Social proof is one of the best ways to increase your conversions, generate more interested leads, and overall gives your website a more dependable and professional appearance. In case you’re new to the concept, social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people tend to make buying decisions based on the opinions of other customers.
There are several ways to enhance your social proof with social media and consumer engagement. However, we would like to take a closer look at how you can improve the way potential customers see your brand once they land on your site.
Enable Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are one of the best ways to build your social proof on-site. Sixty-three percent of consumers said that reviews are the number one factor when purchasing a new product. When a potential lead lands on your page and sees that other customers have bought and enjoyed your products, they are more likely to make a purchase.
There’s no better proof of this concept in action than on Amazon. Let’s look at a sample from a leg brace product.
This image captures many different ways you can entice your audience to make a purchase by showing them testimonials and reviews. First, you’ll notice on the left side of the page there is a review breakdown. It’s safe to say that anyone who was on the fence would quickly decide to purchase if they noticed that out of over 4,200 reviews, 90 percent of the customers gave the product a four or five-star review.
You’ll also notice that there are images posted from the customers showing that they use and enjoy the product. The great thing about unsolicited reviews is it helps steer your marketing in a clear direction, and of course, helps you build your social proof on-site.
Every review system is going to work differently, depending on the different parts of your website. Most importantly, you should always allow the people who purchase products on your site the opportunity to leave their feedback for potentially interested customers.
Add Social Share Count Icons
If you’re interested in getting more social proof on your blog, then social share buttons are the way to go. Many social media WordPress plugins give users the options to add a social share counter to their posts so new viewers can see the popularity of the piece they’re reading.
Here’s an example from a popular business publication.
As you can see here, there’s the number of shares, followed by different ways to share the article on social media or via a link. As the number of people who share the post goes up, so does the share count. As a result, when someone lands on your page and sees that multiple people have shared, liked, or otherwise engaged with your content, they are more likely to do the same thing.
The thought process behind this is simple: “Everyone else is loving this piece of content, so I should too!”
Include Popular Posts
Another way to build up your credibility as a publication is by featuring your top posts on your blog homepage, or any piece of content featured in your blog. The topics in your popular post tab are generally going feature content that encourages engagement among your audience.
A popular posts tab should look something like this:
You can use this method to show your audience the high-traffic content currently featured on your page. The process behind this tactic is similar to that of the social share counter. Readers see that there is popular content being consumed by others, and they want to take part in the discussion or learn about the topic discussed in the post.
Conclusion
There are plenty of great ways to improve your social proof on and off-site. As your business grows and your following expands, you’ll find that it’s much easier to entice a new potential reader/lead that your content is worthwhile.
Social proof is often compared to a snowball. It may start small, but it can grow massive in a short amount of time. If you want to generate more leads and win the attention and admiration of your audience, building your social proof on-site is the best place to start.