When talking with even the highest producing REALTOR® about their marketing efforts and how they run their real estate practice, testimonials are one of those funny things that always jump out at us as an immediate spot to improve. You see, most agents we encounter have never asked their clients for them, or asked them once, but didn't follow up when they didn't get a response from them. Others have some, but they are old and outdated.

I get it. You are busy, there are only so many hours in a day, and this doesn't seem like the best use of your time when there are so many other pressing things taking priority. The fact of the matter is that you NEED testimonials.

You can talk about yourself for hours on end, telling people what a great job you will do for them. Even if you are the best self promoter on the planet, you still will be viewed as biased. After all, you are talking about yourself. When somebody else, though, describes what a great professional you are, that elicits an entirely different feeling in the mind of a prospective client who really wants to know what you're all about.

So if we agree that even though you are busy, testimonials are a necessary piece of your marketing arsenal, the trick becomes finding an easy way to get these and use them to your advantage. The answer is simple: VIDEO.

A real estate team in Tampa, Florida understands this, and for the most part they are doing it very, very well. The Duncan Duo hosts client testimonial videos on their website, as well as their YouTube channel. Here are two such videos you can review:

For the most part, these are great videos. If I had a single suggestion, it may be that the first video is simply too long. While the story of how the listing and sale came about are interesting, they aren't really necessary to drive home the point of how professional the Duncans are.

Aside from showing prospective clients, in live action, testimonials about the work you have done, testimonials are also powerful in the sense that they are almost 100% guaranteed that your clients will do them for you. The reason for this is because you are filming it, on the spot, right after you've done great work for them. They will feel like they owe this to you. Additionally, it's not a long questionnaire that always gets put on the "I'll do it tomorrow" list--this is something that can easily be done.

Here are a few things to consider when filming a client testimonial:

1) The "Kiss Principle" applies here

Keep your testimonials short. There is no reason to have a feature length film as your testimonial video. If at all possible, I would recommend keeping the videos less than two minutes in length. REMEMBER: People have the attention span of mosquitoes these days. You need to grab them and keep their attention.

2) Do not over-produce these videos

Part of the draw of using video for a client testimonial is the fact that they are real. The clients speaking about you and your services aren't professionals. They may stumble over some words, speak a little bit robotic, or need to do it a few times to get the testimonial the way they want it to be.

Resist the temptation to do tons of editing to filter these things out. It may not be, technically, the "official way" you would want to approach filming a video. But in the case of testimonials, it adds legitimacy, which will benefit you in the long run.

3) Add videos regularly, and use them regularly when promoting your services

Because these are fairly easy to shoot and require little to no editing at all, I strongly recommend that you do one of these for every transaction you close. Having a bunch in your arsenal of promotional materials can be extremely handy, especially with your online marketing.

Tweet out links to your testimonial videos, feature them on your Facebook business page, LinkedIn profile, or anywhere else you market yourself online.

Again, you can always say why you're the best, but when someone else does it for you--that's priceless.

To view the original article, visit the Leading Agent blog.