The idea of social proof marketing is that people will always follow the actions of the bandwagon. So if many people behave in a certain way, it must be the correct behaviour, right?
Social proof draws from a buyer`s tendency to question themselves if they are making the right choice, and you can leverage this as a powerful tool in digital marketing.
The end goal of marketing, including online marketing, is to sell a product or a service, and you can use social proof to achieve that.
In a world where the trust of consumers in media is declining yearly, and organic reach is declining, brands need to look for other ways to convince consumers that they are the best solution to their problems.
Social proof can be found in ways you were not even thinking about.
You want to show a potential buyer that shoppers are visiting your website, buying your products, and recommending them to their friends, colleagues, and family. You want to convince them to emulate those patronizing your stores already.
Remember that people want to be part of a group, they seek validation and when they get it, they go for it. They like to get other people’s opinions and actions before they make theirs. If you have a website, try applying social proof marketing, the results will not betray your efforts.
In this guide, I will walk you through the littlest detail you need to conduct Social proof marketing.
What is Social Proof Marketing?
Social proof rests on the idea that the actions of other people majorly influence us. As evolved human beings, we naturally desire to follow the herd to where ever they are headed.
In a marketing setting, this equates to a simple belief on the part of customers that if a large number of people take a specific action, there must be a good reason for it.
When you consider, for instance, that 72% of customers trust online reviews, the relevance of social proof to online retailers becomes abundantly clear.
And even if reviews have been asked for through a post-purchase email or bought by unsuspecting customers, they will still take them seriously. But, unfortunately, most customers aren’t mindful of the origin of reviews.
Let’s have a look at an ordinary example.
You are new in the neighborhood and trying to find a place to get some Lunch. You arrive at a little square with a bunch of restaurants, and all but two of them have customers inside and outside eating.
Would you wait a bit for a spot at the busy restaurants or go to one of the empty ones?
If you are a bit like me and most people, you would rather wait; after all, if nobody else is there, there might be something scaring them off, right?
This type of social proof is easy, but social proof becomes even more crucial if you have an internet business.
The moment you make your buys online, there is not much visually to compare the offering to a handful of other shops; all of a sudden, there is a lot more outside influence that impacts your decision.
This also holds for physical products. For example, when you are in a shop trying to buy a dress, you can feel the quality and try them on to check which fits better; all of these things are impracticable online.
So before you buy that dress online, you look at reviews to see what others are saying about the quality, how it fits, and what the return policy in your store is in case it doesn’t work.
What Tools Help Ecommerce Websites Exhibit Social Proof?
#1. Leadfoxy
LeadFoxy Social Proof tools are the best among the other available AI tools. LeadFoxy has many tools and services you need, like B2B Lead Generation Service Sales Automation, Sales, Leads Generation & More.
#2. Morevago
Morevago is an app through which you can display testimonials, reviews, purchases, and downloads on your site, Landing pages, or Blogs.
I love how easy Morevago is to add reviews to a website and how you can customize the look and duration of the pop-ups.
One of my favorite features about Morevago is that you can add pictures to reviews, which creates even more trust with our website traffic.
#3. Proofleads
Proofleads allow you to display Social Proof notifications on the bottom edges of your site with a custom message. These messages can motivate visitors toward purchasing, converting, and signing up.
#4. Sprinklr Social Engagement and Sales
Sprinklr Social Engagement and Sales help users listen to, triage, interact and analyze conversations across modern channels.
It allows mid-large organizations to convert social currency into a revenue driver and reduce churn by foresightedly engaging more customers.
Sprinklr allows teams across departments and regions to collaborate smoothly for customer engagement, content creation, publishing, research, and reporting while maintaining enterprise-level governance to hinder any brand crisis
#5. Bazaarvoice
Thousands of the world’s leading brands and retailers trust Bazaarvoice technology and expertise to drive revenue, gain actionable insights, extend reach, and create loyal advocates.
According to a new study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Bazaarvoice, brands who partner with Bazaarvoice can hope to see a 400% return on their investment.
The study interviewed industry leaders at nine companies with experience working with Bazaarvoice and found that the initial investment is returned in just three months or less.
#6. Yotpo
Yotpo is a leading eCommerce marketing platform that helps thousands of forward-thinking brands quicken direct-to-consumer growth.
Its single-platform approach integrates data-driven solutions for reviews, SMS marketing, loyalty, subscriptions, and more.
Brands with Yotpo are equipped to create more innovative, higher-converting experiences that motivate and sustain customer relationships.
They work with the tools you use every day, including Google, Instagram, top eCommerce platforms, and others on your tech stack.
#7. Trustpilot
Trustpilot is a customer review management tool that allows you to connect and build trust with customers and prospective customers.
The social proof marketing tool automates your review collection process, gathers feedback, improves organic search results, increases CTR and conversions on paid search with Google Seller Ratings, and amplifies your online presence.
#8. ResellerRatings
Customers have many choices when buying, so you know the importance of assisting them to get through their customer journey onto your site, and converting.
Helping customers find your brand in a fierce competitive paid search, SEO, and e-commerce platform can be challenging.
ResellerRatings has been solving this problem for over ten years – they collect and make your ratings and review data work for you, helping customers that begin their shopping journey in Search, Social, and Local digital platforms find your online store.
Once they are on your site, ResellerRatings deploy social proof that you collect with their platform to help you relay your brand’s trustworthiness and safety, and convert customers across your brand’s journey.
Types Of Social Proof
#1. Expert: Expert social proof is when a specialist or influencer in your industry recommends your products or is linked with your brand.
This could take the form of blogging, twitting, or being quoted or photographed as your product user.
#2. Celebrity: Celebrity social proof is when a celebrity endorses your products on social media or in public spaces.
This form of social proof is potent if the endorsement is not paid for.
#3. User: User social proof is when current users recommend your products based on their experiences with your brand.
It’s more of a vote of confidence passed on the product’s value. All kinds of testimonials can have a similar impact.
Whether it’s a consumer review on the business’s website, a star-based rating, a review on a third-party website, or a full-blown case study, this content creates positive feedback from real users.
#4. The Wisdom of The Crowd: This type of social proof is when a large group of people is seen to be endorsing your brand, when lots of people are using a product, others want to follow suit.
#5. The Wisdom Of Your Friends: This type of social proof is when people see their friends endorse your product.
The recommendations from people we know and trust carry far more weight than other types of promotions.
#6. Earned Media: If the press has published any endorsement about your brand, this earned media is a great way to build brand awareness, backlinks to your website, and social proof that your business is worth paying attention to.
Ways to Use Social Proof.
#1. Show appreciation for mentions
So often, you might receive a nice mention from the press, an influencer in your industry, or a big brand. This is a great form of expert social proof.
There are many ways to share such social proof on your social media pages.
#2. Share milestones
Another quick and great way to create social proof is to show gratitude for your Customer or follower milestones.
Reaching milestones is a fun occasion to celebrate and a great time to thank the people who have helped you reach that milestone.
Here are some of the milestones you can celebrate with your audience:
#1. Reaching a specific number of users
#2. Reaching a specific number of customers
#3. Reaching a specific number of downloads of your app
#4. Reaching a specific number of followers on your social media profile
#5.Anniversaries
#3. Experiment with influencer marketing
Influencer marketing can be a cost-efficient way of getting celebrities to endorse social proof marketing efforts.
This is usually more popular on Instagram. Brands would sponsor micro-influencers, people with very powerful social media influence in a particular niche and who are not celebrities to post about their products.
Because of their social media influence, these influencers are often seen as celebrities within the niche area. When people see them with a particular product, they would transfer the positives they see in these “celebrities” to the product.
#4. Leverage Brand Ambassadors
Social media ambassadors offer a mix of expert, celebrity, Influencer, and user social proof, depending on the ambassadors you choose for your brand.
They could be industry leaders (expert social proof), influencers (celebrity social proof), or passionate users (user social proof).
Ambassadors would normally “wear” their ambassadorial badge proudly on their social media profile and include and branded hashtag in the relevant social media outings.
#5. Pull Together User-Generated Content
User-generated content makes my favorite strategy on Instagram because I have witnessed it help grow the brand`s following. It is also a powerful strategy for generating user social proof.
Got some cool new clothes that you are ready to show off to the world? Chances are you will take a pic of yourself in it and post it on your social profiles.
Or maybe you have received a fancy new product, and you post an unboxing video to your YouTube channel? Whether you know it or not, all of these examples are user-generated content.
#6. Share consumer`s love for your product
Receiving shout-outs on social media from your customers can be one of the nicest feelings about being a social media manager
A fun way to generate user social proof is to share these shout-outs on your social media platforms, showing others the love your users have for your product will ginger them to step into the shoes of your existing customers.
#7. Display Customers shout-outs on your website
Another way to demonstrate social proof is to display customers’ shout-outs as testimonials on your website.
Let your prospective customers listen to the loud trumpets your actual customers are blowing for your products.
#8. Highlight the size of your customer base in your bio
If you have a large customer base, your prospects should know about it. Letting them know you have a lot of others who pinned to your product is a great way to draw them into your net.
You could mention the size of your customer base on your profile page. It is a fine example of the wisdom of the crowd social proof.
#9. Encourage customers to leave good ratings on your Pages
You can enable ratings and reviews on your Pages if you are a local business. Good ratings and reviews are a great form of user proof and you should have them in your social proof marketing toolbox.
#10. Strive to earn the Blue Tick( Get Verified)
On Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, you can get verified and receive a blue tick on your bio.
Having a blue checkmark by your bio is such a big deal and a form of certification social proof.
The social media platform, as an authoritative figure, considered that you are popular, influential, or interesting enough to be awarded the blue tick, usually reserved for celebrities and top brands.
Apart from gaining credibility and respect from the community with a verified account, you would also gain access to new features reserved for verified accounts.
Why is social proof Marketing important?
Social proof can be a powerful marketing tactic for several reasons.
The basic motivating force behind social proof is the bandwagon effect, a social psychology concept that states that people are more likely to take part in action if other people are doing it.
For example, if over two million people have watched a movie and said they enjoyed it, the wisdom of the crowd dictates that you are likely to enjoy the movie too.
Leveraging this form of social proof involves showing that a large number of people have purchased a product or that many people support the business.
Prominently displaying social media follower counts can be a great way of conveying social proof. Because numbers like these are often difficult to verify and easily manipulated, the effectiveness of this strategy depends on how much the customer trusts the brand`s claims.
Another benefit of social proof is that it can help build trust. Trust is one of the key factors in converting customers online because providing a credit card number to an unknown and untrustworthy business over the web is a large hurdle for customers to overcome.
Showing prospective customers that a business has many satisfied customers through testimonials and user reviews helps build trust that a brand is legitimate and trustworthy.
Social proof marketing works by tapping into the basic human instinct to follow the actions of others, building trust and credibility, and lowering barriers of distrust from customers to make purchases online.
Conclusion
Social proof marketing rests on the idea that other people have purchased and found value in the product offered by a business therefore that product is worth being used.
People are only more likely to purchase a product that others are already using (the bandwagon effect), social proof marketing can be a great way to improve conversions by showing customers how popular a product is loved among existing users.
Social proof can take several forms on the website, including customer testimonials and product reviews, customer lists, and the Wisdom of the crowd. These different tactics help build trust, convey value, and boost conversions.
