Social proof is a powerful way to build trust with your site's visitors. Here are a few social proof examples to win credibility, conversions, and customers.
Social proof is a powerful way to build trust with your site's visitors. Today, we're going to show you some powerful examples to help get your creative juices flowing.
If you want success online, credibility is your friend. When people don’t trust your product, website, or business, they will search elsewhere for a more reliable option.
So if you are looking to win customers and maximize conversions, using social proof in your marketing plan is a great idea. In this post, we'll first discuss what social proof is and how your website can benefit from it. Then we'll look at several examples to inspire you. Let’s get started!
Before the social proof examples, here's what it matters
The wisdom of the crowds, eh? If everyone under the sun gives a product great reviews, chances are that it really is great. That's what social proof is all about. It's an attempt to show potential buyers that you are a worthy investment.
One common example of social proof is a customer review:
Social proof marketing examples are everywhere
Thanks in part to digital marketing, the way in which consumers seek out and buy goods & services has shifted dramatically. Before, we went to the store to peruse the aisles. Now? We peruse the internet. One thing we are looking for to help us make decisions is social proof.
And we find it everywhere:
- Review sites
- Google searches
- Social media
- Landing pages
- Emails
- And more!
The psychology of social proof
Social proof has actually been studied for a very long time. The term was first coined by psychologist Robert Cialdini in his book titled Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. If you are interested in customer behavior at all, this book is a must read!
By now, we all know that a five-star review is evidence that a customer liked the product. This proof has a powerful impact on buyer behavior. For example, 95 percent of consumers say that reviews, both positive and negative, influence whether or not they purchase products.
So if you are running an ecommerce store or selling things online in any context, social proof is huge. It shows potential buyers that your brand, service, or product is one they can trust. There’s a lot more data to support the effectiveness of this approach.
For example:
- Buyers expect an average of 112 reviews on a product while conducting research online.
- The most trusted kind of advertising is non-paid, with 92 percent of people placing confidence in recommendations from sources that were not financially compensated.
- According to Salesforce, 87 percent of buyers will perform online research before making a purchase.
It's all about building your brand's reputation and increasing trust in your products and services. If you can do this, an increase in conversions will soon follow.
Here are 6 social proof examples in the real world
There are many ways of using of social proof to boost your website's credibility. Here are six examples of social proof that you can leverage to boost your digital marketing efforts.
- Customer testimonials
- Expert social proof
- Customer reviews
- Client list
- Case studies
- Influencer & celebrity endorsements
1. Customer testimonials
Here's one form of powerful user generated content: customer testimonials. This is where a real customer describes their experience with a product or service:
Customer testimonials are an endorsement for your product. They give visitors a sense for how existing customers use the item and what they like about it. A testimonial can help you gain up to 62 percent more revenue by connecting with your target audience.
You can add user testimonials to your site easily with Formidable Forms. They can be placed anywhere, although they tend to work best either on your home page or a dedicated page of their own.
2. Expert social proof
An expert's stamp of approval is when a professional in your industry shows support for your product. This kind of social proof demonstrates to site visitors that your offerings are safe, effective, and of high-quality.
There are many ways of adding this kind of proof to your site. For example, you could create a dedicated blog or social media post. You can also leverage other forms of media, such as a YouTube video of an industry expert endorsing your product:
You can start by conducting target market research to determine where your potential customers spend time and who they might consider to be expert sources.
3. Customer reviews
A review might seem similar to a testimonial, but there are some differences. Reviews are the opinions of everyday consumers about a product:
While testimonials are often tailored by company marketing teams, reviews present unfiltered feedback from average users. This makes them more accurate and authentic. According to HubSpot, 88 percent of buyers trust user reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation.
You can also implement reviews on your site by adding a separate section for these comments, or creating a dedicated page.
4. Client list
Client lists showcase some of your existing customers to site visitors. This usually involves posting company logos on your website. Logos are an extremely effective marketing method – 75 percent of consumers recognize a company or brand by its logo.
Featuring company logos on your website can result in major benefits for your sales. For example, one study by Conversion Rate Experts found that this type of marketing can increase conversion rates up to 400 percent.
5. Case studies
Here's a form of social proof that will work well for software developers & professional firms: the case study. Think of this like a positive review on steroids. They take a lot more time to create compared to other items on this list, but that extra work could pay off by leading to more new customer conversions.
So how do you create a case study? First off, you'll likely need to interview your client in some way. Once you've got somebody lined up, you'll want to frame questions around the following:
- Statistics: quick stats that prove the solution or service worked well.
- Demographics: who is the person or company featured in the case study? How big is their company?
- Key features: highlight the key features or aspects of your service that worked the best for the customer.
- Story: a narrative about how the customer found your product or service, and how it changed their lives.
One thing to keep in mind about case studies: they should be written for prospects. A prospect is somebody who is a little more ready to buy than somebody who is just learning about your company. The overall goal is to help prospects "see themselves" using your solution, thus making it easier for them to pull the trigger and become a customer.
Here's a great example of a case study from our friends at Optinmonster. As you'll see, they are leading with stats & a great story:
6. Influencer & celebrity endorsements
Here's one of those social proof advertising examples that is highly sought after these days. Influencers have become a big part of marketing strategies around the world. So much so that they have become a media channel themselves: influencer marketing.
Influencers & celebrities represent another way to get expert social proof. If you are selling food products, who better to endorse you than a celebrity chef? If you are selling web software, a tech influencer could help lend you a ton of credibility.
And a super famous pop-star could help you sell... donuts? Sure why not! When Justin Bieber signed on with Tim Hortons to make his own line of "Tim-Biebs", it created a ton of buzz for the company in the younger demographic, which isn't always easy for a 60 year old company to do.
Conclusion
Providing social proof is one of the best ways to boost conversions and build trust for your brand. By creating social credibility, you are showing potential customers that you have a product or service that's worth purchasing.
Of course, when it comes to social proof, the examples are just the start. Consider this: you'll need to collect and add reviews to your site. If you're creating your website with WordPress, we've got something that can help with all things social proof: Formidable Forms.
Don't let the name deceive you, Formidable Forms can provide you with a wide variety of e-commerce and marketing tools. One more consideration relevant to social proof: think about adding testimonials to your WordPress sites.
If you are looking to upgrade your marketing efforts online, Formidable Forms is here for you. Check out our full list of features to learn more!
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