Endorsements that explain how a business, product, service, or person is great and communicates the positive experience of a satisfied customer are the core of social proof.
Any positive comments about a business and its solutions are considered social proof.
Although this is an old marketing concept, the popularity of social media platforms, the importance of social proof, and the effect that it has on conversion rates have made it an essential marketing strategy for companies.
These days, showing potential buyers other customers’ positive opinions of a company helps convert more people to that company. This is why social proof and third-party validation help in making businesses more trustworthy and in their promotional endeavors overall.
In fact, about 90% of customers these days tend to check online reviews before they decide to make a purchase. Moreover, about 50% of all customers tend to consider a positive customer review one of the main influences toward their buying decisions.
Ratings and Reviews
One of the ways that companies can leverage social proof is by showing potential customers ratings and reviews. Those ratings and reviews which come from third-party platforms such as Trustpilot, provide an added benefit, because these days, customers tend to trust transparent review platforms.
That’s because plenty of companies in the past have been found guilty of manipulating their own customer reviews to improve their reputation.
However, with a third-party platform, anyone can write a review which the company can’t remove or hide. Businesses that are considering using a review platform should go for an open third-party platform that shows authentic reviews from customers.
Those reviews can be displayed online across a variety of channels such as the business’ website, paid ads, and social platforms. This way, the company can increase customer confidence throughout their buying journey.
User-Generated Content
Any form of content such as blog posts, photos, reviews, discussions, or videos that are created by customers and are publicly available to others is considered user-generated content (UGC).
According to research, many customers tend to find user-generated content more trustworthy compared to traditional marketing efforts from companies.
This is why word of mouth marketing has become one of the best marketing tools for companies, which means the biggest thing companies should be investing in is customer advocacy.
UGC is also a great way to engage with new visitors, showcase social proof across marketing channels, and improve brand loyalty with customers.
Influencer Campaigns
These days, it takes a lot more than self-promotion for a company to succeed, and one of the leading ways that companies can gain the trust of customers is through third-party validation.
One of the best ways to achieve this is by working with influencers who do brand endorsements. Although this might seem like a difficult task, it greatly helps businesses in building brand awareness and increasing the bottom line.
There are plenty of influencers available these days, with each one having their own expertise and niche.
This means practically any business can find the right influencer and reach out to them.
The third-party approval can then come from unpaid or paid endorsements which will increase conversions either way.
