Social Proof: What It Is and Ways to Use It in Your Marketing

Social proof.

Many marketers use social proof to influence customer behavior. This approach can be used both online and offline. This post will focus on how social proof can be used on social media to make your marketing more effective.

Let’s get started!

What is social proof, and what is the science behind it? Here’s how social proof is being described on Wikipedia:

“Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation.”

The principle of social proof states that people are more likely to copy the behavior of others in order to seem correct or normal. We often defer to the judgement of others when we are unsure of the best course of action. We assume that those with more experience or expertise, such as friends, celebrities, or experts, know better than we do.

This tendency is called the halo effect and was named by psychologist Edward Thorndike. For example:

We think anything that experts use is great because they are probably more knowledgeable than us in their area of specialization.
We buy products endorsed by celebrities because we want to look like them.
We trust user reviews because they have experienced the product or service, unlike ourselves.

In general, there are six types of social proof¹.

Expert: Expert social proof is when an expert in your industry recommends your products or services or is associated with your brand. Examples: a Twitter shoutout by an expert or having an expert on your Twitter chat.
Celebrity: Celebrity social proof is when a celebrity endorses your products. Examples: an Instagram post or tweet about your product by a celebrity or influencer.
User: User social proof is when your current users recommend your products and services based on their experiences with your brand. Examples: praises on social media or positive ratings on review sites.
The wisdom of the crowd: This type of social proof is when a large group of people is seen to be endorsing your brand. Examples: having thousands of customers or millions of followers on your social media profiles.
The wisdom of your friends: This type of social proof is when people see their friends approve your product. Examples: seeing their friends use your product or follow you on social media.
Certification: This type of social proof is when you are given a stamp of approval by an authoritative figure in your industry. Examples: the blue checkmark on Twitter or Facebook.

Here’s how you can use social proof in your marketing strategy to improve your results.

It can be beneficial to have industry experts take over your social media profiles because their followers likely have a positive association with them, known as the halo effect.

For example, when an expert in a certain field posts on your Instagram account, people who know her may view your brand more favorably as her presence creates a positive influence.

Win-win collaborations between businesses and industry experts are beneficial because they provide exposure to new audiences.

You could also invite experts to be guests at your social media events, including Twitter chats and Facebook Live video discussions. Collaborating with experts can help improve your social media presence and give your audience a chance to learn from them.

3. Show appreciation for mentions

You may occasionally receive a complimentary mention from the press, a large brand, or an influencer in your field. This is a great form of expert social proof.

Acknowledge and express gratitude for your user or follower milestones as another way to create social proof. When you reach a milestone, it’s a great opportunity to celebrate and to express gratitude to the people who have helped you achieve it.

Here are some of the milestones you can celebrate with your audience:

Reaching X users
Reaching X customers
Reaching X downloads of your app
Reaching X followers on your social media profile
Anniversaries

5. Experiment with (micro) influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a cheaper way to get social proof from celebrities.

This is usually more prevalent on Instagram. Rather than sponsoring celebrities to endorse their products, brands would instead sponsor micro-influencers. Micro-influencers are people who have a strong social media influence, but are not celebrities, in a particular niche area.

These people are thought of as celebrities because of how influential they are on social media. Others will see the celebrities with a particular product and transfer the positive attributes they see to the product.

6. Explore having brand ambassadors

The type of social proof you get from social media ambassadors depends on who you choose. You can get expert, celebrity, and user social proof from different ambassadors. These three types of social proof can be extremely effective in convincing others to take a desired action.

An ambassador would typically display their ambassador badge prominently on their social media profile and include any relevant branded hashtag in their posts.

7. Curate user-generated content

We love using user-generated content as our primary Instagram strategy because it helped us grow our following by nearly 5 times in just six months! Not to mention, our engagement rates increased along with our following. A great strategy for generating user social proof is to use reviews and testimonials from real users.

You could either encourage your users to use a branded hashtag or re-post users’ social media posts.

Social media manager! Getting mentioned by your customers on social media can be one of the best parts of the job!

A great way to create social proof for your product is to share positive customer feedback on your social media profile. This will show others that your users are satisfied with your product.

9. Use shout-outs in your content

A great way to build social proof with your users is to highlight them in your content.

10. Written Reviews: Social Proof by Customers

Customer reviews are one of the most common examples of social proof in e-commerce. social proof is when people copy the behavior of others in order to conform to what is considered acceptable. In other words, if everyone is doing it, it must be the right thing to do.

Customer reviews are loved and praised by marketers because they are very effective.

Consumers do, too. Not only do marketers care deeply about reviews, but consumers do as well. Almost all consumers trust reviews from other people as much as they trust recommendations from people they know.

Display customer reviews on your landing pages, product pages, or in email marketing to strengthen your brand, convert visitors into buyers, or promote popular products.

There are two different ways you can use written reviews as social proof.

i. On-Site Customer Reviews

A written review is a simple way to show social proof. They are easy to collect and display.

The most effective way to showcase customer reviews is by featuring them prominently on your website.

Testimonials from customers can help make your online store more credible. Introducing website visitors to your current customers helps them to feel a connection to your company.

ii. Off-Site Customer Reviews

Although many online stores post reviews on their own websites, something else goes unnoticed: reviews that are not on the website. There are many websites where you can read reviews about businesses, including Trustpilot and Google Customer Reviews.

Because you do not own the platforms where customers leave reviews, it is easy to ignore them. But they’re as important as your on-site testimonials.

If you’re not taking advantage of them, you’re missing out on a lot of free compliments.

11. User-Generated Content: Social Proof by Real People

It would be great to find hundreds of positive online reviews about a new restaurant in town.

The next day, you see that the place is packed with people. Everybody’s eating happily inside.

The first experience gives a more favorable opinion about the restaurant. What will convince you to give the place a chance?

If you can get people to use and display your products visibly, that is more effective than written reviews.

Creating social proof around your brand using user-generated content is an effective way to engage your customers. Here are three ways to maximize its potential.

i. Encourage the Unboxing Experience

Unboxing videos are popular among online shoppers and with good reason.

A search for “unboxing” on YouTube will bring up millions of results. Some YouTube channels dedicated to unboxing videos have over 13 million subscribers.

Crazy, isn’t it?

When you see someone else enjoying a product, it makes you want the product more.

It creates an advertisement that resonates with customers and highlights their satisfaction with the product.

And the best part is, real people instead of the brand create this type of content.

ii. Show Products in Action

Another way to create social proof is by showing products in action with real-life images.

By adding customers’ product images and videos to your online store, you can:

Create social proof;
Make the products easier to visualize; and
Put a human face to your brand.

iii. Curate Social Media Content

consumer behavior has changed drastically in recent years It’s important to monitor what people are saying about your brand on social media, as consumer behavior has changed drastically in recent years. If you frequently receive compliments, it’s likely that people mention you often.

How are you utilizing social media content from your customers?

If you’re not using reviews from social media on your website, you’re missing out on an opportunity to show that other people like your product or service.

12. Real-Time Activity: Social Proof by Fellow Visitors

Trending, best-selling, most popular products…

Many e-commerce sites have a category or filter for their best-selling products. Many of us believe that what most people are doing is the right thing to do. Many people must think the product is good if they are buying it.

Social proof is a strong trigger by itself. According to the text, using urgency and scarcity as psychological triggers can make the effect stronger.

You need to be careful not to trigger visitors’ Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) by being intrusive.

13. Ask Us Anything: Social Proof by Experts

The reason we trust toothpaste brands recommended by dentists is because they have been approved by experts in the field.

experts because we believe that they are more knowledgeable about the subject than we are. We think the recommendations point to the right behavior.

If you want to make your brand stronger, get approval from experts in your industry. It is better to position yourself as an industry expert.

What are some ways you can help people believe that you have expertise in your field?

Share your expertise with them.

Helping customers with their problems and complaints is one thing, and being useful to visitors by providing them with valuable information is another.

Action Items:

Add “Help,” “Contact,” or “Ask” buttons to your product pages.
Optimize your copy to position yourself as an authority: Use strong words such as pro, expert, specialist, or professional for added social proof.
Create a Connect with Visitors campaign to help potential customers and display it on relevant pages.

14. Questions & Answers: Social Proof by Community

It is important to address the questions and doubts your potential customers have in mind.

Who else is better equipped to answer those questions than you are?

Your existing customers.

Your customers’ insights are valuable to others after they have bought and used the product.

Adding a “Questions and Answers” section to your product pages can create a community around your brand by allowing customers to ask questions and get answers from you or other customers. And a brand community acts as strong social proof. It can turn visitors into customers, and customers into brand ambassadors.

Conclusion

Marketers know that social proof works well to increase product sales.

Uses of marketing ploys that work for online stores may not work as well for other businesses. The following are social proof best practices that are especially useful for e-commerce businesses.

Customer testimonials are one way to create social proof for your online store, but there are other strategies you can use as well.

6 Types of Social Proof

Easy Ways to Use Social Proof in Your Marketing

1. Invite experts to take over your social media

2. Collaborate with experts for a social media event