Millions of fake reviews flood the internet. Whether it’s phony contributors, bots or sponsored posts, written customer reviews have gotten a reputation for being less than trustworthy.
According to a report by BrightLocal, 54% of consumers are confident they’ve seen a fake review on Amazon, and 50% are confident they’ve seen a fake review on Google.
In the past, companies may have gotten away with having fake reviews on their site. But shoppers have caught on, and they’re demanding authenticity from brands they buy from.
Global companies like Amazon and Glassdoor are trying to fight back against fake reviews, but will it be enough?
Once shoppers start to doubt the authenticity of reviews, they start to lose trust. And that can have seriously negative impacts.
To overcome fake reviews, your focus needs to shift to building trust with your prospective customers.
In a world where anyone can write anything online, how do you do that?
How to Overcome Fake Reviews & Build Customer Trust
Fake reviews put your authenticity into question. Instead of focusing your attention on spotting and removing phony reviews from your site, a more powerful approach is showcasing your authentic side.
The best way to do this is by upgrading your text reviews to video reviews by real customers.
With video reviews on your product pages, you’ll build trust with shoppers and eliminate doubts of fake reviews.
Why are Video Reviews Trustworthy?
UGC video reviews deliver a raw glimpse into the real experiences of people who’ve bought your products. As a result, they squash concerns about fake posts that people often associate with online reviews today.
Here’s what makes UGC customer video reviews so trustworthy:
1. They Feature Real People
The reason why customer video reviews are trustworthy is in the name; real customers make them.
Shoppers appreciate seeing and hearing real people talk about their experiences authentically. It’s highly relatable and engaging and resonates deeply with shoppers who are debating on a purchase.
Brands that want trustworthy reviews should tap into the voices of their loyal customers and turn them into brand advocates.
2. They’re Messy
By featuring real people, video reviews do what text reviews don’t: they get messy.
Video reviews are unscripted, raw, and unfiltered. Altogether, that equals trustworthiness.
When shoppers can see who the reviews are coming from, it feels real. Especially if the customer leaving the review isn’t perfect in their delivery. The imperfections, like stuttering or saying um or ah, make the reviews feel genuine.
3. They’re Visual
Like being messy, customer video reviews are trustworthy because they’re visual. Shoppers watching the videos can see the facial expressions on the reviewer’s face, hear the emotion in their voice and see non-verbal cues like body language that represent how the reviewer feels.
Additionally, video reviews showcase the products in action, which makes it easier for shoppers to visualize how the product performs up close.
Here’s an example:
4. They Tell Stories
Customer video reviews are not only authentic, they put storytelling front and center. Letting your customers share their own experiences translates into them telling their unique stories about your brand and products.
As a result, video reviews can range from product quality reviews to unboxings and how-to videos. Video storytelling is an especially effective strategy in your customer reviews because it’s entertaining, compelling and real.
So, How Do I Start Producing Customer Video Reviews?
Reach Out to Your Customers
Ask your repeat shoppers to talk about your brand on video and record a video review about their latest purchases. Send them a personalized email with a simple but direct ask. To encourage participation, offer them incentives like discounts or gift cards.
Add Videos to Your Product Pages
Once you’ve got video reviews, add them to your product pages. Authentic customer reviews will engage your audience and help them make the decision to buy confidently from your brand.
Use a Video Platform
Invest in a video platform to produce thousands of authentic videos quickly. StoryTap’s video review platform streamlines the process of getting customer reviews, moderating the videos and embedding them on your website.
Build Trust With Customer Video Reviews
Overcoming fake reviews online with customer videos will help you build trust with your shoppers. It’s not enough to remove or flag fake reviews. To really build trust, you need to showcase authenticity, and you can do that with video.
StoryTap is a video platform that automates the production and distribution of UGC customer video reviews.
The technology makes producing authentic videos seamless. With just one line of code you can embed reviews on your product pages without affecting page speed.
Don’t want to remove your text reviews altogether? StoryTap works with other review platforms to combine text and video reviews by embedding videos naturally above written reviews.
StoryTap customers see a +40% increase in site conversions among video viewers.
Book a demo today and build trust with your audience through UGC customer video reviews.
