But then again, we must find our way around the strategies within which this scepticism can be turned to favor. Best social media strategy stands on social proof as its core aspects. It aims at a psychological perspective, which is associated with the high level of satisfaction rather than resources. People… and therefore markets are influenced by the ability someone or something possesses to affect another. Reviews and influence from like-minded and trusted audiences are the two examples of social proof. So market itself insists upon the usage of its tools sooner or later. It will contribute positively towards achieving marketing objectives. Our focus in this article will be on how social proof can be incorporated into your digital marketing plan so as to achieve increased results.
The Concept of Social Proof Explained
Social proof is described as a phenomenon that people tend to behave the same way as other people of when they are doubting about making a certain decision. Picture this: Would you decide to purchase a product that has hundreds of five-star ratings, or would you purchase one that has no review at all? Exactly that. There are many types of social proof that prove that your brand and services are loved and trusted by other people.
Understanding the Importance of Social Proof in Digital Marketing
Newer generations tend to find the various opinions of people who use most products more believable than the adverts. More than 90% of the audience states that they read reviews before making a purchase and that explains why companies that turn to social proof convert more. Such elements have the power of social proof within them: โ i.e. there are many reasons to add this element into the digital marketing strategy: Build trust with new customers Increase conversion rates Enhance brand reputation Lead more people to your site Googleโs marketing campaign is now turned to social proof of non- Google brands. All the OOHโsoon to be on Googleโs sites as well. Proving ones brand presence and most effective ways of doing so remain one of the biggest dentons today. Finally, there will be cases presented in the upcoming discussion. Thus marketing communication as the case in point is reframed to navigate the changing context. In this respect intensive new efforts are needed. So, regarding the components of social proof lets address the elements and their implementation into marketing strategy.
1. Customer Reviews and Testimonials
The concept of telling someone about something good to induce a purchase has also made a comeback in the sphere of the internet in the form of customer reviews. In the past, a potential buyer would have relied upon other peopleโs views on the product or service in question, but nowadays, online reviews and testimonials have come into place to help the potential buyer get a better perception of the purchase. Once again, positive feedback serves as a very effective advertising medium, as well.
How to Use:
On Your Website: Add customer reviews to your service or product pages or introduce a separate section titled โTestimonialsโ.
Google My Business: Generate customers reviews and focus on Google reviews also, it will enhance the credibility as well improve your business within the targeted area as well.
Social Media: Post customer reviews, positive or negative, with visuals that grab attention and are memorable even whilst being presented in text form.
Tip: Provide both abstract and in-depth reviews so as to appeal to various types of users.
2. User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content refers to any and all content, be it imagery, video or textual commentary, created by consumers rather than the members of a brand. This provides an added assurance since buyers witness people like them using the service or product.
How to Use:
Social Media: Ask consumers to post pictures of your product with a corresponding hashtag and encourage rebranding of the user-generated content on the brandsโ social media accounts.
On Your Website: Include readersโ experiences with your products in the form of UGC in a section of the website or as in customer experience-focused blog posts.
Tip: Host an event or a giveaway that requires the participants to contribute and include brand related content. As they share more, they will get to see more of your brand in its action.
3. Marketing through Influencers
Out of the available techniques to enhance social credibility, the most effective one is probably the use of influencer marketing. Gender, age and social class, audience segmentation covered by an influencer can always be relied upon. That is, with respect to the income earned by the new audience by virtue of facing the product advertised, it can be easily attained by its advocacy from an existing one who has already addressee the product.
How to Use:
Collaborations: You can work alongside influencers that possess a similar brand identity as you in order to tell guests about your products or services. This may be done using product reviews, contests, or advertisements in social media.
Influencer Takeovers: For one day, allow a famous personality to take over your social media accounts to relate to their fans and promote your business.
And donโt For Tips: What if you are on a budget? May be you can hire for the lesser micro-influencers which are the audiences with 5 thousand to 50 thousand followers โ they always seem more devoted and diehard than the bigger ones.
4. Case Studies and Success Stories
Videos are a type of social evidence especially useful in businesses which do service or high ticket product sales. How a past customer of yours used your product or service and succeeded is what they show.
How to Use:
On Your Website: Under “Case Studies,” you should dedicate a particular part of the page for the description of the problems experienced by the customers and the solutions offered for them.
In Blog Posts: Clientsโ stories with an angle on the returns in investment, this is numbers making these stories controversial.
Tip: In order to substantiate the proof of your success in case studies, always include figures, data and statistics around it in a case study.
5. Engaging with Customers through Social Media
Trust has inched closer to the brands that are loved by the masses and having an active community on social media would rank among them. When they see other people engaged with anything that has your content – like it, share, comment, or even the simplest things like waiting for them to do so, it adds extra trust to your side.
How to Use:
Encourage Engagement: Invite, make some polls or even go through some activities that encourage the followers to respond or give out those opinions.
Highlight Engagement: Post the ones that have a lot of engagement or have information about a particular product with impressive comments on it from users.
Another aspect is the Trust Badges and Certifications
Similar to displaying certain badges and weapons for trust reasons, one can also display trust fabric badges, trust industry certifications or even some awards to validate why people must trust and believe in the brand. Badges like these indicate to the prospective clients that there are some standards that the business practices.
How to Use:
On Your Website: Place such certification (e.g., SSL, payment security) or award logos on your website home page and checkout page.
In Email Marketing: Use and include some details regarding any awards their companies have ever received or some professional certificates for the sake of their email campaigns to enhance the credibility level.
Tip: To establish and reestablish the aspect of safety and trust among your customers, always incorporate very recognizable and relevant visual images as badges or logos.
7. Customer Statistics and Milestones
Presenting milestones such as the total number of customers served or total products sold can instill confidence in the prospective customer that other people have trusted them. Such statistics indicate general approvals and notoriety alike.
How to Apply:
On Your Website: Put a section such as, โOver 10,000 customers served all over the globeโ or โOver 500,000 products sold across the globe.โ
In Email Campaigns: Use customer milestones to gain attention for email campaigns. For example,โ Be among the 20,000 customers satisfied today.โ
Tip: Use customersโ milestone statistics together with their testimonials to have an even better result.
Conclusion
Social proof as a psychological trigger is very useful not to say that it can enhance your digital marketing campaign quickly. People like to see that other customers have used the products or services that you are promoting to them, and assists in making the change from a prospective lead to a customer even easier.
Want to give social proof a try? From influencer marketing to user-generated content systems, The Digital Mind can assist you in embedding social proof in all segments of your digital marketing campaigns. Contact us right now to get more details!
