By now, everyone knows the value of influencers when it comes to branded video content. With large followings, high levels of engagement, and direct impacts on your brand awareness and exposure, they’re essential in almost every video content plan.

But most of the time, the influencer posts to their own channel. Could a new approach, based on video testimonials featuring the influencer but published on a brand’s social accounts, be even more effective?

Using influencers, micro-influencers, and nano influencers this way delivers three major results for brands:

1. You still build a buzz (just like Crocs did with unboxing videos ahead of the launch of a new shoe) and enjoy the distribution platform provided by influencers who repost their testimonials on their own account.

2. You engage profoundly and authentically with a highly targeted audience when you engage with micro and nano influencers.

3. You get great material for your own channel advertising, making it easy to put together compelling compilation pieces, like this one from Fresh Express, that show a range of diverse perspectives.

Think of it as a natural evolution. The earliest examples of user-generated content were testimonials and online reviews. Now the focus is shifting to powerful video reviews that spread the word and tick the box on influencer marketing.

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. From world-famous magazines like Sports Illustrated to screw manufacturers SPAX, this approach has paid dividends for every brand that’s tried it.

Best of all, these video testimonials aren’t hard to do. Just by engaging with your existing influencer community, you can create tons of branded video content simply by offering free products or a small stipend.

Ready to get started? Check out our step-by-step guide to finding great content creators.