Drive more leads and sales with social proof

Advertising and websites are great for getting your name and products in front of prospective customers, but converting that exposure into leads and sales requires prospects to believe that what you say about yourself is true.

The best way to build that trust is through a concept known as “social proof,” which is a fancy way of saying, “You don’t have to take our word for it, listen to what other people are saying.”

Social proof has taken on new importance as more and more of today’s consumers are turning to social media and review sites before deciding whether to buy a product. Plus, they tend to trust these sources more than a company’s website, salespeople or advertising. Nearly 95 percent of today’s shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase, and 72 percent don’t take action until they have read reviews.

Although you can’t always control what’s being said about your company and products, you can get out in front of the conversation by providing your own social proof content. Here are a few easy ways to incorporate social proof into your website, social media sites other lead-generation efforts:

Testimonials

There’s no better way to build trust with prospects than to clearly demonstrate you’ve solved their exact problem for others. Testimonials are also an effective way to showcase the work you’ve done in a specific industry or consumer demographic. Below is a great example from Fiverr that also includes a video. Notice how the copy in the testimonial speaks to common challenges faced by their target audience. 

Trust Badges

Establishing credibility is one of the most important factors in gaining trust, especially when you do it visually with well-recognized organizations. If your company has been featured in established news outlets or awarded praise or recognition by an organization with a respected audience, feature those logos on your website and branding. The example below from LiveHealth Online does a great job of leveraging popular media company logos to build value and authority.

Case Studies

If you offer B2B products and services, case studies are the best social proof tool for filling your funnel with high-quality prospects. Case studies focus on success and go into detail about the challenge a customer was facing, the solution that was implemented, and the result and outcome that was experienced. By “painting the picture” for your prospects, you’re able to position your company as the best partner. Here’s how we present our case studies on the BroadBased website:

Social Interaction Counts

Showcasing social interaction may seem like bragging at first glance, but it’s a very effective strategy for leveraging content with high interaction rates. If an article has been shared over 8,000 times like the one below from Digital Marketer, it would make sense that it’s worth reading. This is a great way to create thought leadership and make you the top choice for your target audience.

Customer Logos and Statistics

“If it worked for Microsoft, it’ll work for us.” This is the effect that’s created by using customer logos as your social proof. Look at how Hotjar does it below. You might not have Microsoft and Nintendo as customers, but displaying the logos of customers you do have will show your experience in a specific industry while building trust with your prospects.

For consumer products, using statistics proves trustworthiness and gives potential customers peace of mind. By stating that it has sold over 1 million mattresses — and backing it up with real social media posts from customers — Casper, below, makes a clear and compelling case that customers love its mattresses.

Adding social proof to your website and advertising is easy to do and will have a major impact on your lead generation. Get started with these tips and let us know if you’d like to have a strategy session with the team here at BroadBased.