Instagram Testimonial Best Practices: Create More Engaging Instagram Testimonials Using Trust

Are you using testimonials to promote your brand on Instagram but finding them challenging to collect and display?

If so, we’ve got you covered with this article – a complete guide on using testimonials as a powerful tool for Instagram promotion along with some great templates. 

Potential customers love connecting with users like themselves before trying your product or service.

And showcasing your customer testimonials on Instagram humanizes your brand and tells your brand’s story through the perspective of your customers. 

But it’s not that simple.

Requesting, collecting, and displaying testimonials for social media manually, especially for Instagram, can test your creativity and coding skills and is quite time-consuming.

But not anymore!

With a tool like Trust, you can do all these steps without any design or coding background in under 15 minutes. 

Want to try it yourself? 

 

How to use Instagram testimonials for marketing

When it comes to promoting your business, a few elements can help you stand out as much as social proof like customer testimonials.

Testimonials give potential customers a peek into what it’s like to work and purchase from your brand.

Here’s everything you need to know about using Instagram testimonials and Instagram video testimonials in your marketing:

 

1. Instagram testimonials create credibility & trust with potential customers

Testimonials aren’t just for earning credibility.

They help prospects understand the value of working with you without having to commit or accept a hard sell tactic.

Plus, when done correctly, customer testimonials don’t come across as salesy, so they can be one of the most effective tools in creating an authentic feel that brands crave more than ever before on social media platforms like Instagram.

When you’re looking into adding Instagram testimonials to your posts, choose between photographic images or videos of previous customers talking up your services/products.

Both types have proven effective in helping businesses gain recognition based solely on word-of-mouth testimonies and have been shown to convert into sales at higher rates than traditional advertising tactics when used correctly on Instagram.

To leverage the power of these testimonials further, consider embedding your Instagram feed directly on your website, creating a seamless and trustworthy bridge between your social media presence and your online platform, reinforcing your authenticity and brand credibility.

 

2. Bring authority to your brand through influencers and celebrities

By bringing in influencers and celebrities who use or advocate for your business, you will be able to communicate authority faster which often results in an increase in followers and conversions instantly because people trust a third-party opinion more than yours (the brand).

Not only will this give your product or service more attention, but also tap into totally new markets that would otherwise never hear about relevant deals or promotions you might offer them connected with the product being reviewed by said influencer/celebrity on their behalf.

 

3. Post frequently and regularly

When it comes down to posting Instagram testimonials, be consistent – post consistently.

Say once each week.

This way viewers get accustomed enough over time regarding why they should buy from you instead of anywhere else based on what satisfied (or unsatisfied) customers might have said previously.

Also, remember not every post needs to feature an actual ‘testimonial’ – make sure some showcase simple product/service features too!

 

Instagram testimonials checklist

While positive reviews on Google or Yelp are great, Instagram is quickly becoming the go-to platform for sharing and showcasing testimonials.

Testimonials for Instagram, unlike on websites, must be much more visually appealing and to the point.

So, what makes Instagram testimonials stand apart? Here’s a quick checklist:

  • Only high-quality client or customer images are displayed
  • The testimonial is well-structured and not clunky
  • Video testimonials capture attention, form an instant connection with the viewer, and resonate with them by not directly selling your product or service and instead telling the user side of the story
  •  The CTA is included
Instagram testimonial example

Want to create a video or text testimonial that ticks off this checklist without spending too much time or effort?

Then the next section is for you.

 

5-steps to creating, capturing, and displaying a captivating Instagram testimonial

 We’ll be using Trust – a 360-degree, automated tool to create the most stunning Instagram testimonials.

Step 1: Sign up or log in to your Trust account

Trust has a 14-day free trial which does not require your credit card details.

Sign up here!

 

Step 2: Walk through your Trust dashboard

With Trust’s dashboard, you can create testimonial request forms, collect testimonial videos and texts, import existing testimonials from review sites, and more, all from a single place.

Check out how testimonials for Instagram can be created by clicking “Add new” under the “Testimonials” tab:

Have existing testimonials for Instagram lying around in your local system waiting for upload? Import them to Trust and polish them further.

For this, select “Import Testimonial” under the Add New button and upload your desired testimonial:

Step 3: Collect a top-notch client testimonial for your Instagram account

Trust offers a unique, pain-free “clean form” method for requesting and collecting testimonials. Using a single form, you can collect:

  • 5-star ratings
  • Text and video testimonials
  • Use existing customer videos for testimonials from sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Vimeo
  • Ask for the client’s consent before publishing the testimonial or using it for advertising purposes
  • Fetch links to their social media accounts
  • Add custom guidelines for your customers to follow to submit their responses quickly
  • Add a personalized message thanking them for their time and for being loyal customers

To access forms, click Forms and then Add New.

Trust lets you choose from two types of customer testimonial request forms: Interactive and Smart.

Select Interactive forms if you want to capture a video testimonial by setting up question-and-answer pairs for customers.

Similarly, you can select Smart Forms for a straightforward text or video testimonial without setting up Q&As.

Here’s what capturing Instagram testimonials with either of these highly customizable forms looks like:

1. Interactive form

The best part about using Trust’s Interactive forms is their video question series.

Video questions & answers series

Read this detailed help guide for a more detailed walkthrough.

Important note: To share your customer testimonials on Instagram, enable the consent section within the above forms. This way, you have your clients’ consent before publishing their words. 

Also, remember to collect their social media profiles and link them to the reviews. This will make your Instagram testimonials more genuine.

To do this, head to the “Personal” tab in your Interactive form and select New field > Social media:

Enter the title, for example, “Enter your Instagram handle/page name” so that the form reflects the same:

Once saved, you can view your forms on the Forms page and publish or re-edit the information.

You can also route customers to rate or drop a review directly on your Instagram business page.

To add a link, head to the “Thank You” section, and select Share > External Services > Custom > enter “Custom text and URL”:

Ask them to drop you a direct message with a text or video review.

2. Smart form

Smart forms offer a more direct way to collect customer Instagram testimonials. It’s for someone who wants to collect customer feedback without setting up any custom questions.

Read this detailed help guide for a more detailed walkthrough.

Important note: Similar to Interactive forms, collect your customers’ Instagram handles so you can link the testimonials to their accounts for extra credibility. You can do this under the “Personal data” tab > New field > Social:

 

Step 4: Share your Instagram testimonial request forms with your customers

Trust provides a super quick method to share or request Instagram testimonials. You can either share it as a URL with your client or customer or add it to your website or landing page.

To do this, under the Forms page’s Actions tab, you can see options to add to the website, copy the URL, re-edit the form, and more.   

If you choose to “Embed to website,” you get a pop-up message with a code snippet with options to add your testimonial request “Inline” or as a “pop-up notification.”

Select Copy to Clipboard and paste it into your website builder apps, such as WordPress or Wix

And if you wish to share the link, click on “Copy Link” and share the link in an email or text to your customer.

The best part?

Your customers do not have to sign up or log in to the Trust app to submit their testimonials!

 

Step 5: Publish your customer testimonials

When your customer clicks ‘Review us on Instagram‘ in Step 4, they are automatically routed to your Instagram business page. 

Since Instagram has no exclusive rating method, they can DM (direct message) their testimonial on your page or fill up a form in your Instagram bio. 

You can use these words to create a testimonial image or use their recorded testimonial video to publish on your Instagram page.

Or, just download a video testimonial that you collected with Trust and upload it to Instagram. That simple!

It’s that simple!

Instagram video testimonial example

If you wish to publish the testimonial on your website, navigate to the Trust dashboard and click on Testimonials. Here, you see the list of testimonials – published (live) and unpublished.

Trust provides testimonial display customizations through widgets, pop-ups, badges, and Floating Stars.

Check out the full widget library on the demo website!

Want to polish your Instagram testimonials further? Just use Trust’s built-in video editor – Video Studio. Learn more about it here!

 

Leverage your Instagram with powerful social proof

Start using customer voices to attract high-quality leads on the widely used social media platform – Instagram.

Use Trust to display your customer testimonial and increase conversions.

Try the 14-day free trial today!

Get started for free

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