There's something elemental in the impact that others have over the sales process. People want to know that they are not on their own in liking or purchasing a product or service, and will crave the opinion of complete strangers in order to help give them enough comfort to pull out their credit card.
How to work social proof into our marketing is where it can get tricky, as we need to create the atmosphere of trust while not appearing to be overly hypey. To help with that task we've identified 5 great ways to get social proof to work for you in making more sales and revenue.
Related: 4 Marketing Tools Designed To Save You Loads Of Time
5 Ways to employ social proof in your marketing
Comments – Engaging with users and customers in a very public way, such as on your blog, is a very good way of swaying opinion in your favor. Personalized responses can create fans that are often far more loyal than the average buyer.
User Reviews and Testimonials – Getting your satisfied customers to review your products, and better still, leave a testimonial is a terrific way to provide undeniable social roof that helps drive sales. It will also help you rank in Google local search.
Related: Managing Unfavorable Reviews in a Favorable Way
Stats – If you've generated impressive numbers, don't be shy about sharing them somewhat. “7,354 people used our service last month!” Combining this with the logo or name of a brand people know is very effective.
Social shares – Getting people to share your content and posts can work well, particularly if you have an established following. This may take some time to develop, but it is well worth the effort. You never know how many followers and fans a person who shares your content may have.
Badges – Displaying the icons of well-known companies you do business with, as well as site trust badges, Like BBB, site security and others can give your site an aura of trust with very little effort on your part. Just make sure you honestly have the accreditation you're displaying, or you may find yourself doing some emergency reputation management!