Frontline Perspectives

With the world buzzing about social media, it’s easy to overlook the traditional case study or testimonial as a marketing tool and to focus instead on adding followers through Facebook and Twitter. But you don’t have to choose one or the other. In fact, testimonials might be the key to growing your social fanbase — and your fans might be your best source for new testimonials.

In a MarketingSherpa survey of B2B marketers, seeking out testimonials and case studies ranked as the #2 most effective tactic for developing marketing content — second only to repurposing information that already exists (see below). That means testimonials and case studies are the top source for new content. And once you’ve got a good one, you can share it through social and other media. 

A recent BlueGlass blog post offers some great examples of ways to repurpose Twitter testimonials on your website and in print ads. Imagine a page — on screen or on paper — full of positive product reviews from your clients. Or a widget right on your home page featuring a tweet from a satisfied user. Ask your customers to provide these testimonials as part of every sale or service call. You’ll generate plenty of new promotional content in no time.

Testimonials are a great marketing tool for several reasons. Not only do they bolster your credibility, but they give your clients added exposure. A smattering of testimonials across industry segments can also highlight the variety of your product and service applications. You can follow up on short testimonials and develop them into in-depth case studies. Ultimately, a collection of testimonials and case studies will help persuade prospects to buy — and to then offer a testimonial about it, of course!

Got an example of a socialmonial that worked (or didn’t)? We’d like to hear about it!