What is Social Proof?
In short, definition to put it roughly, herd mentality if you will. Jokes aside, social proof is one of the intersections of digital marketing and psychology. We know that most of the digital marketing methods used by online stores are based on human psychology.
Social proof means that individuals examine the behavior of their community before making a decision and adapt their behavior and decisions accordingly. In other words, just as we observe the behavior of the people around us when determining our behavior at an event, party or movie theater we go to for the first time, we are also looking for “social proofs” that we will use to guide our decisions when shopping.
How do you implement Social Proof methods in Digital Marketing?
Ever wonder why most online stores and marketplaces encourage their customers to rate products and leave comments? Brands exactly know that their customers will make decisions based on consumer evaluations, social evidence and facilitate consumers’ access to information containing social proof when creating their marketing strategies. Although the most common method of using the concept of social proof in online shopping is sharing customer reviews and reviews on the product page, in fact, traces of the concept of social proof can be found in many digital marketing methods.
What are these Social Proof methods?
Customer Reviews
Social proof relying on a third-party website such as Trustpilot, Yotpo, Google Business, Reviews.io increases credibility significantly. Presenting customer reviews and ratings makes a business more trustworthy therefore increasing the chance of having loyal customers.
Sense of FOMO
FOMO stands for fear of missing out. Showing real-time statistics in your website triggers the sense of FOMO which can increase your sales significantly. Providing information such as how many visitors are online, how many people purchased an item, or how many products are left are great examples for social proof marketing.
Show reference of large and reliable brands that you served
In many industries such as IT, advertising, content production, serving big brands can also be used as a social proof element. A brand that serves big brands that are well-known and gives instant confidence to the customers can give confidence to their potential customers by sharing the logos of the big brands and companies it serves and, if possible, their feedback. You can have the same impact by presenting celebrity or social media influencer approval. Big brands expanded their digital campaigns over influencers. This explains the outrageous numbers of influencers these days, right?
Show Similar Products and Cross-Sell Them
When a customer entered your website you can present them with similar products that they are viewing. This strategy is a great example of cross-selling and also forms social proof that people also purchase similar products.
Social Media Takeover
Promoting your website or product over social media has a great impact over your sales. Providing social proof by organic user reviews creates a concept of conformity. In addition, delivering blogs in regards to your website may create an increase you may not aware of. Sharing media mentions or reviews will let potential customers visit your website in the future.
Boost your sales with Psychology and Positive Feedback
Leveraging your social proof with widgets can definitely improve your sales. These strategies above will build trust and goodwill towards your products or services. To achieve your ultimate goal to increase your engagement rates and the number of conversions rely on social proof.
Implementing Social Proofy to your website will end up maximizing your sales and let you present your credibility to your customers.
