Today, most products and services can be bought and availed online. If you do not have an optimized website or social media presence, getting new leads and converting them to first-time customers will be extremely difficult. So, it’s safe to say that a business needs a website to have a fighting chance in this digital age. And one of the most effective converting tools a website can have is Social Proof.
Social proof is a form of content that shows that people purchased your products or booked your services and found value in them. It is a tool utilized by most of the biggest players in their own industries.
Slack
Notion
Loom
Webflow
Jasper.ai
As you can see from the examples above, there are different types of social proof.
What are the different types of Social Proof?
Depending on the service or product you offer, you can put different kinds of social proof on your website or social media.
- Photos and testimonials from clients or customers
- Logos of brands that use and trust your business
- Case Studies
- Feedback or rating from your customers
- Reviews on third-party websites like Google and Sitejabber
- Number of followers on social media
- Purchase counts
- Number of clients served
- Celebrity endorsements
- Testimonials from industry experts and thought leaders
The Psychology Behind Social Proof
Robert Cialdini coined the term social proof in 1984 in his book Influence.
In essence, we humans have a strong tendency to copy each other’s actions. For example, if one tries fine dining for the first time and is unfamiliar with fine dining practices, they would observe other people and try to copy how they behave to avoid being singled out. It’s instinctive. It’s primal. It’s linked to our sense of survival, like how zebras flock together to avoid being singled out by the predatory tiger.
Although many of us are no longer fighting for survival, the instinct to copy each other’s behaviors stuck with us and even proved to be beneficial at times– especially when it comes to digital marketing.
It’s easier for people to believe that a book is a good read if it has sold over 5 million copies.
It’s easier for business owners to trust a prospective supplier if they have a solid portfolio and have been recommended by word-of-mouth.
It’s easier for people to believe that an announcement is real if it’s tweeted by a verified Twitter account. (Oops, maybe this is more up in the air.)
Social Proof Statistics
As they say, numbers don’t lie. Here are a few statistics that prove social proof is an effective tool.
- 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
- 85% of shoppers read up to 10 reviews. (BrightLocal)
- 7 in 10 consumers say that positive reviews make them trust local businesses more. (BrightLocal)
- 93.4% of online shoppers rely on reviews when unfamiliar with the retailer. (Sabanoglu)
- 88.8% of shoppers trust a brand less if there are negative reviews. (eMarketer)
- 76% of online shoppers are less likely to purchase if no online reviews are available. (eMarketer)
- 87% of shoppers get information from social media to influence their purchase decisions. (Smart Insights)
- After reading positive reviews, 57% of customers visit a company’s website. (HubSpot)
- Displaying reviews for higher-priced products increase conversions by 380%. (Spiegel Research Center)
- Testimonials can increase sale page conversions by up to 34%. (VWo)
Now that we have a solid understanding of how social proof works and how it directly affects a brand’s conversion metrics; let’s discuss 5 reasons not to miss out on the power of social proof.
5 Reasons Why You Need Social Proof On Your Website In 2023
Social Proof Makes it Easier to Convert Leads into Customers
As discussed earlier, one major factor that dictates whether a lead will convert or bounce is social proof. You should make it easy for your website visitors to see social proof. One best practice is to put social proof on the most prominent pages of your website.
A website with no social proof feels incomplete and powerless compared to websites that implement different kinds of social proof.
Suggested Format:
Hero Statement
Supporting Statement
Call-to-action Button
Reviews
(See Slack and Notion)
Social Proof Adds Credibility to Your Brand
Through social proof, you help your consumers get to an informed decision.
To add a stronger sense of credibility to your website, you should also consider adding trust seals or trust badges. These are icons or symbols from reputable organizations that show your audience your website is completely reliable.
You can get a Sitejabber trust seal by clicking below.
Sitejabber Trust Seal Library
If you have served big, easily-recognizable brands, you can put their brand logos on your website, stating “Trusted by [brands].”
Similarly, if you have been featured in media channels such as BuzzFeed, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), and other stations, you can put their logos with the words “As seen on [networks].”
When web visitors see logos of their trusted brands and media outlets, they tend to let their guard down and positively affect their purchase journey.
Social Proof can be Used to Nurture Leads
Great social proof helps your brand tell the story of how you provide value to your current and prospective shoppers. Consumers in these niches usually don’t mind receiving additional emails, especially if they are jam-packed with value.
Social Proof is Free Content
You may be familiar with the costs of content creation and content marketing. Social proof is beneficial in this aspect, especially in the form of testimonials.
Businesses can use testimonials to get blog, video, or podcast ideas and expound on the topic. Brands can also use testimonials on other platforms, such as social media and email marketing.
User-generated content is one of the most converting types of content because it’s not sales-y and customers trust reviews. Also, they speak the language your consumers do– creating a more genuine connection with your audience. And since its coming from fellow customers, social proof boosts your content or ads’ effectiveness.
Social Proof can Improve Your SEO Rankings
The link between social proof and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can seem blurry, but in reality, s.
SEO experts keep social proof up for debate, with many saying reviews strengthen your search rankings. But one thing is for sure; reviews impact local ranking with Google Reviews. Google treats reviews like word-of-mouth, and reviews directly affect how it ranks the website. In other words, Google pays attention to what visitors have to say about a business or a brand in a huge way.
Secondly, when customers leave reviews, they unknowingly put long-tail keywords on your website. This is beneficial because the keywords or the language they use are genuinely from consumers. So, when other consumer research online, there is a chance that they use the actual words in the testimonial.
This is also a great copywriting trick. Get a few very specific keywords from your testimonials and expound on them. This way, you address your audience’s needs directly instead of just saying what you can do.
Testimonials are also live updates for your website. Search engines appreciate fresh content.
Testimonials on other platforms like social media can also sprout your audience’s curiosity. The more curious they get, the more they search, and the more your website becomes relevant.
With 2023 underway, take action and start leveraging social proof.
