Winning Consumer Trust with Social Proof
James Pruden
Managing Director at Xigen, Business Investor, Digital Expert & Entrepreneur.
With more people than ever shopping online due to the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, it's never been more important for eCommerce brands and businesses to offer consumers transparent, authentic and engaging shopping experiences.
There are many ways to achieve this goal, from offering super-low friction UX in your online store, giving customers outstanding end-to-end CX, and by offering great products and value for money. But all this will be for nothing if consumers don't trust your online store, your products or your customer service. That's where social proof comes in.
In this article we'll look at what exactly social proof is, different approaches, and how social proof can increase engagement and conversion rates, as well as exploring some social proof software tools available to help implement and manage social proof content.???
What Is Social Proof?
In eCommerce, social proof is the influence exerted on consumer behaviour by those customers who have had positive experiences with a product or with customer service.
Social proof is a type of informational influence that happens in situations where consumers have buying intent but are hesitant or uncertain about a product or service and look to others for information or cues.
Research suggests that receiving information about how others behave leads to a greater likelihood of compliance among large groups, people of a particular group, such as a peer group, or with other individuals who have influence because of their experience, group or cultural status, or specialist knowledge.?
Another powerful way in which social proof operates is by leveraging the fear of missing out (FOMO). This is the idea that because a lot of people choose to buy a particular product then it must be a really great product, and not buying it will for some people run an unacceptable risk of 'missing out'.
Why Use Social Proof?
Consumers are bombarded with adverts every day, and as a result have become somewhat desensitised to them or sometimes find them intrusive, ignoring them and using ad blockers. That's why social proof should be a vital component of your marketing strategy, to help instil consumer trust and win customers over your competitors.
Using social proof effectively can positively impact your bottom line. A Trustpilot survey revealed that:
Social proof uses psychology to get your target audience to act by showing them that other people are taking those actions. It’s a powerful marketing technique that can improve conversion rates and lift sales.
Let's look at some common types of on-site eCommerce social proof and some real-world examples.
On-Site Product Reviews
On-site product reviews enable consumers to get a good idea of the quality and general appeal of your products. The higher the star rating and the higher the number of customers who have reviewed a product, the greater the social proof.
This can be effective at a glance on a product page, or customers have the option to find out more about other customers' experiences with a product by reading full reviews. The obvious example of on-site product reviews is Amazon. But there are many other eCommerce businesses that use this simple, potentially powerful form of social proof.?
Each customer that leaves a product review acts as a micro influencer; the more micro influencers positively reviewing your products the more powerful social proof becomes.
Third Party Customer Service Reviews
Perhaps the most straightforward way to leverage social proof is to display positive customer reviews. Turning reviews into social proof can send a powerful message to hesitant consumers that your products and your business are authentic and trustworthy.
Two of the most popular review platforms are Trustpilot and Google Reviews. Both platforms offer consumers insights into how satisfied your customers have been with their experiences, with your brand and your business in the form of star ratings and textual reviews. ??
Promoting this valuable customer feedback at the appropriate time in shopping journeys will help reassure consumers that your products and online store are trustworthy in terms of customer service, product quality and general transparency.
Using relevant Trustpilot and Google Reviews in your store, on your landing pages, product pages and in-cart can nudge customers along the path to purchase.
But remember, don't overdo it. Be careful not to clutter pages with reviews and star ratings as this could increase cognitive load, causing customers to become distracted from their shopping journey. Sometimes a discrete option works best. For example, see how Jackson's Art Supplies do it:
Testimonials
Testimonials can be a powerful form of social proof. Unlike reviews, testimonials are more in-depth and often tell a story about not only why a product is great, but also goes into more detail about how it works, the problem that it solves and its benefit for consumers, focusing on a specific situation or customer experience.
Using testimonials in your online store gives potential customers a more engaging way to understand your products or services, as either written or video content. Given the greater length and detail of testimonials it makes sense to have a dedicated section for them in your store to share on social media.
Testimonial social proof is particularly suited to B2B customers. Below is an example of Zendesk's testimonial page where customer stories are shared to promote products and services.?
Although testimonial pages are ideal for customers to browse, picking particularly relevant testimonials for product pages can help to increase sales.
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Testimonials can increase conversions on sales pages by 34%.?
Social Media
Social proof taken from social media activity and used on your landing and product pages can have a powerful effect on potential customers. Positive comments, tweets, FB and Instagram posts from customers who have had outstanding shopping experiences with your brand and business can have a significant emotional impact.?
Monitor your social channels and gather positive customer comments about your products, and their experiences shopping with you.
Remember, social media is a conversation, so it's important to engage with customers who have taken the time to praise your products or your customer service. Nurturing customer relationships on social media will help improve loyalty. But be sure to engage your audience in a genuine and conversational way—social media is not the place for sales spiel.?
Client List
For B2B an effective form of social proof is showing potential customers a selection of clients that you currently work with or have done business with in the past. Showing client logos on your homepage can help to reassure potential B2B customers that you have plenty of satisfied clients who are very happy with your products or services and are delighted to be associated with your business.
This can be particularly powerful if you have worked with recognisable or high equity brands.
Social Proof Software Tools
Here are some examples of tools that can make managing eCommerce social proof easier, to ensure that customers get the right messages at the right time in their shopping journey and that you can measure how well your social proof content is performing.?
ProveSource
ProveSource includes different ways to manage social proof: create notifications, page visits, sales, track and monitor activity. And there's ProveSource Stream, which measures conversions.
ProveSource also enables you to install native Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento apps, and install via the popular content delivery network, Cloudflare.
Key features:
Proven
Proven is an easy-to-use social proof plugin for WordPress. It’s simple to set up and customise for look. It works with popular eCommerce and mailing plugins and is relatively inexpensive to get started.?Easily set the source of your customer activity; determine who sees the notifications; and create a style that matches the look of your online store.
?Key features:
NotificationX
NotificationX social proof tool is also a WordPress plugin that enables you to show real-time engagement notifications. It has a simple interface and is easy to use.
NotificationX has six different notification types including sales alerts, blog comments, WordPress reviews, WordPress download counts, email subscriptions, and can be used as a notification bar.
Key features:
Final Thought
Different types of social proof can illicit different emotional responses from consumers, so it's vital to ensure that your social proof content is strategically deployed to increase trust and to help nudge potential customers along the conversion funnel.???
It's important to choose social proof content that comes over as genuine, that doesn't clutter pages and isn't too salesy, to project an authentic, trustworthy voice.
Are you using social proof effectively in your eCommerce? If you would like to know more about how social proof can improve conversion rates, or how to implement social proof tools, get in touch today for a chat with one of our expert team.