Social proof is exposing a prospect to a third-party influence to sway them into taking a desirable action.

When a prospective customer is in a shop, they can directly compare products and see for themselves which may be best for them. There’s less outside influence on their decision and less of a need for it too. If they’re trying to decide between a pair of jeans from two different brands, they can literally feel the quality of the fabric with their hands or even try them on to see which looks better.

But when shopping online, or using the internet to pick a business to work with, things are different. And if you’re a business that doesn’t have a high street shopfront, you will need to utilise the concept of social proof to get prospects to turn up, whether that is virtually or physically.

8 Types of Social Proof for Digital Marketing

1. Case Studies

These are real-life examples of how your product or service has provided something beneficial to a customer or client of yours or solved a problem for them. It’s a powerful form of storytelling that will evoke an emotional response from any prospective customers or clients reading it, especially if they relate to the subject of the case study. They should be backed up with data, illustrations, and results

This long-form social proof is extremely effective, as it shows the benefits of doing business with you in a relatable way that is evidence-based.

2. Testimonials

If someone has used your product or service and had a positive experience, ask them for a testimonial – people will relate to that and much more easily commit to a purchase on your site.

Authenticity is key to the success of this kind of social proof, so a video or audio testimonial will work much better than a written testimonial which really, often do look made up.

According to research done by Nielsen, 92% of people will trust a recommendation from a peer, and up to 70% of people will trust a recommendation from someone they don’t even know. That’s why client testimonials and success stories are a great idea.

3. Reviews

An absolute Digimos favorite.

Which are you more likely to try for the first time: cat food with a high number of five-star reviews, or one with a low number of mixed reviews?

Unless you’re truly indifferent to your cat’s digestive system, it’s almost a no-brainer.

Yelp, TripAdvisor, Amazon, Booking.com, UberEats, etc. are popular because the ratings and reviews are a form of social proof that most people are familiar with, and that has a big impact on purchasing decisions.

You’re going to want to link validated reviews to your site, as surveys have found that over 80% of consumers trust online reviews more than personal recommendations.

On average, a customer will check at least two different review sites before making a decision about a business. And one of those is certainly Facebook or Google – often both.

So, don’t put all your hopes and dreams into one site when it comes to reviews – make sure that you hit all the major sites in your industry. You can repurpose reviews by pulling them into your website or squeeze pages, so long as you have mostly positive reviews.

And don’t forget that it’s not just the reviews that matter, but also the response! Make sure that you reply to all reviews, both positive and negative. It’s actually great to have a public negative review, because nobody believes a business can be perfect and seeing how you respond when something goes wrong will either reassure them or send them elsewhere.

Make sure your negative review responses reassure everyone who is looking!

4. Social Media

It’s definitely not a solid plan to rely solely on your number of social media followers, as it doesn’t directly correspond to a measure of success, but it is a form of social proof. Although, having a bunch of followers for the sake of the numbers doesn’t really count all that much, ultimately.

A social media page that showcases what your business has got to offer the world is more important than likes shares and follows. People will check out your profiles without following them, so make sure they have something good to look at when they do so. This isn’t strictly ‘social proof’ in this case but it all counts towards your virtual-social presence.

A great way to utilise social proof on social media is to share user-generated content. That means that you want to encourage users to share the products they’ve purchased and used, reshare that content on your page and tag their profile. And, if they send you thank you messages, reviews, or testimonials, screenshot-and-share on your socials – with their permission.

5. Media Mentions

“As Featured In…” followed by familiar-looking logos.

Websites often include mentions by third-party brands as an implied signal of authority and trust. The logic here is, that if a well-known household name is associated with the brand, then it must be trustworthy to some degree.

Don’t overuse this, or fake it, or begrudge that the U.N, or the BBC or Forbes hasn’t referenced you yet. It’s honestly useful if you have it but doesn’t matter if you haven’t.

Prospective customers are wise enough these days to understand that someone like them who became a customer or client has more info to offer them than Esquire or Time magazine.

6. Awards

Awards and recognition from industry leaders are, essentially, big stamps of approval from third-party entities that act as high-quality social proof. And, any awards you have, you should show. This goes for qualifications too.

But as with media mentions, people would much rather good case studies, honest testimonials and a handful of online reviews.

7. Numbers

Prospects want to know that they are not alone in their choices, ‘herd mentality’ pushes them to join the crowd. And there is wisdom in the crowd, so this isn’t always a bad thing for them! Here’s HubSpot doing just this: https://www.hubspot.com/ – Scroll halfway down

8. Customer Activity

Think about those conveniently timed pop-ups that tell you about 4 other shoppers who have also purchased the same item. Some of them can be super shady, but they can also drive sales when done correctly and with UI/UX in mind – so definitely don’t discount them.

Using your current users’ activity to convince new prospects to take action is one of the greatest social proof strategies – and you can do this by displaying a live feed. One of the best ways to do this is to add a case study or display a live feed or pop-ups of activity happening on your website.

Another example is Amazon, which upsells at the checkout by showing the suggested “Customers Who Purchased This Also Bought” bundles.

Although this doesn’t only relate to online sales, perhaps you want users to sign up for your lead magnet to build your email list. You can show other visitors signing up for it to ease their minds with this pop-up activity while also creating a sense of Fear Of Missing Out on something important.

In my opinion, there is no better social proof than reviews. People trust reviews more than their friends, they can’t be faked as easily as testimonials are faster to look through than case studies and they combine so well with social media.

Check out ‘The 4P’s’ program in the ‘Digimos Inner Circle Exclusive’ members area to see how you can use social proof (especially reviews) to boost your business, and how you can get access to the tools to allow you to do so.