How To Use Social Proof To Sell More Products Online (E-Commerce)

Social proof is a powerful determiner for customers when they’re shopping online.

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Having reviews readily available and a rating system in place, you will be able to sell more products online with your e-commerce business.

However, before we go on, let’s try to define what social proof really means:

Social Proof is a psychological phenomenon causing people to conform to the actions of others under the assumption that the actions previously were taken reflect the normative of social behavior.

In its simplest form, what other people are doing, you should be doing that too.

For marketers, using social before is a smart tactic to increase conversions because it reduces the worries of customers and helps establish trust when shopping online.

Now, let’s take a look at a few different types of social proof that you can use in your marketing efforts to sell more products online.

TYPES OF SOCIAL PROOF

1) CUSTOMERS

Getting reviews from your customers or creating case studies on other companies can reveal to future customers what others know about the product they’re on the verge of buying.

2) EXPERTS

Social proof from credible and trustworthy experts in your niche aims at reassuring customers of the product in question.

3) CELEBRITIES

Celebrities who endorse and purchase your product is a powerful and effective method of establishing social proof. If celebrities are shopping from you, a vast majority of their followers are sure to follow suit.

4) CROWDS

Large numbers always have a tendency to drive behavior in a particular direction. Think of the websites claiming they have service 100,000+ people. This reveals that something they are doing is working and the numbers back it up.

5) FRIENDS

Take a look at your closest companions and you’ll find you share many similar traits and interests. Tapping into this social proof enables you to make claims like, “37 of your friends have bought this product, you should too!”

6) CERTIFICATIONS

Getting your services and products certified lets your customers know that you are knowledgeable, trustworthy and high quality. An example, if you’re selling organic food, would be to get a USDA Organic Certification.

PUTTING SOCIAL PROOF TO USE

Now that you have an idea of the types of social proofs that exist, let’s look at how they can be applied toward selling more products online.

1) CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

These are the core to any e-commerce success. Customer testimonials lets your customers learn more about your products and base their decisions on what others are saying.

Just take a look at Amazon’s reviews used on all their products:

Every product has a dedicated review section with a 5-star rating system. Not only that, email reminders get sent out to notify a customer after their purchase to leave a review.

Sometimes, the products will speak for themselves and those that are desired and sought after will get the best reviews.

2) CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

As mentioned, getting a celebrity to endorse your products makes a powerful statement. Going this route may come with a price. For example, in 2013 McDonalds made an endorsement deal with Justin Timberlake for $6 million. According to the singer himself, he said that shares in the company went up 25% from that endorsement alone.

Another way of getting endorsements is through the natural use of your services by an industry leader. Just take a look at WPBeginners which used industry leaders to endorse their free video training programs:

3) MEDIA MENTIONS

You’ve probably seen this on many websites, a list of media outlets that have featured or mentioned a product or service.

Often, you’ll see the logo on the bottom of the page with the title, “as seen in…”

Take a look:

4) TRUST SEALS

Getting a trust seal on your e-commerce site can certainly boost conversions. There are many different kinds to get, however, they often add an extra layer of security to your checkout process and in turn provide that added level of trust.

Here are some of the most popular trust seals available for your e-commerce website:

5) PLATFORM INTEGRATIONS

Does your e-commerce site use popular third-party services?

A very effective social proof you can add to your site will be to add the logos of those partners. This adds an extra layer of credibility for those familiar with those brands.

Take for example Baremetrics, they mention their integration with Stripe,

While Baremetrics may be a new platform on the web, Stripe is a service that has a trusted reputation for effective and secure checkouts.

6) SOCIAL SHARE COUNTERS

Social proof in the form of social likes and shares is a strong use of social proof. Social media is a major influencer in decision making. Incorporating a few counters that show off how popular your items are will increase conversions quickly.

Social counters are a simple and easy way to show off social proof for your e-commerce store:

7) SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT

Another great social proof can be done through your customers engaging and sharing your e-commerce with others. Setting up a specific hashtag that your current and prospective customers can tweet out or share is an effective way to prove to others that you are a trusted place to shop.

Here’s how WeSellSocks does it:

8) SOCIAL FOLLOWING

Building your social following is a solid method of social proof. Channels reaching millions of followers allows customers to purchase with confidence.

Just take a look at this successful e-commerce store, J Crew:

Social proof is a remarkable phenomenon. The effect can cause a wave of sales for your store. Sometimes, it won’t matter what the product is. When the snowball starts to roll down the slope, it will gather enough momentum and just continue to get bigger and bigger.

Try adding these social proofs to your e-commerce store and just watch as you boost sales. Check out this blog on How to sell on amazon for beginners.

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