The adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” has never been more accurate than in the case of visual product reviews. Nearly 60% of consumers find visual information more important than textual information, meaning your customer-generated review images have a tremendous amount of influence. Not only do these visuals pack a serious punch in terms of getting your customers’ attention, but they’re often seen as much more trustworthy than professional product photos.  

5 Great Ways To Get More Visual Reviews From Your Customers

1. Send Post-purchase Email Requests That Focus On Your Customers.

Post-purchase emails are one of the best ways to get customers to send visual or written reviews. In fact, more than 90% of reviews are responses to email requests. When you send an email requesting a visual review, be sure to focus on your customer’s experience. Rather than saying, “You’ll really help us out with a photo!”, which is almost guaranteed to be ignored, show interest in that customer or your future customers.

A subject line such as, “Sarah, are you loving your new lipstick?” or “Help hikers like you choose the best boots!” will receive a much more positive reception and increase the number of responses you get. Your customers will appreciate your interest in their experience or the opportunity to help others find a great product. Within the body of the message, make it clear you’re looking for a visual review. You can also nudge customers to action by suggesting a type of photo. For example, you could ask them for a selfie showing off their new lipstick. A specific suggestion helps inspire customers rather than leaving them to come up with a photo idea on their own.

2. Reach out to past customers.

Many companies create a plan to get more visual reviews and then only look to new customers to get them. That’s leaving a lot of opportunity on the table. Reach out to your past customers, too. They can provide an important perspective on the long-term use of your product that newer customers can’t. This fills in a common information gap that potential buyers appreciate. Everyone wants to know how long they can expect their new purchase to last.

3. Follow up with customers who left a star rating or text review.

It’s easier to get a photo from a customer who has submitted a review than to get one from a customer who hasn’t engaged with your brand at all. Every sales team knows their chances of selling to an existing customer are 60-70% higher than acquiring a new customer, and it’s the same principle for collecting visual reviews. Get the most out of your efforts by making it a priority to follow up with customers that have already provided feedback.

There are many reasons a customer might leave a review or a rating without attaching a picture to it. They may not have had the product at hand, or perhaps they were short on time. Just because they didn’t initially provide an image doesn’t mean they’re averse to doing so. Send a follow-up message thanking them for their rating or review, and let them know they can help even more customers like them by including a photo.

4. Be specific with your questions to get more helpful photo reviews.

You’ll get more responses by asking your customers specific questions about the product. When you ask targeted questions such as, “Did you love how your yoga pants fit?” you immediately put an answer in your customer’s mind. Targeted questions help customers focus on an important trait, so they don’t have to spend time considering all the qualities of a product.

As a bonus, this method can help ensure the reviews and photos you receive will cover aspects of the product that future customers want to know. Instead of asking everyone who bought yoga pants how they fit, ask some customers if the waistband stayed in place during workouts or if the pants held up well in the wash. This tactic will get you more helpful reviews and a wider range of responses. A review that simply says, “They’re great!” is nice, but it’s not as useful as a more detailed and focused review such as, “These yoga pants are great! I never had to tug them up once during my workout, and they are super comfy.” It’s these types of details potential customers want to read alongside a great picture.

5. Automate the review collection process.

The best way to bring in visual reviews regularly is to automate the process. Let technology do the heavy lifting for your team. Software such as TurnTo’s Visual Reviews ensures maximum engagement from your customers. TurnTo’s unique “visual-first” submission flow not only puts image submission at the top of your customer’s mind, but it also takes advantage of natural mobile user behavior. While “visual first” reviews can be submitted without an image, this modernized review request has been observed to increase overall review collection by upwards of 30% on mobile devices. More than 60% of emails are opened on phones. Using mobile-optimized review requests means your chances of receiving a great image are much higher than if you send out emails with clumsy mobile UX that makes it hard to complete a review. Customers value convenience, so it’s crucial to make their mobile experience as seamless as possible. Adding customer-generated review photos on your product pages and marketing is a surefire way to make conversion rates soar. Use these 5 strategies and watch the visual reviews start pouring in.