What Types of Testimonials Work Best for Marketing?

Testimonials that work are specific. A named customer, a result they can point to and a face or a video persuade far more than a line of praise with nobody behind it. Our post on customer testimonials goes deeper.

The types worth collecting:

• Video from a real customer, even a short phone clip
• Before and after stories, in the customer's words
• Case studies with a number in them (time saved, sales, results)
• Quotes with a name and a photo, logo or job title
• Endorsements from someone who looks like your buyer

To collect written ones, add an Answer a Question Action to a giveaway or post-purchase campaign, with a prompt like "What changed after you started using it?" Switch on Validate Answers and set a Max word count to keep them short. A File Upload Action (Business Plan and above) takes video. More ideas are in our UGC contests post.

Ask permission before you publish and keep their exact words. If they earned an entry for it, say so next to the testimonial wherever it appears.