How many times have you walked past a restaurant with a line out the door and thought “really? What’s all the fuss about?”, only later to look them up, search through their Instagram, and finally book a reservation?
Social proof is the theory of adopting opinions based on people you trust of a general consensus within society – and it comes in different forms that don’t involve a line outside your business. Obviously we all know the importance of organic engagement in marketing, but leveraging social proof can help to solidify your brand in ways other traditional forms of marketing cannot. If you’re after a few tips on how to easily implement this tactic, have a read below.
Test out testimonials
Perhaps the most obvious on the list, but testimonials are a great and easy way to incorporate social proof into your marketing strategy. By offering a truly great service or product, you can make it easy for your customers to want to share their experience. The beauty of testimonials also means it’s easier than ever to source them. People are able to leave reviews via Google, social media comments, and on specific websites catered to your industry. On the other side of this, if your service or product has room for improvement, a review will provide you with all the information you need to know.
Exert an experts reputation
It doesn’t matter what industry your business is in, there are also experts willing to lend a hand. Creating a video series, social media live stream, or even a simple endorsement with an expert can go a long way in providing social proof to your customers. Getting an expert stamp of approval shows not only that your business is reputable, but actually among the cream of the crop. To a lesser extent, imploring the help of influencers can help target your key demographics at a smaller scale.Make good use of user-generated content
In our opinion great user-generated content is not implemented into social media strategies anywhere near enough. Besides creating social proof with real imagery or footage of people engaging with your offerings, you also create direct engagement with your customers, and create a backlog of social media content to draw from. The only work you really need to do on your end is put out the call for people to share their stories and tag you.