How important is social proof in digital marketing?
Many companies use social proof in digital marketing , especially as a powerful conversion tool. Good product descriptions, effective CTAs , and a great content strategy: these are all a good start. But it’s social proof that drives potential customers to make a purchase.
But beyond increasing revenue, there are other ways social proof can help your business – including:
- Create a community of long-term brand advocates
- Reduce your marketing overhead
- Accelerate sales
- Show your experience and authority to the market
Remember: Google encourages the use of social proof in digital marketing. Because the platform’s crawlers and bots constantly analyze web pages for claims of credibility and authority.
Thus, recommendations, reviews and social proof aggregators, such as links to consumer websites, can increase rankings. Especially for local businesses.
This helps explain why local businesses optimize their Google Business profiles by adding rankings.
Because the more and better rankings a business has, the greater the chances of generating more clicks from search engine results pages (SERPs).
10 ways to use social proof in digital marketing
The benefits of social proof go beyond brand recognition, trust and increased revenue.
So let’s explore how you can harness the power of social proof to attract more sales, awareness and market growth.
1) Partner with influencers and experts
B2B and SaaS companies can explore digital marketing content resources such as:
- Case studies
- Product recommendations
- Depositions
But beyond these options, SaaS, B2B, and B2C companies can also leverage the power of niche influencers and industry experts.
For these experts/influencers have built a steady following on social media. Furthermore, these people have the credibility of experts in their field, thus gaining the trust of their followers – potential leads for your company.
But remember: you need to partner with the right people. So the influencers you choose must align with your brand values and be excited about your product/brand.
Only in this way will you guarantee effective social proof performance in your business’s digital marketing.
2) Add testimonials on sales pages and social media
Happy customers are the best type of marketing for any business.
Not only people are able to write reviews and leave ratings. But they can also share photos or videos of their best moments.
3) Share results obtained by current customers as social proof in digital marketing
Knowing the opinion of current customers about your products and services is essential. Because they help guide your campaigns and even new launches.
Netflix is a great example of a brand leveraging the customer feedback loop to adapt its content.
The company carried out a poll on Twitter and the majority of viewers voted overwhelmingly for a second season of the series Stranger Things – one of its great successes.
4) Use case studies as social proof in digital marketing
This is a powerful tool for demonstrating what potential customers can expect from your product or service.
Why are case studies important as social proof in digital marketing?
Because they support the brand’s claims by providing real data. Additionally, they also demonstrate how someone has successfully used your product. Ultimately, they build credibility and trust.
5) Explore media mentions
Don’t underestimate the power of a media mention in building social proof. Because media mentions, whether print or audiovisual, can influence the masses or even a niche audience for your brand.
In addition to the authority of the media, psychologically, there is power in being mentioned positively by different independent outlets. This reinforces your credibility and exposes your brand to different audiences.
6) Leverage user-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content (UGC) is one of the most powerful ways to generate social proof in digital marketing. Especially on social media.
By encouraging your audience to submit brand-related content, you can build trust and authenticity. As well as harnessing the power of connections outside your network.
GoPro is a prime example of a brand leveraging user-generated content to promote new products, promotions, and prizes. Because his Instagram profile is almost entirely made up of a series of impressive content produced by users of GoPro products.
7) Encourage customers to write reviews
Customer reviews are important social proof within a digital marketing strategy.
Not only for brand endorsement, but they are the kind of proof of “trust” that search engines like Google want.
Because Google prominently displays positive reviews at the top level of its SERPs, especially for local businesses.
So if you have a new product but few or no reviews available, try convincing customers to write a testimonial through incentives. Like a discount coupon for your next purchase, for example.
8) Invest in Questions & Answers to have social proof in digital marketing
Adding a “Q&A” section to your product pages is an effective strategy. Because it creates a community around your brand.
Thus, this brand community acts as a strong source of social proof in digital marketing. In addition to helping to transform visitors into customers and customers into evangelists for your brand.
9) Get good backlinks for your website
If your content is organically attracting backlinks from other reputable sites and moving up SERPs as a result, your authority is improved. Along with the trust of potential customers.
As they see others using their content to reinforce their own, your brand becomes the “expert” in their eyes. And we know that trust is a significant factor in purchasing behavior.
10) Respond to all positive mentions and comments
The spontaneous mention of your company’s name on social media is very powerful. Because organizations spend huge amounts of money on building citations.
So when you receive organic mentions from your customers or even partners, this is the time to take advantage of this social proof in digital marketing to:
- Strengthen communication between your brand and your audience
- Increase your digital presence by publicly displaying your response
Remember: these mentions are the right kind of social proof that help build a brand.
Take advantage of social proof in your strategy!
Social proof is not just an abstract psychological concept. When leveraged correctly, it can take your brand to the next level:
- Increasing conversion rates and sales
- Ensuring greater customer loyalty
- Establishing brand trust and credibility
- Generating more strategic results in search engines
- Optimizing your marketing investments
Most importantly: your social proof strategy should be centered around familiarizing yourself with your target audience.
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