WHAT ARE TESTIMONIALS AND TEAM MEMBER INTERVIEWS?
Testimonials are short sound bites on video of your favorite clients or customers sharing their feedback about you, your company, or your products and services. They provide social proof to the viewer that what you claim to be true about the results you provide is actually true. Watching testimonials often makes viewers feel even more confident in what you have to offer, because then they may think to themselves, “If that person got those great results, then perhaps I can too!”
Team Member Interviews are short sound bites on video of your team members sharing their insight about your company, your core values, and your products and services. They help the viewer understand that you do not have a one-person operation – there is a whole team of people that is there to support them in getting the results they desire. This may make a potential customer feel more confident in working with your company, and is appropriate when you have a support team that deals with customers directly and is absolutely integral to the work you do and the image you present. It also makes your company or organization appear bigger, and it helps viewers to understand that when they call your company or come to see you in person, they may not always be dealing directly with you as the business owner – they may be interacting with another coach or mentor or staff member on your team who will be assisting them, or possibly providing the main service they are purchasing from your company.
HOW MANY TESTIMONIALS OR TEAM MEMBER INTERVIEWS DO I NEED?
When it comes to adding testimonials into your Brand Story Video, there are a few general rules that we follow. First, we recommend that you recruit between 5-8 people that would agree to appear on camera in your video. Less than 5 can be problematic, if for some reason we don’t get enough good sound bites. More than 8 is usually overkill. One thing to keep in mind is that when we add testimonials to a Brand Story Video, each person typically speaks for around 10 seconds in the finished video. So if we have 6 people, that’s 60 seconds of content. Since we are trying to keep your video less than 5 minutes long, that takes away valuable time that is available in the video for you to explain what you do. So for that reason, in some cases, it may not make sense or be feasible to add client testimonials, especially if your product or service requires a lot of explanation.
When it comes to adding team member interviews into your Brand Story Video, the number depends on how many team members you have that would be good to hear from and see on camera. We typically recommend interviewing between 3-6 additional people on your staff that represent the various department heads, or the people who interact directly with the customers. One thing to keep in mind is that when we add team member interviews to a Brand Story Video, each person typically speaks for around 15-20 seconds in the finished video. So if we have 3-6 additional people to interview, that’s 60 seconds to 2 minutes of additional content to include. Since we are trying to keep your Brand Story Video less than 5 minutes long, that takes away valuable time that is available in the video for the viewer to see and hear from you directly. So for that reason, in some cases, it may not make sense or be feasible to add additional team member interviews.
CAN I JUST INCLUDE WRITTEN TESTIMONIALS IN MY VIDEO, OR HAVE CLIENTS FILM THEIR OWN?
To answer a few very common questions we get asked: NO we cannot write testimonials on the screen with the person’s picture, or record their voiceover without having them in person, and NO we cannot have your clients record their own testimonial on video that you send to us, and have us edit into your Brand Story Video. In most cases, all of these things are going to degrade the overall quality of your video. Because we don’t feel it’s in your best interest, or the right way to produce a great video for you, that’s why we typically say no to all of these requests. The only way we can make sure that the testimonials are shot well, with good lighting and audio, and that the people who give testimonials deliver great sound bites, in a way that is easy to understand and relate to, is if we film them ourselves. We also want to make sure that they look good on camera, that they’re wearing the right color that looks good on video, and that they are speaking in a way that makes it easy to add their sound bite into your video. So we strongly prefer, whenever possible, to have complete control over the entire process, so we can ensure that everything that goes into your video makes you look professional, and at the top of your game.
DO MY CLIENTS OR TEAM MEMBERS NEED TO PREPARE ANYTHING AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes. When we film client testimonials or additional team member interviews, we always prepare a list of questions that we will plan to ask your guests on camera. Since we write and prepare those questions ahead of time, you are encouraged to forward them on to your guests before our day of filming, in the case that you want them to have a chance to prepare, which is highly recommended. This makes the guests feel more confident and less nervous about the experience, and it also helps speed up the interview process on the day of filming.
We also give your guests guidance on what to wear on camera, and are happy to help them choose the right shirt to wear, if they want or need help with that. Our preference is that each guest brings more than 1 option for what to wear on camera, and allows us to choose what looks best. We would rather have more options rather than less, as we won’t be sure of exactly what the background will look like, and we don’t want your guests to either blend into or clash with the background. We also don’t want all of your guests to show up wearing the same color, so if they bring a few different clothing options, we’re happy to help them choose the one that will work best.
WHAT TIME DO MY GUESTS NEED TO BE AVAILABLE?
Once we know how many people you have recruited ahead of time to provide on-camera testimonials or team member interviews, we will create a schedule that allows people to show up at staggered arrival times. This will make sure that no one has to sit around for too long waiting for their turn. We typically book guests to arrive every 15 minutes, within a 2 hour time period, so that each person can arrive, check in with us, change their shirt if necessary, and then be ready to film their on-camera testimonial or team member interview. While we won’t know exactly what time we’ll need people to show up until we build out a schedule for the day, for now just check your guests’ availability for the entire day, and make sure they reserve the date in their calendar now, and don’t make any plans that will eliminate the possibility of them participating in your video shoot.
CAN THE MAKEUP ARTIST TOUCH-UP MY GUESTS?
One thing to be aware of is that our makeup artist is usually only on set for the first 4 hours of the day (while we are filming the interview portion of your Brand Story Video). However, if you want the makeup artist to stay on set longer, to make sure that your guests are looking their best on-camera too, then we can check her availability, and hire her to stay for an additional 1/2 day. The extra fee is $300 for an additional 1/2 day, and we can add that charge onto the end of your payment plan. When we’re having a makeup artist work with additional guests, we tell the guests to show up with their makeup and hair already done, and then let them know that the makeup artist will touch them up, to make sure that they’re camera-ready. Please don’t tell your guests to come with absolutely no makeup on and with their hair not already done, as that will take way too much time per person. Keep in mind that the makeup artist will be able to allocate about 15 minutes per guest, which is another reason why we typically stagger their arrival times, so no one person has to wait around for too long.
CAN THIS REALLY ALL BE ACCOMPLISHED ON ONE DAY?
For most of our clients who opt to include testimonials or team member interviews in their Brand Story Videos, we are able to get everything filmed during one full day of production. However, there are some projects where it is not possible to film the main interview, the b-roll shots, and all of the testimonials or team member interviews during only one single day of filming.
In that case, we can schedule an additional day of filming to complete all of the elements of your Brand Story Video. Note: there is an additional fee for each additional day of filming. Please talk to us about this, if you think it will be necessary to schedule multiple days to complete your video project.
SAMPLE BRAND STORY VIDEOS WITH TESTIMONIALS AND TEAM MEMBER INTERVIEWS:
Below are some sample Brand Story Videos with Testimonials and/or Team Member Interviews, so you can get a better idea of how the additional sound bites are used throughout the finished video, and the value they add to the finished product:
