Reviews are one of the most influential tools that businesses can use to increase their customer base.  

Consumers love reading reviews. Nowadays, online purchases will rarely happen without the consumer first reading a review.

So, what type of reviews should you focus on as a marketer: text reviews or video reviews?

In this article, we’ll cover whether there’s a real advantage to one or the other in your marketing strategy.

Let’s begin.

What Is a Text Review?

A text review is when a customer who recently purchased a product or service shares their feedback publicly with the brand through the written word.

They often leave this either on Google, on social media, or directly on the brand’s website through a review page. 

Text reviews allow customers and companies to interact with one another in a public setting. Customers will talk about the positive aspects of their purchasing experience. And, sometimes they’ll speak of the negative aspects or make recommendations for managers to improve their stores.

Leadership can typically respond directly to reviews, which enables them to become two-way conversations with customers.

The most important aspect of reviews is that they’re public. This makes them an excellent opportunity to show off how great your brand is to potential customers.

What Is a Video Testimonial?

A video testimonial, or video review, is like a text review. Except, the difference is the customer doesn’t write out their review—they make a video instead.

Video reviews are a form of content known as user-generated video content, or UGVC. So, do video testimonials work. 

Of course!

Video testimonials have recently taken off online as the world responds more and more to video content overall.

Sourcing and distributing video reviews is an incredibly powerful way a business can increase social proof, generate brand awareness, and convert prospects into customers.

Many eCommerce store owners use Vyrill, which has recently launched a powerful Shopify app, to source user-generated video content with ease and elevate their marketing strategy. 

Let’s review 3 key differences between text reviews and video reviews.

1. Video Reviews Are More Engaging 

There’s a reason more people are watching Netflix at night than reading books.

Video is just more engaging than text content. In fact, 84% of people have bought a product after watching a video.

As a marketer, you know the better you can engage with your audience, the more followers you’ll gain, the more leads you’ll acquire, the more customers you’ll convert, the more loyalty you’ll generate, and so on.

Customer video reviews are far better than text reviews at engaging your target audience. The quality of text reviews simply doesn’t compare to video when it comes to audience impact. 

While generating and showing off text reviews is still an important part of your marketing strategy, you need to ensure you’re putting in an effort to leverage more video reviews.

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2. It’s Easier for Customers to Leave Text Reviews

When you launch a review strategy, it’s easy to think that every customer will wholeheartedly leap at the thought of leaving a review.

But, the reality is, it might be a hassle for customers to take even a few minutes out of their day to leave a review. And, not everyone wants to get up in front of the camera and rave or complain about their recent purchase. When it comes to text vs. video reviews, oftentimes text reviews are easier for customers to create than video reviews.

However, knowing that video reviews are 20X more engaging than text reviews, it’s important to make it easy for your customers to do so. Here are some tips: 

• Enable the ability for customers to leave video reviews on your website
• Encourage customers and influencers to leave them through social media communications and campaigns
• Ask customers to create and share a video review in your post-purchase email sequence

One way to increase video reviews is to offer customers a promotion, for example, 10-15% off their next purchase to say thank you for the feedback.

3. Video Reviews Convert Better Than Text Reviews

As a marketer, your mission is to maximize revenue, increase profits, and optimize higher conversions. When looking at conversion optimization, video reviews have an edge over text reviews.

Video converts better than any other form of content that marketers use. It’s also more engaging than text. When shoppers can see a person like them talking about pros and cons, see how a product works, or learn something new, they’re more likely to take the next step. The longer you can hold someone’s attention, the higher your chances of convering them into a customer.

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How to Find a Customer Video Review

If you want to leverage video reviews, you’ll need to ensure you’re able to find them online.

The challenge with finding videos is people don’t always leave them on your website. When they don’t share their videos directly with your page, they usually use their own social media channels (like TikTok), or upload videos to YouTube.

Vyrill is a leading Video Intelligence Platform that can help you find and curate customer video reviews. Whether you’re looking for existing videos about your brand, or you’re looking to capture new videos from customers, Vyrill’s robust AI software can help you find user-generated videos and launch campaigns to capture new video reviews that resonate best with your audience.

Schedule a Vyrill demo today!

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About the Author

Katy boasts two decades in B2B technology & services, spearheading growth and brand evolution. A former Adobe marketing maven for 9 years, she’s since built growth teams for 5 tech startups that have all been acquired. With a stellar record in operational excellence and creating demand, she excels at leading successful cross-functional initiatives that enable companies to scale up.