Keen marketers should acknowledge important differences between testimonials and reviews.

Testimonials present your community in its best light, with glowing accounts of your community or care from happy seniors or family members. Video testimonials we’ve seen are polished and professional. For marketers or managers, these feel like a pat on the back. Be careful, though.

Professionalism can look slick, and uninterrupted positivity can feel disingenuous to readers and viewers. They implicitly question the authenticity of testimonials they read or watch, particularly if it’s created by you on a website you control. They might suspect people have been somehow incentivized to do this. To truly build strong trust in your brand, testimonials alone aren’t enough.

Reviews are far more impactful, trusted by 90% of consumers

Reviews are objective and typically hosted on a third-party platform. They’re informal and raw, and video reviews are unscripted. Reviews are also more balanced, including criticisms and negative comments. These factors combine to make them authentic, along with the fact that we know that people have given their own time to share their experiences.

Not all reviews are created equal, though: content and context are pivotal.

Reviews content

A long-form review (written or video) resonates deeply with users. 97% of consumers prefer longer, detailed reviews, according to a survey by PowerReviews.com.

Video reviews show the reviewer and include voice tone, giving the feel of a one-on-one chat. According to the same survey, 94% of consumers seek out visual content in reviews, and they want “real-life” videos. The higher the stakes, the more likely people are to seek this.

Reviews context

Building a repository of long-form reviews and video reviews on a trusted third-party platform like ComfortLife.ca bolsters their influence. Families read and engage with these reviews in the context of their research into care types, choosing a retirement home, financial advice, and other guidance they’ve found helpful on our website.

Now it’s your turn

Build a library of long-form reviews, starting here. Our reviews intensely explore different aspects of your community, addressing key questions or providing detailed personal information.

Add video reviews like Jennifer Allen’s for Arabella Retirement Living in Belleville or Brenda Meneghetti’s for Manor Villages’ Staywell Manor in Calgary. Remember, we produce these. You just have to select the resident or family member for us to interview!

Combined with online reviews we add to our platform, the result is a rich though easy-to-read review page. Put yourself in the shoes of a family researching a retirement home for your mom or dad. This is exactly the type of content you’d want to see:

Reviews of Gilmore Gardens
Reviews of The Meadowlands
Reviews of Chartwell Fountains of Mission
Reviews of Wildpine Retirement Residence