Top 15 Testimonial Video Examples to Inspire You

Trust is everything, we all know that. But that’s particularly true in the online world, where a bad reputation can greatly hinder your business. Luckily, that’s what customer testimonial videos are for!

Let’s face it, prospects want to know their money will be well spent, but whatever assurances you give them will never be as compelling as the ones they get from their peers. So, I’ve compiled 10 of the best testimonial video examples online and dissected the lessons you can learn from them. Hopefully, you can discover just how to show your audience you’re the real deal in your next video marketing strategy!

What Is a Testimonial Video?

A testimonial video is a marketing asset that showcases an existing or past customer sharing their first-hand experience with your product or service. They serve as an endorsement of your brand, your products, and their quality.

In today’s environment, there’s a multitude of companies trying to stand out and grab the attention of potential customers. Faced with an overwhelming influx of ads, potential buyers have a hard time trusting companies they haven’t heard of or purchased from before.

Testimonials work as a recommendation from a natural third party, attesting to your product’s qualities, and serve as that final push to convince them of the legitimacy of your brand. Because of that, they need to show the customer speaking about their experience, and in their own voice, to work. Customers aren’t fools: A staged, dishonest, or exaggerated testimonial sticks out a mile. This will not only fail to convince potential customers of the value of your brand—it may even cause a negative impression, showcasing yourself as a dishonest business, whose marketing communications aren’t trustworthy.

Top 10 Testimonial Video Examples to Up Your Marketing Game!

Because of the value that these pieces have, understanding what makes a good testimonial video example is crucial. So, let’s get started!

1. Phelps Agency – Yum Yum Videos’ Testimonial Example

2. EZ Texting – HubSpot’s Testimonial Ad

3. Employee Testimonials – Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Testimonial Video

4. Dropbox for Business – Dropbox’s Testimonial Ad

5. Sandwich Video – Slack’s Testimonial Advertising Example

6. Happy Hound – Google Adwords’ Testimonial Video

7. Tommy Nicholas – CodeCademy’s Testimonial Example

8. Global Marketing – Direct Agents’ Video Testimonial

9. Various Customers – Listrak’s Testimonial Ad

10. Varnika Chauhan – UPES’ Testimonial Video

11. Volunteers – Mayo Clinic Volunteer Programs Testimonial

12. Mother-in-Law’s – Google Ads

13. Various Customers – Coursera

14. Kim – Metropolis Moving

15. Sarah and Rick – In Motion O. C.

1. Phelps Agency – Yum Yum Videos’ Testimonial Example

Phelps Agency is one of our clients – they’re based in Los Angeles, so we went there to meet with them and talk about their experience working with Yum Yum Videos to get their animated explainer video!

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Phelps Agency is one of our clients – they’re based in Los Angeles, so we went there to meet with them and talk about their experience working with our explainer video company to get their animated piece!

One of the first things we had in mind was that we needed to provide some geographical context for our viewers. We used our time in LA to shoot some takes of the city so we could include them as inserts in this testimonial example!

We also know that company testimonials need to be visually powerful, so we filmed from interesting perspectives so the photography of the video would be ‘on point.’

The context of the interview was also important. In order to guide our conversation with our customers, we asked some questions and let them speak freely about their experience with our team – and even though we didn’t include ourselves asking these questions, we did include screens with text and our branded colors, in order to provide a certain order for the video.

Actually, if you look carefully at this testimonial advertising example, the characteristic colors of our animated video company are everywhere! That’s the level of attention to detail you need to have in order to make a customer testimonial video that actually converts.

2. EZ Texting – HubSpot’s Testimonial Video

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Hubspot decided to show one of their customers’ opinions in the form of a video – an incredibly smart decision because their main product is a CRM and online sales platform. And they’ve done a great job!

They decided to mix the customer’s testimonial with images of their work. Moreover, they also added screen recordings of some of the things they did on Hubspot’s platforms that made this partnership into something that was ‘game-changing.’

All of these images provide context for the viewer, and they also give this testimonial example a nice rhythm – it could get boring to just look at a person speaking for two or three minutes straight!

3. Employee Testimonials – Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Testimonial Ad

This is a very interesting customer testimonial example! Because, instead of making your regular testimonial ad targeting clients, Vertex Pharmaceuticals decided to target potential employees. Now this is, in my opinion, one powerful business testimonial video!

Just pay attention to how they share bits of the company’s culture here and there, with real specific examples of Vertex’s values in action. What’s more, it’s all told from the employees’ perspective, which makes this corporate video production feel more authentic and believable than if the company itself went around singing its own praises.

4. Dropbox for Business – Dropbox’s Testimonial Video

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With this video, Dropbox tried an interesting approach when they went for testimonial advertising: instead of covering the benefits of their service from a single client’s perspective, they decided to gather a number of stories from several satisfied customers.

As a result, this testimonial example showcases a very straightforward message: Dropbox delivers such a great service that it can benefit all kinds of people from any number of industries. Great twist on the traditional promotional video, don’t you think?

5. Sandwich Video – Slack’s Testimonial Advertising Example

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Are you in for a fun customer testimonial example? This team created a video for Slack, telling the story of how they used to communicate through many different kinds of channels (email, chats, Whatsapp), and how they found a new way of organizing their teams by using Slack (which is a great communication tool for teams).

And they did it in such a fun way that you’ll almost forget that it’s a scripted testimonial example.

This particular style of testimonial advertising is scripted and planned very carefully – but it’s also so well created that the scenes don’t look stiff or fake (which could happen if you’re not careful! Scripted customer testimonial videos usually have that problem).

6. Happy Hound – Google Adwords’ Testimonial Ad

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This testimonial advertising example shows the charming story of a lady who runs a doggy day-care: she tells us that when she started her business, she didn’t have enough customers, so she started to use Google Adwords. Soon, 90% of her customers were coming through that tool!

It’s a fairly old video (2009), but it’s still a great customer testimonial video example because it has a story that would really connect with any user of the platform (and even non-users or prospects!).

This fun and bright testimonial video ends on a sweet note: “I’m confident Google Adwords will keep helping my business grow. Life is awesome!” This goes to show the power of video storytelling for testimonials.

7. Tommy Nicholas – CodeCademy’s Testimonial Example

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One of the most powerful things about business testimonial videos is how they can use identification and emotion to give shape to the perception of the audience. It’s storytelling – pure and simple!

And CodeCademy does this extremely well. They could build their educational video production around how many people they’ve taught, or the format of their classes… instead, they choose to tell the story of how coding empowers people. How their classes can change a person’s life.

This testimonial advertising example appeals to their viewers’ hearts because they focus on benefits instead of features.

8. Global Marketing – Direct Agents’ Video Testimonial

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This video testimonial is only one minute long, but there are a few aspects that are worth remarking on because they make it quite effective regardless of its length.

For starters, I liked how the company used text to highlight certain key phrases and bring attention to them. But more than that, did you notice that 30 seconds into this testimonial video, there’s a person walking by in the background? This small aspect brings more authenticity to the piece and makes it feel less scripted.

9. Various Customers – Listrak’s Testimonial Ad

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So far, we’ve gone over several video testimonials featuring different people from the same company talking about their experiences. But have you ever thought about doing the opposite?

This is a clever example in which only one person, each from several different companies, is featured in combination with key employees from Listrak. The result is an effective testimonial ad that perfectly highlights the company’s strengths and backs them up with real examples.

10. Varnika Chauhan – UPES’ Testimonial Video

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This is a clear example of how educational institutions can benefit from creating a video testimonial as well. By featuring a former student reminiscing about her successful educational journey and explaining how the college helped her earn a spot at an e-commerce firm, UPES can encourage potential students to enroll.

Moreover, the testimonial video itself is quite simple, combining live footage of the student and pictures from different stages of her journey. This goes to show that you can make a good piece even with a limited budget, and with good live-action video production.

11. Volunteers – Mayo Clinic Volunteer Programs Testimonial

With a very simple video, Mayo Clinic offers an example of what the best healthcare advertising looks like. The aim of this piece was to attract people to their volunteer program, and to do so they decided to simply let their current helpers speak: no soundtrack, no effects, no script.

This puts the spotlight on the people that are actually getting the job done, and how helping others makes them feel fulfilled, which is the main driver of volunteer work. What this also shows is how testimonials are a great tool for attracting volunteers for nonprofits and foundations—and how it doesn’t always need a full-scale production!

12. Mother-in-Law’s – Google Ads

Google Ads is probably the king of video testimonials—and with reason. Appropriate ad targeting has opened the door to wider audiences for thousands of small businesses, and in their section “Success Stories”, Google decided to start sharing some of them. In this piece, they share the story of Lauryn Chun, and how Google’s tools changed the game for her business. 

Numbers are a foolproof strategy in testimonial marketing: a 108% growth in sales and 1.000.000 jars of kimchi sold thanks to this platform. For a small business, taking the jump into paid ads and targeting campaigns can be scary. By showcasing success stories with real, small entrepreneurs, Google is bringing its service closer to small entrepreneurs, who play a big role in the company’s revenue.

13. Various Customers – Coursera

Sometimes, your video testimonials don’t need to involve extensive production and an inspiring story.

In today’s digital environment, brevity is key—especially when it comes to ads. Coursera knew they hadn’t time to expand too much on their client’s experiences, so they came up with this simple yet effective piece that simply shares the more resonating statements of people who took some of their courses.

Even in half a minute of video, you can relate to and understand the struggles some of the speakers went through, like “Learning can be tough at first, but once you get it, the sky’s the limit.” It works because they aren’t simply selling a service, but an opportunity to use education to change your life—and this testimonial inspires viewers to do so, too.

14. Kim – Metropolis Moving

Metropolis Moving aims to make a stressful process like switching homes fun—so, of course, they had to make a funny video about it, too! With clever edits, they add comments, like “100% satisfied customers” or “Real High-5 (not stuntmen), and they are able to showcase the cheerful style of this brand and their workers.

Getting to know the crew is, precisely, one of the best things about this piece. After all, you want to see beforehand the people that you’ll let into your home! However, with an entertaining testimonial like this one, clients will have an easier time relying on Metropolis Moving the next time they decide to switch homes.

15. Sarah and Rick – In Motion O. C.

When it comes to sports advertising, finding the balance between displaying highly fit bodies and your average citizen can be hard. On one side, you want people to feel inspired by your ad—on the other, you don’t want to display out-of-the-world models that make your viewers feel more disappointed than eager to go to your gym.

Luckily, you can follow the In Motion O. C. example and create a testimonial video of your real customers. Video allows you to share the effects of a dedicated and customized physical routine on normal bodies, and the viewers get to hear the benefits of these in other customer’s own words.

After all, starting to exercise is no easy task. To gain the strength to take the first step, a testimonial video of others can be really inspiring!

10 Tips to Create Great Customer Testimonial Ads

If you have made it this far, I guess you are thinking about diving into testimonial advertising. That said, your testimonial ads won’t create themselves! So, we brought some tips straight from the best video marketing companies for you to create the perfect company testimonial.

1. Make your video as natural as possible

One of the first things you should be thinking about is to give your professional customer testimonial video a feeling of authenticity make it natural, reliable, and believable. Focus on capturing the natural responses of your interviewee.

2. Don’t script it

For it to be authentic, it needs to have authentic answers. Don’t write a script; let your interviewee use their own words. (Let them show their love for you in their own way!)

Look at this customer testimonial example. We made a high-quality animated explainer video for McKesson, and they happily joined us to shoot this piece:

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3. Put your Customer Testimonial Video into context

Whether you’re shooting your video in a store, your restaurant, or an office, make sure to show some context in your testimonial ad. Show your viewers around; it will add richness to the story you’re telling them.

4. Prepare your questions in advance, but listen to the responses you get

It’s important to be prepared. Go to your interview with your questions written down, but remember to relax a bit and let it become a conversation.

Listen to what your interviewee is saying so you can ask follow-up questions, and don’t be afraid to let the conversation go a little bit off track—oftentimes, that’s where you will find the greatest content.

5. Give your interviewee some time to prepare

It’s good if you give your interviewee the questions you’ll be asking them in advance so they have time to prepare. But it’s even better to give them just a general idea of the topics you’ll be covering in the interview: this is so they don’t get tempted to practice the answers too much, as it will make the conversation robotic and unnatural.

6. Do the scouting of the place you’ll be filming in

Take a walk around the place to look for the best spot in terms of lighting and frames. Make the frames clean and interesting but not distracting, and also choose a spot that feels familiar to your interviewees so they’ll feel comfortable.

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(Compilation of testimonial examples by the animation company Yum Yum Videos.)

7. Layout a general structure for your video

It can be a storyboard or just a general layout of the structure you will follow in your professional customer testimonial video. By doing this, you will be able to film some insert takes to use as an example of what’s being said during the interview.

8. Let your customers speak freely

Give them some time to speak about their experience with your company and your product. Let the interview be a conversation – as they feel free to express their love (hopefully!), you’ll get more material to choose from later during the editing phase of the process.

9. Include some pain points of your clients

What were the issues your customer was struggling with when they found your product? What was their problem, and how did your brand and your product help them solve it?

Identify and include some pain points of your clients in your customer testimonial ads, as they will probably be the same pain points of your general personas. This way, your customers will identify with their story: “Hey, I’ve got the same problem! They can help me as well!”

10. Go ahead and edit! Do it wisely.

During the editing process, you’ll be glad to have some extra footage to choose from. When video editing, choose the best takes of your interview to create a video with good rhythm and of a correct length for web usage, but always stay faithful and honest to what was said in the interview. Include the insert takes you planned during the layout to make a dynamic and interesting company testimonial.

If you follow these tips, you’ll have great testimonial ads ready to upload to your webpage for the delight of your future customers. Maybe you feel a bit scared to ask for feedback, but don’t be! Your customers are already happy with your product, so ask them to participate; it’ll be easier than you think!

“Always remember that testimonial advertising is not just about your brand, it’s about the impact that your product or service made on your customers. Focus on that influence and your video will connect with your leads on an emotional and rational level.”

Why You Should Go for a Professional Video Company

Going for a professional video marketing agency can be a game-changer for your testimonial advertising efforts. Viewers will take your testimonial ad’s quality as a mirror of your products or services’ quality. So, even if testimonial video productions aren’t usually as big as those of other types of videos (like product videos or corporate videos, for example), you should still pay them enough attention.

Hiring top-notch professional video production services can ensure your company testimonials genuinely resonate with your audience. Not to mention the video company would do all the heavy lifting and take care of the necessary details to make your company testimonials great.

We know choosing the right video company for your testimonial ads can be a daunting task, so here’s our list of the 10 best video animation services out there.

Why Should You Leave Your Testimonial Video Production in Our Hands

At Yum Yum Videos, we take pride in the way we handle our customers’ projects – and for a bunch of good reasons! Nobody likes a bragger, but suffice it to say that with more than a decade of experience working with brands of all shapes, sizes, and industries, we’ve become quite adept at making both animated and live-action marketing videos that help their brands and products shine.

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So, if you are looking for a skilled explainer video company to make an awesome testimonial for your brand, you need only ask! But hey, don’t just take our word for it; see what our friends at Collaboration Squared thought about working with us:

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“Now That I’ve Got My Customer Testimonial Video, What Do I Do With It?”

Great question! Promote it: Upload the company testimonial to your webpage so your leads can find it easily, but also put it on social media. It’s probably already there – your interviewees will be proud of their performance, so they’ll be the first ones to share it.

Also, use testimonial advertising as an internal motivator within your team and as a feedback mechanism.

How to Create an Incredible Thumbnail for Your Testimonial Videos

When posting your video testimonial—or any other type of marketing content, for that matter—an attractive thumbnail is key.

To gain visitors’ and increase engagement, you must first pique the visitor’s attention, and compelling thumbnail images play a big role in that. They work as the door to your content for viewers. An attractive thumbnail will call them in—while a boring one will easily drive them away. 

To prevent that, here are some tips:

• Keep the mood: when you see movie posters, you can notice that they convey the overall vibe of the film. You must try to emulate that in your thumbnail, using colors, images, and shapes to convey the overall environment of your testimonial, giving viewers a glimpse of what they’ll see.

• Think small: Thumbnails are small in size, so don’t be too greedy. The final image will appear much smaller than it looks when you’re designing. To prevent having unidentifiable shapes, make sure to diminish the screen occasionally as you’re working!

• Keep it personalized: Avoid employing meaningless or generic photographs that could be misconstrued as stock photography. Instead, use images of the client speaking, as showcasing real people will help build immediate credibility. You can add movement to a still photo by capturing the subject laughing, pointing, or making a motion.

• Follow the rule of thirds: This composition technique will help you make visually appealing thumbnails. It consists of mentally dividing your image into a grid of nine squares and then placing your subject on one of the four locations where two lines connect. That is a location where viewers’ eyes naturally gravitate to, first.

• Add text: Some well-placed words, like a bombshell quote from your customer, can add a major impact to your thumbnail. Keep it brief, though, as the space limitation is still there. Text should be an addition to the picture, not the center of attention.

Let’s Wrap It Up!

A customer’s opinion holds a lot of power. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you claim that your own product is the absolute best – everyone would say that about their own products. What your customers need to hear is the opinion of their peers. Customers trust their peers more than anyone else.

But the most important thing is to make your company testimonial engaging and credible and always respect the spirit of what your interviewee has said. Just like the testimonial advertising examples you’ve seen today!

So, are you ready to make your own testimonial ads? It’s time to translate your sales into more sales!