It’s a question that confounds many new and young startups, and even big, established businesses these days: “With all the competition and noise out there, how can I gain the attention of new, potential buyers?
Social proof: The psychological and social phenomenon that our own behavior is impacted by the influence of the actions, attitudes, and beliefs of other people (online or in-person).” There are deep historical and biological roots that make social proof so powerful. It likely was a key factor in our early survival as a species, as it helped. Offer your customers an incentive for signing up people in their social network, and you’ll be building your brand’s social proof in no time! Positive Action Notifications. One of the best ways to provide your visitors with social proof is by displaying real-time action notifications in the form of a popup. You’ve likely seen these before. With social proof, your customers supply valuable content that you can promote on your site to grow traffic and increase engagement. Doing the work to solicit reviews, customer stories, and press coverage provides you with useful content that can fill company blog posts, draw eyes, and give you fodder for your sales funnels.
You have a great product. You’ve developed a stellar website. Even your packaging looks sexy. But new clients these days are also looking for one more thing before making a commitment to spend money on you -- what other people are saying about you or your product.
It’s no secret that online retailers and brands like Amazon are increasingly pushing reviews for the products on their site. People need to see that others also enjoy that product. It’s what we call social proof: the idea that buyers are influenced by the decisions and actions of others around them.
Why is social proof so important?
Through my marketing agency, I find a lot of small business websites that aren’t leveraging the power of testimonials on their site, and that’s a missed opportunity for them. One of the first things I advise all my new clients on is gathering social proof to place on their web page. Here are some of the reasons why they’re so important on your site:
- Testimonials add credibility for the products and services you offer.
- People tend to trust online reviews when making purchases.
- Social proof earns better SEO: Adds more favorable language surrounding your brand online.
- When sourcing opinions from your client base, you show that you care about their experience with your brand, thus strengthening the relationship you have with your clients.
What types of testimonials should I collect?
There are a variety of ways you can gather testimonials and a variety of ways to display them on your site. You don’t have to rely on simple one-liners from clients (although they are still helpful). Here are some ideas for getting the social proof you need:
- Send a survey to new clients: After your customer receives the product, give them some time to try it out and reach back out to them later (via email or direct mail) and ask them to provide with their feedback. To encourage more responses, offer to send them back a coupon or a free gift for their efforts.
- Encourage them to post on social media: Use a hashtag to track customers’ responses to your products so you can find and respond to them easily. You should definitely consider Instagram a big part of this strategy, so you can use their post on your site as social proof. Testimonials with images are better than text alone. Note: Before using someone’s social post on your site, you’ll need to reach out to them to get permission.
- Send your products for free to people with large followings: Whether you want to call them social media influencers, bloggers, or local celebrities, consider getting “meatier” testimonials from people who have already gained some amount of trust online. Some may ask for a small fee to review your product, but the return you get from their article, video post, Instagram picture, or even just their words and name listed on your site will likely be tremendous. Note: This is a very similar strategy to getting media and publishers to review your products, but having a testimonial from an actual human being is far more effective.
- Get them while they’re fresh out of the oven: If you host events, then you have the prime opportunity to gather testimonials from attendees right on the spot. For one of my clients, we set up a camera right outside the event space and asked participants to provide their opinions on the spot. You can check out an example here.
- Feature reviews from other sites on your site: If you have a Yelp listing or distribute your products through a site like eBay, then you can embed or feature those reviews on your site as well. Some sites may have rules on how you can use testimonials that they’ve collected, so be sure to check those terms and conditions before moving forward.
The main thing to keep in mind here is that if you don’t ask, you won’t get them. Many people are more than willing to give you their opinion on your products and services. Many won’t be amazing, but at least they will be insightful, and you can use that feedback to generate better business later.
Have you ever drifted towards a certain clothing line because a celebrity is used in the advertising? This is called social proof advertising and it’s a pretty handy method of marketing based on the thought process that your customers will pick up what other people are saying and doing.
It’s pretty easy for people to fall into the trap and there are a few different types of social proofing. The main ones you’ll use are expert, celebrity, and user. We’re going to briefly go over what these are, and give you a few examples so you can start taking advantage of this brilliant marketing strategy.
1. Nature Made
The first example of social proof advertising that we’re going over is expert proofing. It follows the idea that instead of marketing yourself, you let an expert do it for you. Nature Made did a very effective job with this.
They use an official certification from the U.S Pharmacopeial Convention to market their product for them. Most people will see that certification and immediately trust the product.
2. Fitbit
Fitbit is another great example of expert social advertising. They allow several health experts and websites to boost them up rather than advertising themselves.
It’s one thing for Fitbit to say that their product is great and works but another one entirely when experts are raving about it. This method of advertising has made Fitbit one of the best-known fitness trackers out there.
3. Jenny Craig
The second method of social proofing is celebrity proofing. It follows the idea that when people see a celebrity using a product, they’ll drift towards it. It gives potential customers a face to latch onto and identify with.
Jenny Craig saw a lot of success with this method when they used photographic evidence that celebrity Kirstie Alley was losing weight using their program. This evidence was enough to make it one of the top diet programs in the US.
4. Cisco
Admit it, if you’re not used to IT lingo, it’s like learning a foreign language. You absorb the content but it’s really hard to grasp onto it. Cisco was aware of this so they got a celebrity to come in and talk about the content.
A celebrity can catch the attention of those who even though might not understand what the commercial is about, might still use the services because they identified with the person featured in it.
5. WIX
Making a website doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Some people just aren’t that technologically savvy. WIX understood that so they used a celebrity in their advertisement.
By having a celebrity in the commercial or advertisement, it gives off the impression that anyone can make a website. It does a really good job of putting one’s website building worries at ease. It also shows that everyone needs a website, even a celebrity.
Why Social Proof Is The Key To Your Sites Successfully
6. Yelp
Why Social Proof Is The Key To Your Sites Successful
The third type of social proof advertising is user proof. It uses the idea that people will listen to other users input and reviews. One of the best places to get these reviews is Yelp.
Yelp is one of the most used places for users to review all sorts of businesses. It’s one of the most popular websites out there because so many people visit it before they decide to go somewhere.
7. IMDb
A lot of people will visit websites like IMDb to get information on new movies before they go see them. Movies are expensive so it’s a good way to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.
IMDb is one of the most popular websites to get that information. Users can see what actual people are saying about new movies that have come out and rate ones that they’ve already seen. Users will trust their fellow moviegoers before they will critics.
8. Amazon
People are more likely to buy a product when they can read reviews about it to see what the people who have actually used it are saying. Amazon makes the most of these reviews.
You can read reviews on each and every one of the products that you can buy from them. You can also post reviews and pictures of your own. Amazon sells a ton of products because of this feature. It also saves on the number of people who send stuff back because it wasn’t what they wanted.
9. Netflix
Netflix suggests new shows not only based on what you like to watch but what’s popular on the streaming service in general. It’s a great way to keep people watching new shows instead of just finishing one and moving away.
Users will trust shows that are popular with other users and if it’s something that vaguely catches their interest, they will be more likely to give it a try.
10. Facebook
Facebook is a pretty popular social media source. It will push pages and articles for you to check into based on things that your friends like.
The reason why this is a good strategy because who can you trust if you can’t trust your friends right? It’s the perfect way to advertise material.
Successful Social Proofing at Its Finest
Proper marketing strategies can make or break your business. Social proofing is one of the easiest ways to get your company to kick off. Allow for customer reviews on your site, consider bringing in someone famous if you can afford it, or get a certification. This is the perfect way reel in customer trust.
Marketing your business is hard, but we can make it easier. To find out how we can help you and to see our prices, visit our site.