Using Social Proof to Help Generate More Sales
There’s something elemental in the influence that others have over the sales process. People want to know that they’re not alone in liking or purchasing a product or service, and will crave the opinion of complete strangers in order to help give them enough courage to pull out their credit card.
How to work social proof into our marketing is the place where it can get challenging, as we need to create the atmosphere of trust without appearing to be overly hypey. To help with this task we’ve identified 5 great ways to get social proof to work for you in creating more sales and revenue.
5 Social proof tactics to use in your marketing
Blog comments – Nothing speaks more to the integrity and value of a product or service like an owner willing to stand behind it honestly and promptly. Answering blog comments, questions and yes complaints will move you to the status of stand-up person when people view this publicly.
User Reviews and Testimonials – Getting your satisfied customers to review your products, and even better, leave a testimonial is a terrific way to provide undeniable social roof that helps drive sales. It also will help you rank in Google local search.
Using numbers wisely – This one is a great way to scale an already successful product or service even further. Using impressive sales numbers, (Truth demanded here!) is an simple and easy way to move someone off the fence, if they can see that many others have gone ahead of them.
Use social sharing buttons – The best thing about social media is the reach and influence you can get far beyond your own sphere of influence, however, this can only happen if you make it available. Add social sharing buttons, and encourage sharing!
Badges – Displaying the icons of well-known companies you do business with, along with site trust badges, Like BBB, site security and others can give your site an aura of trust with very little effort on your part. Just make sure you honestly have the accreditation you’re displaying, or you may find yourself doing some emergency reputation management!