What is Social Proof?
Social proof is a psychology that helps others to make decisions. This approach requires brands to share authentic user-generated content on their marketing channels, at events, and in-store screens. By doing so, brands help customers believe in the product, influence them, and make an informed purchase decision.
Social proof can be in the form of customer reviews and feedback and their user’s visuals using the products. These can help the customers to make the purchase, stay on the website for longer, and ultimately become loyal customers.
But social proofs are more than that; they can help you showcase that your brand is experienced and has been in business for a long time. As a brand, you can use a tool or software that helps you flaunt only the worthy and captivating content on digital touchpoints.
How can social proof help you?
Social proof serves the brand for multiple purposes, some of which are mentioned below; go ahead and find the answer to your question, “What is the use of social proof?”
- Fasten the decision-making process
Help potential customers make decisions more efficiently and confidently, particularly when they lack information or are unsure about their choices.
- Validates the customer’s choice
Social proof can validate and reassure the buyer by signaling that others have purchased or engaged with a product and service of your brand.
- Works as an attractive tool
Brands and marketers often use social proof as a luring technique to influence consumer behavior to gain more followers and build trust and connections.
- Build brand image and trust
Brands can build a positive reputation by showcasing social proof. You can use this as a powerful tool for building trust, encouraging cooperation, and influencing behavior in both online and offline settings.
Testimonials, reviews, and ratings from satisfied customers or experts can help convince potential customers to purchase or take positive action.
Hence, incorporating social proof in your marketing strategy is one great way to achieve your goals.
How do you get Social Proof for your brand?
Multiple methods exist to gather social proof and put it to use effectively. You can send them Q&A forms and ask them to share their reviews and opinions on social media platforms.
Read the multiple forms of extracting social proof.
1. Ask for reviews
This can be collected by simply asking your existing customers to scan the QR code given on digital screens at events or in-stores. Positive feedback from satisfied buyers can be a strong form of social proof.
2. User-generated content goes a long way
Another strong and trusted social proof that can increase your sales. This is the visual content created and shared by your current buyers with your product or services they recently purchased on their social media channels.
3. Partner up with influential beings
As a brand, you can partner up with influential people on social media channels that have significant power over the buying decisions of your customers. This form of social proof can also help you expand your reach as they share their positive word about your brand with their followers.
4. “Approved by industry experts” stamp
Create and share in-depth case studies of industry experts or past collaborations with other brands that showcase examples of how your product or service has helped other businesses or individuals achieve their goals.
5. Social Media Engagement
One great social proof that any social media or website visitor looks for is the brand’s interaction with its followers. Interact and highlight the number of likes and comments on your social media profiles.
6. Statistics and Data
Using social wall tools, you can get detailed analytics and use and share data and statistics demonstrating the impact and success of your product or service in the market. For example, you can show the number of products sold or customer satisfaction. This will help your potential buyers to trust your brand.
What is the Social Proof Principle?
The idea of social proof focuses on the powerful influence of other people's actions on human behavior. If you're looking to effectively change your potential customer’s purchase decisions, using social proof can be a very effective strategy.
When a group collectively shares a genuine review or visual of your products and services, it can act as a magnetic pull and persuasive force in shaping that other’s perspective or choices.
As mentioned above, social proof is a great way to help you achieve many of your brand goals, all that while bringing you close to your loyal customer base.
Is Social Proof Good or Bad?
Social proof is content that can help you bring more customers to your brand. This approach is authentic and can help you step up your sales. As a brand, you must remember that not every piece of content is appropriate enough to be shared on your social media post or at digital event signages.
The content submitted to you should go through the moderation process using a tool or manually, as it will screen out any profane, invaluable, and unrelated content from your display feed and give you the presentable social media feed that can be shown.
You can showcase this well-curated content on your web pages, at events, or in-store screens to increase brand awareness, boost sales, and keep others informed. Not only that but this way, you can also keep your site and gatherings fresh with the interactive content display.
What are Examples of Social Proofs?
In the last section, let’s go through some social proof examples to gain a solid understanding of the topic.
1. IMDb
IMDb is the go-to destination for movie lovers around the world. With its comprehensive review present under every movie, visitors rely on and trust the thoughts and opinions of fellow movie watchers to explore the films they're interested in and lured by.
But the credit for IDMb’s success goes directly to its use of social proof; it has secured the position as the premier online movie review destination, boasting millions of viewers.
2. Amazon
Amazon's review sections offer an excellent example of how customer reviews and testimonials under every product can be effectively implemented as forms of social proof.
By providing a detailed breakdown of ratings, visitors can witness the overall satisfaction of current purchasers.
Additionally, customers can also participate and contribute their detailed reviews, including specific comments and photos of their purchased products, to help others in their decision-making process.
Now you know all there is to know about social proof and the benefits you can unlock for yourself on your way to success