How To Leverage Social Proof
Do you think of yourself as a leader or a follower? If you said leader, consider this: Imagine you are looking to purchase a new product and are deciding between three different brands. The first two brands have strong ratings but a few customers have negative reviews. The third brand has the same ratings but no bad reviews. Wouldn’t you pick the third brand? This is the phenomenon called social proof.
Social proof is the idea that people determine their approval of a product or purchase based on what others say and their actions. In marketing, social proof examples can be customer testimonials, media coverage, or any way an existing customer promotes your product. Basically, a third party does all your marketing for you by influencing others to purchase your product or service.
So why are businesses so intrigued by this phenomenon? Because it works. Here we will break down why social proof works and ways you can integrate it into your business:
Why Social Proof Works
It is simple, social proof gets your business more sales. The key to social proof in business is making your customers feel confident in the purchase they are about to make. Most customers give into a service or buy a product if they feel connected to it. Through social proof, you can reach potential customers on an emotional level. People will connect to brands they see those they trust use or those they relate to personally.
Social proof is important for a business landing page. It will not only reinforce your message on your page but it will also justify your claims. Although, it is essential to be careful when using social proof. A business should not use reviews that a customer can not relate to or testimonials that seem fake and made up. Potential customers will be able to see through it, remember it, and will not look into the business for any future purchases. People look for and want to see authentic social proof, so use it!
Types of Social Proof for Business
1. Case Studies
A strong way to integrate social proof into your business is with case studies. To do this identify clients that have had success with your business’s services. This allows a business to go in-depth about how a customer had a positive experience and allows an opportunity to share real numbers and facts. Before potential customers decide to spend money they want to see proof of the value. Make sure your case studies provide credible evidence with numbers, data, and analysis.
A case study can showcase your company's talent and share your study. By showing your solutions to problems, potential clients can identify and relate to these issues in their own businesses. Featuring these case studies on your website will increase engagement and impact your SEO, therefore, drawing more customers to your website.
Check out one of our case studies: https://www.gentechmarketing.com/post/how-we-turned-6k-into-56k-case-study
2. Testimonials and Reviews
Does your business allow customers to leave testimonials and reviews online, and more importantly do you share these? Reviews are one of the greatest examples of social proof. They give a customer's perspective that can influence a potential client to trust a service or a product. Have you ever purchased something because someone else told you about how great it was? Most of us have because we value others’ opinions.
Businesses should be featuring reviews and testimonials through their website or on their social media. Another great way to find reviews is through Google. Google reviews help raise your business profile. If Google notices your business is getting strong reviews they will rank you higher in search engine results. This is beneficial to your business because the more positive reviews your business gets the more relevant you will become on Google search.
3. Showcase Existing Customers
Have you worked with well-known brands? If so, let potential clients know! Share on your website popular brands or businesses you have worked with before. If people see you have worked with big brands, they will automatically assume you do good work. This type of social proof also shows what type of companies you work with. For example, we have worked with Aetna, therefore, if another healthcare company sees that name on our website they will be more likely to trust our expertise. Social proof is all about using a third party to persuade potential customers to give into your company.
In Conclusion,
If you have not already, start integrating social proof into your marketing strategy. By making your post-click landing page more persuasive, you will not only build brand awareness but see an increase in sales. Today, trust is a very important facet of a customer's purchase decision. Social proof can be a powerful tool for your business to tap into a potential client's mind.
To grow your business with GenTech Marketing, Schedule a call with us!