I've seen other exhibitors getting customer testimonials on the show floor, and now our marketing department wants us to do the same. What are some options and tips for collecting quality content while we're at an event?

Client testimonials have always been an effective way for a brand to establish ethos and build trust. In the past, these came in the form of collecting quotes and running them alongside a photo of the contributor, but now video is king. Some companies go the route of hiring a production team to shoot footage in a dedicated studio, but honestly, the world has changed. Now everyone has smartphones and laptops that are more than capable of creating quality video content at a fraction of the cost.

What's more, people today are much more comfortable with communicating off-the-cuff and on camera, in part because of the amount of time everyone has spent video conferencing during the pandemic. Therefore, it's easier to engage a broader swath of your audience and capture insights that are less scripted. However, just because clients are willing to provide testimonials doesn't automatically mean you're going to get the content you're looking for. Here's a breakdown of the types of video setups most common on trade show floors and best practices for ensuring you get high-quality footage.

Know Your Options
➤ Go with the pros: If you've got the five-figure budget and you want commercial-quality assets, you can certainly hire a professional camera crew to collect testimonials with their own equipment. This requires either building a studio in your exhibit or securing a filming space off the show floor. Your partners will also likely be able to help with editing on the back end to create a top-notch product.
➤ Video kiosks: A video kiosk is a less expensive option that can be deployed inside the exhibit, is easy to set up, and requires only one or two dedicated staffers to act as wranglers and interviewers. You can find turnkey options that include a tripod, a recording device (often a tablet with a good camera), a ring light, and a microphone. These setups often come with the ability to publish content in near real time, which can be helpful at multiday events where you want to use day-one testimonials to drive day-two traffic. Another major benefit of these kiosks is the ability to shoot content quickly – sometimes up to 50 testimonials per day.
➤ DIY with a mobile device: If you're a 10-by-10 exhibitor with empty pockets, you can use your own phone or tablet to capture videos with little extra cost. Just be aware that you'll lack some control over lighting and background noise, so here are four quick tips for your DIY setup. First, remember to record your subjects in landscape mode. Second, use a miniature tripod, which you can get for around $20, to stabilize your shots. Three, make sure your subjects aren't backlit, otherwise they'll look like they're in a witness protection program. And finally, have them stand close to the recording device and encourage them to speak loudly so that the built-in mic picks up their voices.

Prepare Your Participants
Don't assume your contributors know how to best deliver their message, so give them some pointers before you press record. Have them stand close enough to the camera so that you capture their shoulders along with a bit of space above their heads, and make sure the speaker is centered in the frame. This format works well for sharing videos on your website, social media, and in emails. Once you've ensured they're correctly framed, direct speakers to look into the camera on the recording device and not at themselves on the screen or the staffer recording the video. However, don't overcoach. For instance, don't worry about hand placement. Some people look most at ease using their hands and being expressive. Others are more comfortable with keeping their hands in their pockets. Authenticity is the key to a convincing testimonial.

Don't Sacrifice Audio
This may sound counterintuitive since we're talking about gathering video testimonials, but audio quality is ultimately more important than video quality. We've found that viewers are more willing to forgive lower-fidelity video or weak lighting than they are poor audio. So whenever possible, use an external microphone to capture the audio. If you're recording on, say, an iPad or a phone, you'll likely be limited to a 3.5mm jack, which reduces your mic options. Therefore, test your audio capture in noisy settings before deploying it in the wild. If you're looking for a recommendation, we've had really good results using an IK Multimedia iRig mic (which costs about $70 and works on Apple devices) mounted on an arm and placed just off-screen below the speaker's shoulders.

One last point on the topic of audio: Including captions in your videos, whether they're published online or in your booth, shouldn't even be optional any longer. Captions ensure that the testimonials are accessible to all, plus they can create a better user experience. Viewers often have the sound turned down on their mobile devices or cannot hear well on the show floor, so subtitles guarantee your clients' glowing messages aren't lost. There is video editing software that has closed-captioning capability built in, but be aware that these programs are rarely perfect at transcribing. Alternatively, you can always partner with a third party that will produce captions manually. Some vendors will even translate them into several languages, a key consideration if you're trying to reach a global audience.

Encourage Authenticity
Audiences tend to trust user-generated content more than polished productions because it reads as more authentic. So avoid the impulse to issue scripts when you're soliciting testimonials. If ceding control of the message worries you, there are a few things you can do to encourage your contributors to hit the right notes. First, explain to them how the video will be used to help them tailor their message to the purpose. Next, provide three or four talking points or questions for them to address to keep them from wandering off on tangents. Finally, be ready to share one or two brief examples of the type of testimonial you're looking for, and select staffers that will likely put the contributors at ease and draw out the content you're looking for.

Mind the Time
Where you plan to deploy the testimonials will dictate the length of the content you collect. For instance, if you expect to use the videos in a social-media campaign, you'll want to keep the clips between 15 and 30 seconds to avoid a drop-off in engagement rates. But if you want to leverage the testimonials for an in-booth marketing video, then you can get by with clips up to a couple minutes in length, as this audience is more willing to invest time in hearing what your speakers have to say.

Marketers run into trouble when they start collecting testimonials just for the sake of having them. Treat the process like you would any other marketing campaign and start with identifying your objectives. This will help you determine how and where to deploy the material, who the best contributors will be, and what collection method best suits your purposes.