. However, it’s important to know how to make the most of this type of advertising.
Let’s discuss how this kind of advertising works and look at some testimonial advertising examples to give you a better idea of what an effective testimonial ad looks like. We’ll also provide tips for creating an effective testimonial advertising campaign for your own business to draw in potential customers and convince them that you’re the right choice.
Understanding the Importance of Testimonials in Advertising
A testimonial advertisement is a paid placement that uses a customer quote to establish trust and generate credibility around a product. Think of them as statements that provide first-hand evidence about something’s characteristics, qualities, or value. Advertisers often use testimonials to support their claims about products and services. It’s all about social proof.
Potential customers are more likely to believe what others have said about a product or service than what the company says about itself. Just like every mother thinks their baby is the cutest, smartest, sweetest baby ever born, every business owner believes that their products and services are the best choice available. That’s great, but customers usually want to hear from a less biased source before spending money on something.
Getting testimonials also builds trust with your existing customers. As TrustPilot elegantly put it, “Consumers feel empowered as their opinions put bad companies to shame, highlight companies that stand out amongst the crowd, and more broadly contribute to improving businesses everywhere.”
People know that their words have unbiased insight and incredible power. They’re enough to encourage sales, grow business, or dismantle them entirely under the right conditions.
Benefits for Service Businesses
Testimonial advertising is especially helpful for service businesses. Law firms, insurance agencies, financial service providers, marketers, and any other business that doesn’t have a physical product can benefit a lot from testimonial advertising.
While product reviews are often enough to really sell potential customers on a purchase, service-based businesses are more personal. Customer testimonials provide insight into the actual experience of using your services.
These kinds of businesses often have many technical topics that clients don’t understand. They want to work with someone who takes the time to explain everything, without being condescending.
Testimonial ads containing video testimonials can allow potential customers or clients to hear about the benefits and experience of working with you firsthand in a more personal way. This can have a profound impact on their decision.
Testimonial Advertising Examples
The following testimonial advertising examples can serve as a starting point for you if you’re looking for some inspiration to help you create your own testimonial ad campaign or testimonial page:
Example #1: Calm
It’s not a revolutionary take, but LinkedIn isn’t the most exciting platform ever. It’s not a sexy platform like Instagram or TikTok where the fun (and comparisons) never stop.
Still, the platform has over 800 million users, many of whom are regular users. So it’s a great platform for reaching a wide audience.
Just take a look at Calm’s testimonial advertisement here. There aren’t many details in the review, and it’s anonymous, which isn’t ideal…
But the specific audience and context make it work. LinkedIn users are immediately given a solution that employers can offer them—because we all know how stressful life can be.
The best part is that it’s an employee, not the person who runs the program, who shares how helpful Calm’s been on their journey.
Example #2: Headspace
Headspace, the meditation app, has a good testimonial advertising example. This one uses some pretty bright colors that catch people’s attention, alongside several font size variations, and an interesting image.
But visuals aside, the quote here is about running. Notice, he’s not recommending that people start running. He’s saying that guided meditation gives him peace of mind when he’s out for a run.
Obviously, runners would get a ton of value from this, but the nice thing is that it appeals to everyone. Immediately when you read it, you think “What else could I do while using Headspace?”
It draws people in, helping them envision the possibilities. This testimonial ad shows that meditation isn’t something you have to do alone in a quiet room, sitting with your legs crossed. It can be done during other tasks.
This is a huge benefit for busy professionals, parents with small children and no extra time, or anyone with a hectic schedule who can’t take time out of their day to stop everything and sit quietly to meditate.
Customer testimonials like this one show that guided meditation can be done while you do the things you already have to do like during your workout, waiting in lines, cleaning, and other tasks that don’t take a lot of mental focus.w
It helps them think about the app and consider its real-life use. There’s a lot of value in that.
Example #3: Dove
As you can see, video testimonial advertising examples give a brand a little more time than a regular written ad, so they can pack in more detail and value.
In this example from Dove, they take advantage of that fact by jamming several testimonials into one ad for their deodorant.
Now, these are all staged, which is pretty obvious since they brought these people into one space for the ad. They’re supposedly not actors, though, which adds a level of credibility and trustworthiness.
More than that, they all try on the product then and there, while talking about it and discussing their thoughts. That brings some realness to the situation, and further highlights the effectiveness of the product. Video testimonials like this help potential customers put themselves in users’ shoes to imagine getting the product benefits themselves.
Example #4: Grammarly
Now, this is a powerful testimonial ad right here. First, sushi is about precision. A lot of practice and skill goes into making a good, delicious sushi roll. It’s a lot like writing, just like Kaz Matsune points out. Writing takes a ton of time to get right, and it’s basically a lifelong pursuit.
By establishing this connection first, the visuals in the video are given context. Anytime he’s perfecting a roll, he’s also perfecting a sentence on the computer.
All this happens before he even explains the best part: English is his second language, and yet he’s able to write regularly, post content, and publish books in English thanks to Grammarly.
Video testimonials with visual metaphors like this can have a powerful effect on potential customers. These days, every industry requires some amount of writing. Whether it’s emails, blog content, or social media posts, writing is necessary for everyone.
Linking writing to a different skill allows people to imagine their skills in the place of making sushi. They can remember how long it took to get it right and become an expert in their field. Grammarly positions itself as a tool for elevating your writing without all that time. That’s a very compelling idea.
Example #5: Salesforce
You’ve likely heard this before, but storytelling is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. It’s also the oldest way humans have connected with each other and shared ideas, concepts, and lessons. Even Aristotle knew over 2,000 years ago that stories are a key element of persuasion.
So creating a testimonial ad that tells a story like Salesforce does here is always a good idea—especially if it’s a story that your target audience can really relate to.
In this case, Salesforce focuses on a rags to riches story where someone working on a cotton field became a director at the company. The defining factor? Salesforce is all about helping people succeed and live up to their potential.
That’s a solid feel-good message everyone wants to hear. It makes viewers wonder what Salesforce can do for them.
Example #6: SurveyMonkey
Let’s go over a more modern take on testimonial ads. While traditional testimonial ads can definitely still work, grabbing the attention of younger generations often requires meeting them where they are: social media.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to have a Kardashian-sized budget to score a deal with your customers’ problematic fav. Micro-influencers have smaller audiences, but they tend to have more trust and loyalty. Plus, they cost less to work with.
SurveyMonkey took advantage of influencer marketing in a very smart way without being salesy at all. They partnered with creators to create surveys for their audiences.
This gets potential customers to actually use the product and see the value in it first-hand. The creators using SurveyMonkey to create their own surveys acts as an implicit endorsement. Plus, their followers answering the survey makes it possible for them to use retargeting ads.
Furthermore, they created a video testimonial ad with clips of the influencers asking their audience to complete their surveys. This is the perfect way to adapt the concept of testimonial ads to the modern landscape.
People are constantly bombarded with ads and pitches. This method builds brand awareness, builds trust with large audiences, and makes it easy to advertise to relevant people in the future, all without ever asking potential customers to buy their product.
Example #7: Boxed Water
Today’s consumer expects the brands they buy from to share their values. They’re willing to pay more to a brand doing good in the world in ways that matter to them. This is a great way to help your brand resonate with your audience.
Boxed Water is a perfect case study on the best way to go about this. Boxed Water is an environmentally focused brand. The whole brand is built on the concept of making water more environmentally friendly.
Plenty of people prefer to buy water than use water from the tap. However, consumers are growing more aware of the damage caused by bottled water. There’s been a huge push to use reusable water bottles (the Stanley Cup mania can attest to this). But it’s less convenient and if you don’t like the taste of tap water, like everyone on WaterTok, then it’s not the best option for you.
Boxed Water created a new option using a different approach. Their water comes in, you guessed it, boxes. The boxes are also 92% plant-based. This is way more environmentally friendly.
Not only did they create a new approach to buying water, but they also created a modern, value-based method of advertising it as well. Boxed Water has a #betterplanet campaign. They pledged to plant two trees for every social media post using the hashtag.
This provides a built-in incentive for customers to spread their brand on social media. It’s a testimonial ad that also acts as a positive word-of-mouth campaign to spread the brand’s commitment to sustainability.
Even better than that, it’s user-generated content, so there’s no time or money spent on creating testimonial ads. The only cost is the trees.
Some Key Testimonial Advertising Reminders
Using testimonial advertising to promote your products and services, and therefore grow your business is always a good idea. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you approach customers.
What to Ask
Before you can get to the fun stuff (creating the ad itself), you need to ask the right questions. After all, the questions you ask dictate the answers you’ll get.
Here are the 3 most important questions you should ask:
- What was your specific problem, and how did this product or service resolve that issue?
- What other solutions had you tried leading up to this particular product/service? How do those options compare?
- What do you expect your future to be like now that you’ve found this solution?
These questions cover the past, present, and future in detail. They even cover competitive offers.
However, these questions might yield overly long answers, so you may need to cut them down to size (more on this in a bit).
When to Ask
Your product or service dictates when you should ask for testimonials from your clients and customers.
These 3 instances are the easiest times to ask for testimonials:
- Right after you’ve delivered a service: This is especially powerful if you have a face-to-face interaction with the customer. You can ask for a testimonial right away.
- After completing a project: Right when you’re wrapping it up, ask a client for feedback. The value-packed details are fresh in their mind at that point.
- About 15-30 days after someone purchases a product—especially if the product requires some time investment: For example, if you were to buy a calendar/scheduler app, you’d likely want a good 2 weeks to use it before forming an opinion. That’s enough time to discover the drawbacks and perks.
Testimonial Ad Length
Different types of testimonials vary in length. For example, quotes are shorter than video testimonials advertisements. Blog post versions are even longer.
The general consensus is that 50 words is the magic number for most testimonial advertisements—sometimes less.
Some Extra Testimonial Advertising Tips
- Your target audience will appreciate testimonials that resonate with them. Don’t settle for ones that are uninteresting or vague. Select those that offer tons of benefits and proof.
- Highlight your product or service’s unique selling points with testimonials. Be sure everyone is aware of your offer, especially if it’s the only one of its kind that offers something very specific and valuable.
- You can use testimonials for a variety of marketing materials, including your website, social media posts, email campaigns, and even print ads. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Use eye-catching graphics and video testimonials.
Testimonial Advertising Can Do Wonders For Your Business
Make sure you keep these things in mind when creating your testimonial advertising campaign. And remember to test your ads before you launch them in order to make sure they’re effective.
If you do, you can be sure your business will thank you. Not only will it be much easier to showcase the unique products and services you have to offer, but you’ll also highlight the benefits. And nothing has more selling power than valuable benefits that change people’s lives.
