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Win With Paid Ads
#73: Turn Doubt into Dollars: Why Testimonials Matter More Than Ever
00:16:26
You know the saying, "the proof is in the pudding?" Well, this applies to your business too. The proof = testimonials. In this episode, Ashley talk about the subconscious power of testimonials and why they're not just “nice to have”—they're...
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- [00:01]
Ashley Brock
Welcome to the Win with Paid Ads podcast for small business owners, entrepreneurs and really anyone who has anything you want more people to find. Whether you're starting from ground zero or scaling an eight figure business, you are.
- [00:14]
Pamela Cloud
Exactly who this podcast was created for. Because you being the best kept secret.
- [00:19]
Ashley Brock
Helps no one, right?
- [00:20]
Pamela Cloud
You may be the best at what you do, but if you aren't the best at advertising what you do, then.
- [00:25]
Ashley Brock
You'Re leaving money on the table. That's why in every episode I'll show you how you can use paid ads to hit your goals 10 time sooner. It's time you finally learn how to.
- [00:35]
Pamela Cloud
Win with paid ads.
- [00:36]
Ashley Brock
You or someone on your team can do this. I'll show you how to score and.
- [00:40]
Pamela Cloud
Be known by more let's get started. Today we're going to talk about all about testimonials and third party validation. This is actually going to be a pretty quick episode, but if you just listen to the previous one about branding, this is going to build on that. So if you haven't listened to the episode before this one, you're going to be glad that you did. Just because this is going to build on that because there's so many pieces to building a brand that people actually trust. But I'll tell you one way to speed up that trust is through testimonials. And so I'm going to talk all about testimonials today. So let me share with you specifically what I have outlined for this episode. So the first one is going to be about how we gather reviews and testimonials as a company, where we put them, what type of testimonials you want to get, what platforms are the best for gathering it. And then we're going to talk about just a little nugget about how reviews actually benefit you if you have a local business and you have a gbp, which is a Google business process profile. So we'll talk about that too. We're also going to talk about a little bit of the statistics behind why reviews matter so much so that after this episode you'll be so sold ongoing and getting more testimonials. Because I really believe that you have not, because you asked not. And some of you just need to ask your clients for more feedback. And I'm going to give you my framework for how we do that to get really great testimonials just so consistently. And honestly, one of the best blessings that I found with testimonials is my clients now know because I love them so well and I care for them so much. They proactively just like, light up my DMs and they're like, here's your testimonial for the day. Happy Tuesday. And they send me these cool wins and so they know how much I care and use and share about testimonials that they can't wait to share their wins with me. So nearly daily, if not multiple times a day, I have clients from, you know, a year ago, six months ago, six days ago, and today having wins with their ads, and they share those with me. And what I want for you is, is for you to have clients that cannot wait to share those wins with you too. So let's talk about why testimonials matter. But before that, I want to invite you to the Win with Paid Ads challenge. And on the AshleyBrock.com challenge page where you can register and get your VIP ticket, guess what? You're going to see testimonials. Because I had one client on the last challenge and she actually, well, she didn't know me prior to signing up for the challenge, but she said, hey, I made a change to my Google Ads based on one of the things that you shared in day one. And she said, and I spent about $5 on my, on my ad within the next hour and got a 2, $200 client. So that's just one little bitty tweak. And what I can't do is guarantee that that happens for you. What I could say confidently is that I would not be surprised at this point. Honestly, I'm so thankful for this. I really don't take it for granted. But I'm like, no longer, like, shocked by the wins that my clients send me. I am still so delighted and so excited every single time. It's like Christmas morning all over again. Because it's so fulfilling for me to get to watch people realize how easy this can be. And, and so that's why I tell my clients, and if you're listening, some of you I know are, please still send me that screenshot. Give me the follow up. I've had people send me like feedback from two years ago, being like, I just want to let you know I finally rewatched that module and got some sales. And I'm like, yes. So it's just a skill that compiles over time. And for you, I want your clients to be raving about you and they can't wait to send you messages. And so I want to give you our kind of behind the scenes process of how testimonials can actually increase your conversions by up to 270%. So you're going to love this. All right, so after you have gotten your ticket to the Win with Paid Ads challenge, and now you're all set, let's jump into this episode. So here's why testimonials matter. So it matters because 72% of consumers say that positive testimonials and reviews increased their trust. And in the previous episode, what did we just talk about? Trust. And one of the ways that you can do that, the best way, and honestly the quickest way, is through getting your customers who already love you to send you feedback and testimonials. 92% of people read online testimonials and reviews before making a purchase. What does that mean for you? Only 8% of people don't look at reviews. And honestly, I kind of think that's a lie. But we're going to go with this study because it was a big commerce. It was a legitimate study. But they did say 92% of people read testimonials and reviews before every purchase. Actually, yeah, that's what it said. So 92%. So I've had clients, and they're like, my ads aren't working. And I go look at the page, and I'm like, no one else says that buying from you was a good idea. So that'll probably do it. Because there's nothing. Right. You don't want a single person to be like, hmm, I wonder if this person's easy to work with. Yesterday we were at a VIP day with an attorney here in Atlanta, Pamela Cloud or Pam? Pamela Cloud. And she had over 400 five star reviews. I sat down and I was like, pam, you're too good. This is outrageous. We have to use this, and we have to make sure that you use all this trust that you built with your clients to instantly speed things up. And so we were talking about ways that we can use testimonials for her ads. That's actually a really great way. And actually, one of our top performing ads in the company is testimonials. And you know what they are? They're not produced testimonials either. It's like I'm sitting there with someone at a wedding venue, and I'm like, hey, Glynnis, can you tell me about the weddings we've been able to book from your Google Ads? And it's like, boom. Those little testimonials just show that real life, that credibility. And so you have not, because you asked, not. So get those testimonials. So let's see, oh, this is another good stat on why this matters for you. And then we'll break it down a little bit further. It says 88% of consumers trust online testimonials as much as their friends and family, referring them. What that means is we trust strangers as much as our family. That's cool. Kind of. But like, it's also really validating because you look at the reviews and you're like, okay, this is a real person, real person. And you trust. And so you know how it feels when someone says, hey, I really trust this person. Like, someone says, hey, who's the best videography? I'm like, robert, Just call Robert. Right? Hashtag Rowan Films. He's so happy right now as he sits here and records this. But that recommendation goes really far, right? And so can you imagine how just you gathering reviews can take you so far because someone else said so. It matters. And so last thing. According to a Spiegel Research center study, displaying reviews increases your conversion rates by up to 270%. Displaying reviews increases your conversion rate by up to 270%. That's insane. No wonder Ashley puts testimonials. We put them in our highlight, in our stories, in our feed, in our pin reels, in our emails, on our website. We're testimonial crazy. I have a mission in the business, and it is no testimonial left behind. We have a folder. There's so many folders, and there are screenshots of reviews, There are videos of reviews. And the team and I are on a mission to say every time there's a huge win, there's a good win. We capture that, we document it, we store it, and you should do the very same thing too. So now let me share a little bit about our process so that you can win from this strategy too. So if you're not sold on testimonials by now, I don't know what will get you because that third party validation really makes a difference. So here's how to gather those reviews. So we have a folder in the, in the company and we have testimonials, and we have one that's. That is like screenshots and one that's video on my own phone. One thing that Rose, my executive assistant, helps me with is she spends about an hour each week and she comes over to the house and she just goes through my phone, all of it, and she's like, okay, let me see the testimonials that she screen grabbed in the last week. And so we add those to A shared folder so that Veronica can use them for social media, so that Katie can use them for the website, so that I can easily find them for emails. So having a hub and actually just having a process alone can make a big difference on your phone and on your, like, drive and organization system. We use Google Drive, so we have a Google Drive. And then I have a folder on my phone, so I would create both. And then there's two ways that you can ask for reviews. One is automatically and one is personally. Automatically means it's just part of your email, it's part of your process, part of your flow, that automatically every customer gets asked somehow, some way by you, by someone on the team or through your emails. And then personally is literally me saying, hey, would you be opposed to sharing your honest feedback of our VIP day? Hey, would you be opposed to sharing your honest feedback about the challenge and getting those, those video testimonials? And so if you can weave in the gathering of testimonials personally, that can really help. I'll tell you, like a kind of behind the scenes way that we do it in the challenge. We start off every challenge with wins. I'm like, hey, what did you. What was the biggest win and takeaway from the VIP room or from yesterday's content? And it's enormous. Like, oh, this one thing made a difference. This, this, this. Like, like, I'm like, okay, well, we have to move on to the content because there's so many wins. That's exciting. If you're creating that and you're not capturing it, you're wasting opportunity and a way for you to actually impact more people by showing that other people are being impacted by what you do. So have a automatically and personally process. So automatically, by the way, this matters. Automatically ask people for feedback on your business on these three times. At the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of working with you at the beginning means so often. I will have someone enroll in one of my programs after the challenge and their first thing is like, I said up until 3am and I watched all of it. This is already the best course I ever made. And I bought five ad courses. And this one, nothing compares to this. And I'm like, they send that to an email and I'm like, screenshot. Or they say it on the next meeting and I'm like, that's recorded. And so one of the things that we do, because some of you, I know you okay. Some of you are like, what are you allowed and not allowed to do? We have in our terms and conditions. It says upon enrolling, you agree that any positive feedback about the business can be used in advertising because we're an advertising company. And that if you explicitly say, please don't share, we won't. No problem. We've had a few people. I'm in a non disclosure with a few people, and a few people have said, hey, I just don't want my name out there. I just want to, like, be killing it with my ads. And people have no idea why I'm so good. And I'm like, all right, I'll be your secret weapon. We won't post it, but 95% of the time my clients are like, so happy. And I just screenshot it and do it. And they love being tagged and they love being shared and celebrated. So, uh, you can just put in your terms and conditions. Here's how we approach testimonials. If you ask to be removed, no problem. And I have totally posted something and had someone say, oh, could you take that down? And it's no problem, because some people just want to fly behind the radar radar. And that's totally up to you. But I do have the process of asking at the beginning and middle. And after working together, one of the things I do at the end as someone's rolling off the mastermind, because there's times where people will just keep in the world, they're like, they're making connections, they want new feedback, and so they stay in the mastermind world for quite a while. There's other times where they're like, hey, my ads are absolutely killing it. And I'm like, good. You're like a little bird. Fly out of the nest and go, go like, bon voyage. Love you so much. And so I say, hey, based on our time together, would you give me honest, specific feedback? What did we do? Well, what were your biggest wins? Could you share those with me? And what is your feedback? What could we do better in the mastermind? And how could we have made this process smoother? Is there any constructive feedback you would give? And so I always ask for both. And typically people will provide both. They're like, hey, you could have changed this. And this is my favorite thing. This is where I made the most money. So just actually having a process for asking is really helpful. And then where do I put them? So if you'll. If you're. Writing this down, here are all the places that we put testimonials. I kind of mentioned them earlier, but just want to write down the. The core five in stories on Instagram. In our highlight reel, I have a specific highlight reel in our feed for post, in our emails, for screenshots and in our ads. So I have specific testimonial ads, both video and static, that I use consistently. And I try to create new ads with screenshots, new, fresh screenshots every single time we run a challenge or an event. Because I just want to show people, especially the people that are kind of lurking for a while and they're like, I'm not sure about this ads thing yet. I just want to show them like, there are literally so many results waiting on you. If you'll just jump in and learn ads. And the sooner you jump in, the sooner you can make all the money and have all the impact and live the life that you want. And so I am so big on saying, how new and fresh can we make our testimonials? So that is our process on the core five ways that we use them. What type of ads? Screenshots and videos. So you want static and video. And so there are so many tools out there that can like automatically ask, like send a request to record a short video. But one of the things I like to do is say, hey, would you be opposed to sharing just a 30 second or less response to this question on what is the biggest ad win that you've had so far since. Since working together? And they'll say, hey, yeah, my name is Amy. And the biggest adwan I've had so far with working with Ashley is when I grew my list through paid ads and sent an email to my list and sold $100,000 in a brand new offer in the first six months of having it. And I'm like, perfect, there we go. That's a real one. Amy's probably listening to this. Love you, Amy. So actually just asking people, and I know this is kind of crazy, okay. But I want you to listen to what I just said. I said, would you be opposed? I didn't say, would you do it? Right. People are act. This is kind of crazy, right? So I do a lot of like, research into the psychology of like, how our brains work. And people actually are more likely to say no. Okay? So I'm saying, would you be opposed to sharing review? And they're like, no, no problem. Versus would you write a view? And it's like, yes, I would like almost feels like it's work. And so I typically often say, hey, would you be opposed to doing this? And you just say it with just your personality and heart. And if it's people that you've helped, they're gonna be like, yes, I would love to share. Right. It's that reciprocity of human, human nature. You help someone, they're gonna be very likely to help you too. If you're struggling with reviews, you might need to make sure that you're getting your clients really good results and success so that it's like an automatic yes and they're gonna be happy to help you. Let's see a few other things. Where do we gather? Okay, so if you have a local business, you probably have a gbp, which is a Google business profile. And so there's three things that matter with your gbp. Recency, frequency and quality of reviews. Google needs to see is this business getting recent reviews? Are they actually happening very frequently? And how quality are these reviews? And so you can use the review aggregator of Google for your Google business profile. There are also a list if you actually Google it and we'll link it below this episode. I'll make sure to link it. But it is Google approved review aggregator companies. Okay. And so if you Google Google review aggregator companies, it's going to have a list of these approved sites. Like one is trustpilot. Trustpilot is an official review aggregating company and so they verify that you purchased and to make sure that it's very authentic. Well, Google on your ads on Google search actually pulls through reviews when you link it to a qualified review aggregator. So this whole idea of reviews, not only are they great ads that you can use, but once you gather all these reviews, it actually can pull through into your Google Ads too, which is really helpful. So we gather them right now through just screenshots that my clients send send to me. And honestly over time we will grow to have like a trust pilot or another platform to have them look more consistent. So that's just something that is on my future to do list too as a company. But use one of those Google Aggravator Aggravator aggregator tools if you are starting from scratch. And okay, let's see. Speaking of testimonials. Oh, so that that those really are the biggest takeaways that I have for testimonials and how you can think about it, why they matter, how to gather them, how to organize them, how to ask for them. And so speaking of testimonials, on the next episode you're going to get to hear a really cool story from one of my clients. So make sure that you have registered for the Win with paid ads challenge by clicking below this podcast or YouTube video. Get your VIP ticket. They do sell out every time you want to. Trust me, you want to be in the room with those other six, seven and eight figure entrepreneurs. And after you do, click to the next episode and you're going to hear a really cool testimonial of a client of mine.