- 65 percent of your audience members are visual learners according to WebDam.

- Hubspot says that visual content is more than 40 times more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content.

When it comes to testimonials, the stats are just as impressive. Video usage in marketing materials highlights the benefits of how customer experiences matter to your prospects:

- Dimensional Research says that 90 percent of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions.

- Search Engine Land says that 85 percent of consumers report reading up to 10 reviews before feeling they can trust a business.

Testimonials offer significant credibility for your business. That’s one of the reasons why so many businesses allow for unfiltered user reviews on social media.

With stats like these, combining the two is a natural place to go.

On video, seeing a testimonial from a business leader, a friend, a neighbor or even someone you see when dropping your kid off at school can go a long way toward establishing credibility and influencing purchase decisions from within the community.

Testimonials about your staff can also give your employees that extra pat on the back for a job well done. Seeing praise spoken from the mouths of actual customers can be a significant motivator for anyone on staff to keep working hard.

At Sutherland Weston, we’ve been creating video testimonials for our clients for years. Visit sutherlandweston.com/video-testimonials to see some examples of just how powerful video can be when it comes to building credibility for your business.

(Dan Cashman is public relations director for Sutherland Weston.)