How To Use Social Proof For Maximum Conversions
The following post is a Guest Post by a featured contributor to the Small Business Sense blog. Jabed Hasan is a Content Marketing Manager at Mountnow.
He is passionate about writing and love to write on SEO, CRO, Growth Hacking and Online Marketing Strategies. Take it away Jabed…
Nowadays, it’s a challenge for the online businesses to grow the customer base and to build the credibility.
People are no longer just go to a website and make a purchase. Instead, they research, compare the prices and features with other websites and look for social proof like testimonials, reviews and ratings before making any purchase.
It’s no secret that one of the powerful tools to convince the visitors to buy is “social proof”. It also helps to increase the website credibility.
Social proof is no longer nice to have any more in the websites. In fact, it’s almost obligatory to add the social proof in the websites for maximum conversion.
In this article, I will explain how you can use social proof to skyrocket your website conversion rate.
Let’s get started!
9 Ways to Use Social Proof to Maximize Your Conversions
#1. Showing the customer testimonials
The most commonly used form of social proof is displaying the customer testimonials.
When the online buyers come to your website to purchase something, they want to see that whether others are happily using your products or not.
Nobody wants to be the first person to swim in a murky lake. When people see others are swimming there, then they feel comfortable to go there for swimming.
Similarly, when your visitors see that others are using your product or service happily, then they will be more than happy to buy your product or service.
Need a proof?
A study by VWO revealed that, wikijob found 34% more conversions after adding the customer testimonials.
However, you need to make sure that the testimonials you are adding is real and mention the full name of the customer with photo and if applicable add the company name.
Let me show you a neat example from FreshBooks website.
Freshbooks Testimonials Example
#2. Displaying the number of users
Another extremely effective and persuasive social proof strategy is showing the customer base.
By displaying the number of users, you are indirectly saying that you already have served many people and it will be good for the new users too.
I will show you a live example from Basecamp website.
Source: Basecamp
They are displaying into their homepage ‘Just last week, 7,211 companies got started with Basecamp 3!’
What they are trying to say here is that, more than seven thousands companies won’t use a product unless it’s exceptionally good.
But, this technique will only impact in your conversion rate if you have an impressive amount of users. If your number of users are not up to par yet, then it’s better to wait for reaching an impressive figure.
#3. Adding the product reviews and ratings
Showing the product reviews and ratings are a highly effective form of social proof for the e-commerce businesses as it can hugely impact on conversion rates.
In an experiment conducted on Figleaves.com, they found 12.5% higher conversions for the products which had reviews than those without. Moreover, 83.85% higher conversions for the products with 20+ reviews than those products without reviews.
So, it’s obvious that having the reviews and ratings to the product pages can increase the conversion rates significantly.
Amazon using this technique perfectly. They know that, when hundreds of people say something is good then you are much more likely to buy it.
Source: Amazon.com
#4. Showing the celebrity/expert endorsement
Getting the endorsement from a celebrity or an expert and displaying that on a website can have a positive influence on consumer behavior.
When your visitors see the endorsement, they instantly think that as the celebrities or experts are happily using your product that means the product must be good. This actually helps them to take the action immediately.
You don’t need to look for a movie star to get the endorsement. All you got to do is just find the influencers in your industry to get the endorsement.
Let’s say your product is CRO tool. You need to find the best CRO experts to get the endorsement.
Brain dean of Backlinko who provides SEO consulting and he uses the endorsement from “Neil Patel”, celebrity in digital marketing industry.
Source: Backilinko.com
#5. Adding the trust seals
Trust seals are the symbols that reassure the visitors that their sensitive information is secure with you. Believe it or not, adding trust seals on websites can significantly improve their conversion rates. Trust seals like Comodo Secure comes at free of cost by enabling Comodo SSL certificates.
Blue Fountain Media did a split-test and they found 42% more conversions after adding a Verisign trust seal.
There are so many trust seals you can use such as McAfee, Norton, Better Business Bureau, Hacker Safe, etc.
Baymard Institute discovered which trust seals people trust more.
#6. Showcasing the awards and certifications
If your business has received any award or industry certificate, then don’t be shy to display them.
By showcasing them on your website, you are ultimately proving that you are a master in your industry. It also gives confidence to the audience that you will be able to fulfill their requirements.
Who doesn’t love to work with the experts?
Most of the accrediting organizations have the logos or badges that can be freely displayed on your website.
Kristi Hines, a famous freelance writer shows all of her certifications on her website.
Source: KristiHines.com
#7. Displaying the logos of clients or partners
If you have affiliated partners or already served well-known businesses, then one of the best social proof you can have on your site is just by adding the logos of your clients or partners.
If you are a startup, then people may not recognize your brand but having the logos of big brands will add the credibility to your platform.
It will increase the visitors trust because the big companies are working with you.
However, before using their logo on you website, make sure you take the permission from them.
Let me show you an example here, how perfectly Southampton Computers using this technique. They are displaying all the big partners’ logo into their website.
Source: SouthHampton Computers
Leadpages incorporated some of their big customer’s logo into their website.
Source: Leadpages.net
#8. Media mentions
Has your product or brand ever been featured on popular press, TV segments, or podcast interviews?
If yes then it’s undeniably an achievement and worth letting your visitors know about that. All you need to do is just incorporate the logos of media outlets you’ve been featured in. Adding those big names on your site will significantly enhance your brand credibility.
Here’s how FreshBooks did it.
Source: Freshbooks.com
#9. Showing the social media popularity
Showing the number of fans, followers, shares or any other important statistics is a great form of social proof.
When your visitors will see that, your business has lots of fans, followers they will trust you more.
What do you usually do in social media?
You only click the like or follow button if you find something interesting and useful.
So, having the large number of fans and followers clearly indicates that people found your product or company useful and effective. So, showing the social media statistics will eventually lead to better conversions.
Techwyse perfectly using this strategy and they are displaying their social media statistics into their website.
Source: Techwyse.com
Final Thoughts,
The effective use of social proof can significantly increase your website conversion rates. Conversely, a misuse of the social proof can also backfire.
I believe, after reading this article you should have the clear idea of how to use social proof for maximum conversions. Make sure you track down the conversion rates before and after adding the social proof to find out what works best for you.
