The Truth about the Cheeseburger Testimonial

The title of this blog post is not about cheeseburgers.  It is about testimonials and how to construct one that is successful.  I apologize if you were looking for something to cure your appetite. I will attempt to give you some juicy, get a napkin, solid advice on constructing a testimonial video without getting your hands dirty.  Whether your goal is to sell more product, get more people to sign up for your services you will need some solid ideas on how to do a testimonial video.
These types videos can be very affective.   I've heard it said that Testimonials are the next best thing to a personal referral.  However,  before we get into the idea that let's talk about how to prepare for a testimonial video.
Although preparing for a testimonial video sounds strange it's very wise for a few reasons.  One if your client giving the testimonial is improvising you will be spending more time than necessary. More importantly you will have missed the goal of creating your masterpiece to begin with.
Have a specific goal in mind.  Do you want people to sign up for more of your services?  Are you trying to regain customer loyalty?  Perhaps you want to let people know you're the answer to their prayers.
Whatever your goal is make sure it's clear so that it fits.
Once you have come up with a specific goal in mind, you can start to interview or prospect for your spokesperson or ambassador to be on camera.  One great idea is to take a customer survey.  This method may reveal who would make a good client testimonial.  Another keen way of approaching the client testimonial is during a customer appreciation event.  This can be very time consuming, but can yield excellent results if done correctly.
Doing a customer testimonial video correctly would include specifics, addressing objections and not faking or being phony.
In your search for the perfect victim, you will want to use someone that is very realistic.  And can mirror what your perfect client looks like.  They should be someone that you customer community relates to.  Do the viewers identify with the client? What happened to the person that is similar to viewer?  This is known as addressing the objections.
A good testimonial will include objections that the client was facing.  Example:  "I'd never tried a garden burger before since I thought they would be tasteless."   This addressed the objection.  The person wouldn't try the garden burger because it would be tasteless.  The real objection here is how apprehensive the person was because they were concerned that they wouldn't be satisfied.  The next portion I would be curious about is what happened?  Did the person try a garden burger? Was it good? Did the person become a vegetarian afterward? Addressing objection will be the driving point to how powerful the testimonial video is.
Being specific is also more credible than being vague.  The client may want to mention how long they have been doing business with you and how it has changed the course of their life.  Did you solve a problem? You will want the person to explain how in details you solved their problem.  Which sounds more compelling?   The bacon double cheeseburger was good after the ball game.  Vs.  The cheeseburger was so delicious with the fresh tomatoes and special mustard,  I ate 3 in one setting, now I take my family here once a week.  Nonetheless it is more powerful if it is more detailed.  The other elements that make the testimonial good would be not to over edit, support the message and don't detract from it, and not to be phony.
Over editing will take away from the rogue style of this type of video.  It's important to keep the grammatical errors in tact.  This will also lend to a credible product.
Credibility in this type of testimony should be a criteria.  Choose real life people, with real life problems that you specifically solved.  In other words don't use phonies.  Don't get an actor to be your spokesperson or your cousin Vinny.  This will ultimately show in the final production.
Supporting the message instead of detracting from it is key to a good testimonial video.  Choose a non-cluttered area so the viewer is only focused on the messenger.  Keep it short,  Good testimonial will be approx 2 minutes in length, at the very longest.  Remember to ask them question before the camera is rolling.  If they come prepared with an idea of what you might ask them, they will be more confident on camera.
A good testimonial video will help encourage people to do business with you.  Especially if it's truthful, the client can relate to the principal subject, and the message is clearly stated.
If you found this helpful, then please drop me a line on FB.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eve-Grey-Productions/160204670749886
 or give me a tweet @eveproducer

Craigslist And the Ban for Doing work for FREE

For quite some time now I've been seeing a wicked trend of  Film Makers working for Credit and sometimes a meal, instead of money.   This is a trend that needs to Cease and Desist.  I hope to describe to anyone reading this blog why.  I also have a special request afterwards. Here is the reason we need to stop working for free:
1.   The Economy.  In order for our economy to improve we need to spend money.  If you work for Credit/Meal you may not have to buy groceries. However,  while you stock up on Craft services (place gently in pockets) What about shopping, Dining, and Rent?  I can't pay rent with an IMDb credit.  Where does the IMDb credit get you these days, anyway?  No one cares that I was Ashley Olsen's (Olsen Twins) Stunt Devil and Stand in when she was 14! No one cares that I've been a Co-Producer of a National TV show.  No one cares that I was the spokesperson for Coleman Campers.  To the best of my knowledge people who want to hire me as a Producer are looking for someone who can handle the damn job!  Most of the time, I'm sure they don't even know what the IMDb stands for.
2.   No other profession expects their people to work for such nonsense.  At least when you intern as a medical professional there is a good chance you will be hired for pay.  The biggest reason is taking pride in what we do.  I work my ass off every day to be the best damn producer I can be and I am well worth the money I charge for the work I do.  To work for no pay is a slap in the face! When I see ads for Editor's and they are offered $8.00 an hour it's embarrassing.   I understand that people just starting out need to get their big feet through the door.  However, when we continue to allow people to take advantage of us, we'll get taken.
3.  A Talent Manager I worked for back in the 80's (yea that's right, I'm old) gave me the best advice ever "The Entertainment Industry is a business.  It's a Multi Trillion dollar business that was made up of dreams.  Just remember it's still a business".  That was by far the best thing anyone could have ever told me. 
It's also the hardest part for an artist (as we all are) because we went to Film School instead of Business School.  Try going to Business School and telling them that you work for free on the majority of your projects.  I'm sure the students would say "You gotta put in your time".
I love this industry and have had some of my best experiences working with people like Bruce Willis, Ed Asner, Michael Gross, Connie Stevens, Mary Kate and Ashley, Just to name a few.  I have been fortunate to be paid well on a lot of these projects.  As a professional business woman I am asking that you all start realizing your credits will only get you so far.  What's the difference if you have credits but have to end your dream, because you had to take on Full Time work to pay your bills.  What happens then? Do you think that your next employer will care that you almost spilled coffee on John Lithgow?
I'd like everyone to realize that You are worth more than that.  Take the time to answer the Craigslist Ads and let people know We are done working for free.  If they want a video or graphics to be done, they will have to get a budget and pay for it.  Just like I can't buy a Cheeseburger at the Jack in the Box on credit, they need to pay you for the work you performed.
I do offer consultation for free on the many ways to act as a business person in the Entertainment Industry. 

A little PR goes a long way...Written by Eve and Maureen of EveGreyProductions

EVEGREYPRODUCTIONS HAS The answer to KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS TUNED IN: Internet Video!

 Recent projections for the Internet is there will be over 2.10 billion Internet users by 2012.  97% of consumers now use online media when researching products and services in their local area.   YouTube (video content only) is the 2^nd largest search engine in the world making video content the hottest item on the internet!  There are more than 1 billion videos watched worldwide everyday!

82% of internet users are familiar with video, 52% of those take an action as a result of that video and 16% of those purchase as a result of that video.  If your company doesn’t have video on your website it is missing out on the most compelling marketing tool of our time.   It only mades sense to offer your clients access to your goods and services via internet video.

CEO Eve Grzadzinski of EveGreyProductions L.L.C., (formerly Co-Producer of the John Kerwin Show and Ashley Olson’s Stunt person), saw a need in San Diego for a full service Videography Company that would allow clients to incorporate Hollywood calibre video into their businesses without spending the money of a Hollywood Production.

Eve accessed her extensive network of film professionals and has a formidable collection of 9 Cinematographers, 4 Editors and 4 Associate Producers to do your bidding.  Her team is experienced and will craft the video that will get your business the internet presence it needs to stay competitive and capture a much larger  market share than businesses not using video marketing.