Testimonial Advertising: Is It Effective? [+ Real Examples To Spark Your Creativity]

In today's fiercely competitive ecommerce landscape, Testimonial Advertising isn't just another hyped up marketing strategy. In fact, this could just be the missing piece of your marketing materials that could help you reach your target sales.

We’re not kidding. Testimonial advertising is a powerful marketing tool that you should be doing right now. And if you’re not, you could be wasting your time waiting for some miracles to happen that would boost your revenues.

But the reality is, running an ecommerce business is not about miracles. Instead, it’s about taking action. In this article, we’ll help you take the first step towards the immense sales opportunities testimonial advertising has to offer.

Let’s jump right in.

What Is Testimonial Advertising?

Image Credits: Pexels

Testimonial advertising or testimonial advertisement is a marketing campaign that employs a customer’s positive feedback to instill confidence and build trust in a brand or product. By quoting a customer’s positive experience, social proof is established.

Testimonial ads come in many forms. These could be:

• Text testimonials like positive customer reviews on your website
• Video testimonials of past customers talking about how your products have helped them
• Social media posts of users who have used your products
• Other forms of media that show customer testimonials

The main goal of testimonial advertising is to increase conversion rates by first elevating your brand or products in the eyes of your potential customers and encouraging them to trust your brand by using the words of your satisfied customers.

Testimonials Vs. Endorsements

Image Credits: Left Image: PageFly | Right Image: Nike

To eliminate the confusion, finding the distinction between testimonial ads and endorsements is important. Here are some of the differences between the two.

It is worth noting that although tapping into social influencers can be called endorsement, partnering with budding influencers (with a fairly small following) can still be considered testimonials. In the examples over the succeeding sections, we’ve included some influencer testimonials.

Why Do Advertisers Use Testimonials?

Testimonial advertising is a marketing hack that’s truly worth your time. Whether you’re new to ecommerce or you’ve been in it for quite some time, making use of testimonial ads is very attainable because they are cost-effective. You don’t have to spend your cash to pay for endorsements or to create some professional-grade ads for your brand.

All you need are customer testimonials and let their words do the talking for you.

Not yet convinced that testimonial ads are effective? Check out some of the statistics below:

• 92% of consumers read online reviews and testimonials when considering a purchase. (Vendasta)
• Customer testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics, identified by 89% and 88%, respectively, of B2B marketers. (B2B Content Marketing Trends Report)
• 9 out of 10 people say they trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself. (Wyzowl)
• 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts. (BrightLocal)
• 2 out of 3 people say they’d be more likely to make a purchase after watching a testimonial video demonstrating how a business, product or service had helped another person like them. (Wyzowl)

Why Is Testimonial Advertising Effective?

The stats listed above all point to one truth – that if you do it right, testimonial advertising could truly be effective.

When people see others like themselves attesting to the benefits of a product or service, it can carry more weight than a polished marketing message. This personal connection can foster trust and relatability, making the advertised offerings more appealing. And as your target customers’ trust increases, you’ll see some improvements on your sales.

It is crucial to note that the efficacy of testimonial advertising hinges on its authenticity, lending an element of sincerity to your campaign. As the foundation of testimonies is impartiality, you should not manipulate what your customer has to say, or else, your target audience could detect it.

Testimonial Ads Examples: How Successful Brands Do It?

Curious how large brands use testimonial advertising in their marketing campaigns? Check out the testimonial ad examples below.

01. PageFly

PageFly is a software company that specializes in creating Shopify solutions that help ecommerce entrepreneurs increase their conversion rates. Our main product is a landing page builder that helps Shopify store owners design their websites with conversion rate optimization or CRO in mind.

We offer pre-built templates so users can simply integrate them on their websites. But to those who want a more personal touch, PageFly also enables users to execute their design ideas with its easy-to-use no-code platform.

We won’t be recommending testimonial ads if we are not using it ourselves. In fact, if you check our testimonial page, we have a bunch of customer success stories.

One of which is Volant:

PageFly Reviews - Tobias from volant

In this video testimonial, Tobias of Volant talks about the extreme flexibility PageFly has provided to their Shopify store back when they were operating in tight finances during their startup years. Their team appreciates the no-code platform in that it allowed them to design their ecommerce store the way they wanted without spending money on hiring web developers.

He also went on in saying that the PageFly team was very responsive to their queries. Additionally, he divulged that their website gets a 4% conversion rate because of PageFly.

02. Inkbox

Inkbox is not like your ordinary tattoo shop. Yes, it offers tattoos. However, these are temporary ones that are designed to last for one to two weeks on the skin.

Their target audience are those people who want to have cool tattoos on their skins without the hefty price tag of professional tattoo artists.

Because they have a custom design option, these products will also fit those who want to get a real tattoo but want to first see if it will look good on them. All you need to do is to upload your design and Inkbox will deliver one to you.

In addition to temporary tattoos, they also sell easy-to-apply nail arts for those who want their nails to look posh and stylish.

Source: Inkbox

In this testimonial advertising example, Inkbox went with a simple Instagram repost of their satisfied customers. In this photo, you’ll see their customer flexing her new Inkbox tattoo placed on the left side of her abdomen.

When installed properly, like the one in the picture, the temporary tattoos are very detailed and they pop out of the skin just like how a real tattoo should.

03. Boxed Water

Boxed Water, as their brand name implies, sells water in box containers instead of plastic bottles. This company aims to provide commercial drinking water without contributing to the worsening plastic pollution on our planet.

This idea isn’t just a simple move to make their brand look appealing to environmentalists. We can say that their plant-based container is their main selling proposition here.

It’s not just environmentally-friendly. In fact, it is 100% reusable and refillable. Thus, these containers don’t end up in the dumpster after emptying their content.

Their boxed water comes in different flavors as well – grapefruit, blackberry, lemon, and cucumber.

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Source: Boxed Water Is Better

Their Facebook ad is just a simple GIF that features a lemon-flavored boxed water that is being poured into a glass of ice. Where the substance of this ad lies is in the testimonial of their customer saying that she really enjoyed their lemon water and that she is excited to buy more of it.

It’s a simple quote, but if you dig deeper, it actually talks highly of the taste of Boxed Water’s flavored drink.  And if their target audience are people like Brenda, they will definitely be interested to try their product.

04. BodyBuilding.com

BodyBuilding.com is a fitness company that sells nutritional supplements for people who want to stay healthy. They have protein powders, bars, weight management supplements, and products for serious bodybuilders.

They also offer several gym equipment and accessories, as well as athletic apparel.

Furthermore, those who aspire to be in shape, or those who want to level-up their fitness, can also purchase workout programs that are developed by their resident coaches.

I Shouldn't Be Alive Right Now | Bill Janke Transformation Story

A few years ago, BodyBuilding.com released this video testimonial of one of their members. It’s a video of Bill Janke that talks about his transformation from a 420-lb guy to a 165-lb truly fit athlete.

In the video, Bill reminisces about the turning point in his life where his physical condition nearly took his life. That’s the time when he decided to make a huge change to his lifestyle. However, there’s one big challenge. Starting from 420 pounds is no easy feat.Thus, he committed to learning proper nutrition.

Bill attributes the success of his weight-loss journey to the people at BodyBuilding.com who helped him through his difficult times.

For a fitness company, stories of transformation like this one will surely strike a chord to people who want to change their health and wellness for the better.

05. Dollar Shave Club

Dollar Shave Club is a Shopify store that sells everything related to shaving – creams, razors, and after shave. Additionally, they have facial care products like acne gels and moisturizers. Their product line also includes personal hygiene items such as wet wipes, deodorants, colognes, and more.

Where Dollar Shave Club stands out is their unique business model where they offer subscriptions so that their customers periodically receive their products right at their doorsteps.

Source: Dollar Shave Club

In the example above, the company opted for a Facebook video testimonial ad for their marketing campaign. The video features a point-of-view of a customer receiving their DSC subscription box.

In this testimonial, the subscriber opens a box of Dollar Shave Club which she bought for $3. What’s mind-blowing is that for just three dollars, the box actually has a lot of content which could easily cost more than its price.

Value for money is DSC’s product here. And that’s why this Facebook video testimonial ad is worthy of attention. There’s a high probability that their target audience would stop scrolling after seeing this video in their feed.

06. Steve Madden

Steve Madden is a fashion company that sells apparel and footwear for men and women.

Their men’s shoes collection comprises casual sneakers, dress shoes, and a variety of boots.

On the other hand, their women’s shoes collection is jaw-droppingly huge – we’re talking about more than 600 designs. From casual sneakers, designer heels, and a wide array of boots.

Source: Steve Madden

For any fashion brand, seeing a celebrity wear their products is a huge milestone. Case in point: Millie Bobby Brown.

Steve Madden wasted no time in flaunting their Kloss heel design when they saw it being worn by none other than the multi-talented actor and entrepreneur Millie Bobby Brown.

Although Millie did not say a word about Steve Madden, her wearing it means that she likes the design. For a fashion brand Steve Madden, this boosts company morale. But more than that, it establishes trust in their target audience.

07. Blackstone

Blackstone is a business that sells different kinds of cooking equipment. They have these heavy-duty griddles that aren’t just eye candies for avid cooks, but are truly up for the job of feeding a large group of friends and family. To those who want a less-intimidating grill, they have them too starting at $159.

They also sell patented pizza ovens for people who love taking a bite of some cheesy and meaty goodness. Of course, they have other cooking utensils to complete their arsenal.

Source: Blackstone Products

For their testimonial advertising, Blackstone partnered with a budding influencer @cooking_with_crazypop. In this short video the crazypop used their griddle to cook cheesy quesadillas. Although there was no sales talk about the Blackstone product, that first bite on the quesadilla sure talks a lot about griddle and how it can be used to make great tasting food.

08. Allbirds

Allbirds is a footwear company with a mission. Their brand focuses on introducing high-quality footwear to their consumers without hurting the planet. This is done by using sustainable materials like wool and natural tree fiber.

Their company is on a mission to significantly decrease their carbon footprint by year 2025 and they are really committing to it without compromising their product quality.

Allbirds have this “Rerun” program where their customers can trade-in their used footwear for a new one. This alone is a huge effort on the part of the company in minimizing their negative impact on the planet. However, they are sincerely committed to their zero-carbon footprint goals.

Source: Allbirds

Allbirds’ testimonial advertising campaign is a 15-second video featuring one of their users. The lady on the video talks about the Allbirds Tree Flyer 2 and how this is her favorite multi-purpose shoe for her everyday activities.

Despite being a very short video, the ad successfully highlighted the benefits of their products.

Advertising Testimonials Is A Genuine Way To Market Your Brand

In today’s digital world, everything that your brand puts out on the internet is some form of advertising – be it a simple social media post or a paid ad. Therefore, it is important to always put your customers in mind whenever you publish anything on your website and social platforms.

With that, customer testimonials are the most genuine form of marketing because your customers can be honest with what they say about you. As such the only way for you to start advertising testimonials from your customers is by satisfying them.

Therefore, if you want to get good testimonials, your brand should deliver great products and exceptional service.