Online customers greatly rely on the testimonial, reviews or references by other customers before purchasing a product. This is very important especially with the ubiquity of similar services and businesses out there. Businesses seek customers and strategize various ways to get the attention of customers but the easiest way to do this is through social proof.
However, there are various types of social proof and the type of social proof will determine the result you will achieve. Some of the most common types of social proof for you include.
Testimonials
Testimonials are one of the most effective types of social proof. You can make the most of quotes from your previous customers or clients and market yourself in a beautiful and remarkable way.
Previous Successes
If you have recorded a monumental success in the past, you can also use that as a social proof. You can cite a few client case studies in such a success story and create an outstanding social proof.
Customer Reviews & Product Rating
Customer reviews are one of the most common types of social proofs. It is very effective for businesses that deal with products. Most customers will go through the reviews on a product before making a purchase. Usually, customers will rather go for businesses or products that have the most positive reviews. But it is important to note that businesses should not hide their negative reviews because customers view a perfect 5-star review as unrealistic and suspicious.
If you sell products in sites like Amazon, you might want to make the most of the product rating as an excellent social proof. Having a lot of positive ratings on such a platform tells your potential customers that you have what it takes to deliver the best.
Social Media Followers
In this age of social media, the number of social media followers you have on Facebook, twitter, etc is also a form of social proof. It goes a long way to convey your credibility to the audience and attract potential clients or customers.
Social media is widely used today but it can be a very powerful social proof. Basically, two forms of social proof are combined in social media. These are the feedback of trusted peers and customer testimonials. This form of social proof has a reverberating and ripple effect and can help you to remarkably improve your sales.
Social media shares
Every social media user will agree with the fact that it takes dedication and untold effort to get a single share of your post on social media. Having a lot of “shares” is a great social proof. It tells your audience that you have what they need and that they need not look any further. With up to 10,000 or more shares, you are already on your way to remarkable success in business.
Badges and Logos
Most small businesses want to associate their brands with reputable businesses, badges and logos are a good way to do that. You can feature past clients, security certifications, business partners, industry awards and accreditations, and so forth on your website. This will help improve the image of your business and build trust, making your business to look more reliable.
Celebrity Social Proof
Endorsement by stars and celebrities is one of the most notable social proofs. Most potential customers will blindly follow the lead of celebrities and stars. You can make the most of this social proof to outmatch your rivals.
Email Subscribers
Having a huge email subscriber-base is a plus. It tells customers and clients that they are not alone. You can let your customer know that you have huge email subscribers by including a hint about that in your email list.
Number of Product Users
It may not sound like it but simply stating the number of your product users is also a form of social proof. Just like some other social proofs, this social proof will help trust your business.
Wiremo provides a seamless platform that can help you to leverage the power of social proof. You can leverage several kinds of social proofs in this platform including celebrity social proof, social proofs by reviews and testimonials, you can even share your reviews and tell the world that you have what it takes to offer the right products and services to them.
Endorsements
Endorsements are a form of social proof. Customers will place a greater value on a product or service if the business or product is endorsed by an authority or a notable person, especially in the field. Such a person could be an expert, a celebrity and so forth. In addition, such an endorsement could even be more valuable than numerous testimonials from individual persons.
Wisdom of Crowds
Nobody wants to be left out, people want to go with the trend and the crowd. This is why the wisdom of crowds is also a very powerful social proof. The crowd may not really be professionals, experts you know, your friends and so forth.
Experts Social Proof
One of the ways to build trust with your current and potential customers is to use an expert as a social proof. An expert is someone who knows the field very well. It is also necessary to go for an expert that has authority in the field to make sure that the audience or customers will believe the expert’s recommendation.
Certifications
Certifications are very powerful social proof. It makes your brand feel and look authentic and separates you from the crowd. It also makes your audience to see you as an authority to reckon with. This can help you to attract a lot of customers to your social media page and improve your business eventually.
The Wisdom of Your Friends
Most customers will go for a product or service simply because their friends do. With social media today, people can easily see what their friends like or do. Businesses can take advantage of this social proof to promulgate their brands by reaching potential customers through their friends.
Wiremo provides a platform that can help you to improve your business through social proof. Businesses can make the most of Wiremo to get reviews from their customers and share those reviews. By sharing the reviews, they can help to convince potential customers that they deliver the best product or service. It is also easy to take advantage of other types of social proofs such as celebrity social proof, testimonials and so forth in Wiremo.
Inspired from Bailey Richert article.
Inspired from ContentSparks article.
