Video Reviews: How to Get Customers to Review on Camera

A shopper who sees a real customer holding your product and talking about it learns more in twenty seconds than from a page of star ratings. Video reviews used to be rare because they were hard to get. Today a customer can record one on their phone in a minute, if you make it easy and ask at the right moment.

What is a video review?

A video review is a short clip in which a customer shows a product they bought and says what they think of it, in their own words. It usually comes with a star rating and sits next to the product it is about, on a product page or a reviews page.

Most are filmed on a phone, in the customer’s home, without a script. That is the point. Shoppers trust them because they look like what they are: an ordinary person with the product in their hands.

Video reviews vs video testimonials

The two overlap, and the same recording can be both. The difference is mostly in how you ask and how you show them:

• A video review is about one product, is asked of every buyer, and is shown as part of that product’s reviews, critical ones included.
• A video testimonial is usually about the business as a whole, is asked of customers you choose, and is shown in your marketing as a customer’s story.

If you want the longer version, read testimonials vs reviews and what a video testimonial is.

When to ask

Ask once the customer has had time to use what they bought, but before the excitement wears off. For most physical products that is one to two weeks after delivery. For something that takes longer to show results, like skincare or a course, wait a little longer.

One request and one gentle reminder is plenty. A card in the parcel with a QR code works well too, because the product is right there when they see it.

How to ask

Keep it short, make it personal, and give them a way out of the camera:

Hi Sam, thanks again for your order. Has it been useful so far?

If you have a minute, we would love a short video review. Point your phone at it and tell us how it's going, good or bad. It opens straight to the camera, with nothing to install:

[your link]

If you'd rather not be on camera, you can leave a voice note or a written review on the same page.

The link matters more than the wording. If it asks people to download an app, create an account or confirm their email before the camera opens, most of them will stop there. Our guide on how to ask for a video has more templates.

What to ask in a video review

Give people a question or two to answer, not a script. These work well for products:

• Show us the product and tell us what you bought it for.
• How has it been since it arrived? What do you use it for most?
• Who would you recommend it to?
• Is there anything you would change?

The last one surprises people, but a review that mentions a small flaw is more believable than one that doesn’t. For more ideas, see our list of testimonial questions.

Where to show video reviews

• On the product page, near the price or the add to cart button, where the buying decision happens.
• On a reviews page that shows every product’s reviews together.
• On social media and in ads, cut into a short captioned clip, with the customer’s permission for that use.

Video is heavy, so use a player that shows a still image and only loads the video when someone presses play. Otherwise a few reviews can slow your product page down noticeably.

Keep them honest

Video reviews are covered by the FTC rule on reviews and testimonials, like any other review. In practice:

• Ask every buyer, not only the ones you expect to be happy.
• Don’t tie a reward to a good review. If you offer a discount for reviewing, offer it for any honest review, and say so where the review is shown.
• Don’t hide the critical ones. If a section presents itself as your customers’ reviews, leaving out the negative ones because they are negative misleads shoppers. You can still remove reviews for fair reasons applied to everyone, such as abuse or ones that are about something else entirely.
• Never edit what someone said to change its meaning, and keep a record of what each customer agreed to.

Collecting video reviews with Akteora

Akteora works as a video review app with nothing for your customer to install. You make a link and send it. Your customer records in their browser, on any phone or computer, and can add an optional star rating. Customers who don’t want to be filmed can send a voice note or a written review on the same page.

Tag each review with the product it is about, then show them on that product’s page with a widget that loads still images first and plays video only on request. Consent is saved word for word with every review. The free plan is enough to try it with your next few orders.