How to use social proof to increase your conversions

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

Kevin Ocasio

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions No matter what product you are promoting, as long as you run a business, you need social proof .

Social proof matters more than you think it does because it helps customers make informed decisions.

According to studies, 70% of customers check product reviews before buying. Not only that, almost 63% of buyers are more likely to trust a site with reviews and ratings.

This means that opinions of people matter more than a brand’s claims or product descriptions.

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During the buying process, the last thing that any customer wants is to regret his purchase. Making a purchasing decision all by himself is a risky, tedious process.

For this reason, customers turn to other people’s opinions. Oftentimes, our perception of something is influenced by the thoughts of others.

Here’s a good example of the use of social proof to promote an ebook:

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

It’s also becoming more difficult to convince people to convert in this skeptical age.

A lot of consumers usually find very salesy marketing messages too good to be true. With social proof, you make this challenging task doable.

Using Social Proof to Your Advantage Now that you understand the potential of social proof to boost your customers’ trust and increase your conversions and sales, what are some strategies to use it?

1. Ratings and reviews If you own an e-commerce business, the best strategy to increase your chances to be chosen by customers without spending on advertising is to feature ratings and reviews.

To make this possible on your website, install the plugin WP Review Pro. You can choose from multiple rating types depending on what you like: Star, percentage, point, and more.

2. User generated photos

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions Don’t just tell, show! If you own a lifestyle or fashion brand, a brilliant way to entice people to buy is to display actual photos of your customers wearing your products.

T o get more user generated photos, you can run a contest where customer photos with the most engagement get to win. Showcase these photos on your site.

Take, for example, Starbucks in 2014. They gained massive publicity by launching a contest in which people were asked to doodle on their Starbucks cups and take pictures of them.

3. Social media proof If you have a huge following or get thousands of shares, you can use this as your selling point.

When it comes to social shares, install Social Warfare plugin to show your total share count on your sharing buttons. This is especially important if you want your blog posts to get a lot of traction.

4. Case studies Case studies are real stories that demonstrate how your product has effectively helped your customers overcome an obstacle.

Since case studies demonstrate success, you’ll be able to grow your credibility as an industry expert. Make sure to dedicate a section of your blog for your case studies. You can also feature them on your home page.

5. Customer or client testimonials How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions Whether in a text, video, or audio format, testimonials are a great form of social proof because they are unbiased and objective.

They become even more powerful if they are from authoritative figures. Make sure to create a dedicated testimonials page or add them next to your email signup form.

Check out the example below:

6. Awards and certifications Has your business been awarded as a top retailer? Did you get certified by the Better Business Bureau? Don’t hesitate to place your awards and certifications in a prominent location.

Awards and certifications are powerful because they demonstrate that you provide a reliable service and are a great company to work with.

7. Places you are featured If you are a blogger or a provider of content marketing services and do a lot of guest posting on top websites, feature the logos of these big names. Doing this boosts your credibility.

Look at how Audience Bloom features huge publications and brands like The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, Inc, and more.

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions

Generating Social Proof If you aren’t taking advantage of this powerful strategy, you should start doing so today.

Generating positive testimonials from your customers to use as social proof is easy if you provide quality products and services.

Keep track of your brand mentions so that you can catch great reviews where they happen and have them featured on your site.

Are you leveraging social proof to ease your customers’ minds and build more trust? If so, how do you use it?

Let me know in the comments below!

How to Use Social Proof to Increase Your Conversions