Don't post boring testimonials on Instagram - do this instead!

Sick of posting the same old testimonial post on Instagram? In this blog post, I show you a number of alternatives that convert much better than your classic Canva testimonial template.

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Why is it important to post testimonials on your social media business page?

Showcasing testimonials on your social media can help you build trust with your audience and make it easier for them to evaluate if a product/service is for them. As a service-based business, testimonials are even more important to your success because, unlike a product, your clients can't see, touch, or feel the service before they make a decision.

Here are some facts on testimonials to show you just HOW crucial they are:

• 92% of customers read online reviews before they make a purchasing decision

• 72% of consumers say that positive testimonials increase their trust in a business

• 88% of consumers trust online testimonials as much as recommendations from friends or family. This goes to show just how much people trust strangers on the Internet over people that they actually know in real life.
(Source: Boast.io, accessed May 2023)

How to receive testimonials from customers:

95% of your customers will not wake up one day and want to write a review for your offer. This is why you need to encourage them. You could do this in two ways:

1) Set up an automated email sequence that asks for a review after a certain amount of time has passed (for example, 2 weeks after purchase).

2) Send them a message on Instagram - this only works if your clients are businesses as well and have a public profile. Don't start texting private profiles, it's a bit pushy.

🫣 Unfortunately, however, and I think this is just part of being in business, not every one of your customers will write you a testimonial. Sometimes you will simply just not get it.

But, luckily for you, one of the ideas that I have included here is really useful for those situations when you don’t have an actual testimonial but still want to highlight the work you did with someone.

3 testimonial post ideas:

1. Case studies

If you don't have a formal testimonial but still want to showcase that you have worked with a specific client and what you have achieved, you can use that as a case study. Of course, if you have an actual testimonial you can also still do the case study and then have the testimonial as a last slide, for example.

Here's an example of a post I recently did about an audit client (click here to see it on Instagram).

I broke down the different steps of the project: what was the initial situation of the client, what problems were they experiencing, what did we do about it and what was the final result.

Case studies are a great way to help prospective clients understand if you are the right person for them. If they are in a similar "before" situation, they will understand that your product/service is THE solution to get to the "after".

That is what testimonials are about: reducing the buyer's risk. If they can understand what others have experienced when they use your service or your product they will decrease their risk of making a wrong purchase.

2) Video testimonials

If you can get someone to talk on video about your offer, you have hit the jackpot. Why?

Because:

• Two out of three people say they are more likely to buy something after they have seen a video from a previous customer

• 77% of people who have watched a testimonial about a product or a service say that it motivated them to make a purchase.

(Source: Trustmary, accessed May 2023)

Video testimonials work for a few different reasons:

• They help to visualize what a service/product can look like for the viewer

• They help the viewer understand the back story of the other customer and compare that to their situation

• They show what kind of impact something had on people's lives

• They are easier to consume than a long testimonial text

3) Use screenshots in a reel or carousel post

If you don't have any formal testimonials but you have lots of screenshots from people that are either from private messages or comments on your posts, you can use those in a post as well.

You could film a video of either your product or yourself working (depending on your business) and have the screenshots pop up to the rhythm of the audio you chose. Or just simply use a nice photo & add the screenshots on top.

Talk soon,

Hanna