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Have you ever come across a large group of people staring at something on the street and approached them just to find out what it was? Our brains are wired for this “follow the crowd” mentality. It’s why many people find themselves looking through online reviews before making a purchase.
This is one example of social proof, which is a valuable tool for digital marketing. Social proof appeals to people’s tendency to seek out other opinions before making a decision. It makes your business seem more credible. It also improves your authority and relevance to a search engine, which boosts your search engine ranking.
What Is Social Proof?
The definition of social proof is psychological. According to Coursera, it is the behavior in which people determine how they are supposed to behave in uncertain situations by looking at others.
Investopedia explores the bandwagon effect and states that people’s brains are wired to want to belong to a group. In situations where you’re not sure how to act, it’s normal to trust that whatever the majority of people are doing is correct. For example, if you’re wearing a hat when you walk into a restaurant, you might remove it if nobody else is wearing one.
Social proof in marketing takes advantage of people’s tendency to follow other people. You use positive customer reviews and testimonials, influencer marketing, social media, and user-generated content to build trust and credibility with new potential customers.
The Main Types of Social Proof
When it’s sincere, social proof helps potential customers set expectations for your brand. They look to common forms of social proof as evidence that your product or service will meet their expectations.
1. Customer Reviews and Star Ratings
In the digital shopping age, it’s less common for people to physically inspect products before buying them. Positive reviews establish your brand as trustworthy and credible. Many people read these reviews to find information they couldn’t find in official promotional materials.
They scan for potential issues or product features that impact them. For example, someone with sensitive skin might read online reviews of a shampoo, looking for people who’ve reacted badly to the product. People with sensitive skin praising the product could convince this person to try it.
2. Client Testimonials and Endorsements
Client testimonials establish your credibility and help you connect with a potential customer. When people relate to a client’s story, they can see themselves using your product or service. Since testimonials come from actual customers, they make your brand seem more authentic and relatable.
Post testimonials on your website, or share social media videos of customers detailing their experience.
3. Case Studies and Success Stories
Case studies and success stories are detailed examples of how your previous customers benefited from your product or service. This form of social proof is great for businesses that offer value to their customers.
It’s common in B2B marketing and service-oriented businesses, such as consulting or financial services. You might publish a case study on your website to show potential customers with similar pain points what you can do.
4. User-Generated Content
User-generated content refers to any form of content posted by someone other than your official brand. It includes reviews, social media posts, videos, blog posts, and other campaigns. You’ve seen user-generated content all over the internet as people react to online purchases or customer service.
It authentically connects with potential customers, because it’s usually created by people who like your brand.
5. Trust Badges, Certifications, and Press Mentions
Trust badges and certifications help customers see your business as legitimate and trustworthy. These include data security badges or certifications from the Better Business Bureau or other agencies.
When your business is included in a “best of” feature in the media, customers trust the third-party validation.
Social Proof as a Conversion Driver
Building a steady library of social proof improves conversion rates. Social proof removes some of the risk associated with a purchase, particularly in high-stakes situations where someone doesn’t know your brand.
People don’t usually do a lot of research for small purchases, such as a pack of gum. But when it’s time to buy a new car or find a new hairstylist, they want to know what they’re getting. Social proof boosts on-page engagement as people seek to learn more about your brand after they see a user-generated post.
Enhancing your trust and credibility through social proof increases click-through rates, as more people are convinced to buy your product or service.
Social Proof Supports SEO Performance
When people are following the crowd to your brand, your SEO improves through:
- Lower bounce rates: Social proof makes customers more confident in your brand and inspires them to look at multiple web pages.
- Higher dwell time: Social proof makes your brand seem more engaging and inspires people to spend more time on your website.
- E-E-A-T alignment through third-party validation: Google and other search engine algorithms use third-party validation to establish your site as a relevant search result.
- Enhanced CTR through rich snippets: Rich snippets make detailed information appear in your search results, including star ratings and images. This builds trust quickly and inspires people to click on your page.
Best Practices for Showcasing Social Proof
Easily connect to your potential customers by highlighting social proof on your website. Follow these best practices so it looks authentic and credible.
- Add above-the-fold cues to your home page and landing pages, including testimonials, star ratings, and badges. They should be visible without scrolling.
- Use a clear, scannable structure that makes social proof stand out.
- Attribute user-generated content where you can. For example, if people feel comfortable leaving their name on a case study, use it.
- Entice people to sign up for your email list by including statistics on the sign-up form.
- Add simple, fillable feedback forms to encourage people to leave reviews.
- Include reviews and testimonials from a variety of customers to connect to a broader customer base.
Leverage Case Studies for SEO and Conversions
Develop case studies and use targeted keywords strategically throughout to boost your SEO ranking. Case studies are perfect for highlighting the benefits you offer to potential customers. Target some of these benefits by using them as keywords in headers and body text.
A well-written case study that features a compelling success story can also generate more backlinks. Industry publications looking for content may cite your case study and link back to your original web page.
These studies also help build authority and trust with potential customers. They are a popular type of long-form content for B2B businesses and other companies whose products or services come with a hefty price tag. When people are investing in a solution, they want to know it will work.
Sample Case Studies: Casebook
Compose.ly has helped multiple clients boost their SEO through long-form content. This Casebook case study highlights how we helped the SaaS company increase its blog posts by over 200%. Our team paired Casebook with subject matter experts who could tackle culturally sensitive topics professionally while connecting to readers.
Casebook received a steady stream of high-quality content that more than doubled organic traffic. This content, including case studies, served as valuable mid-funnel marketing tools that generated high-quality leads.
Sample Case Studies: Everspring
Everspring’s case study highlights a similar issue for the EdTech services provider. Before partnering with Compose.ly, Everspring was spending about $5,000 per month for 6,000 words. Compose.ly offered a team of professional writers to increase blog production while reducing the company’s content costs.
Not only did Everspring save about 70% on content, the company reached its highest SERP results, including a #1 position for target keywords.
Sample Case Studies: Hype Legal
This Hype Legal case study highlights AI’s limitations in content production. Prior to using Compose.ly, Hype Legal turned to an AI-generated content provider to scale its production. The AI-powered writing tools could not match the brand tone and voice, and pieces needed multiple revisions.
The organization found AI-created content to be cold and inaccurate. Compose.ly paired Hype Legal with writers who had SEO, legal, and storytelling expertise to fill its content gaps. As a result, the company has seen a 50% increase in content production with improved SERP rankings and more web traffic.
Put Social Proof to Work With Compose.ly
Social proof marketing is an effective psychological tool that endears customers to your brand. User-generated content enables your potential clients to picture themselves using your products or services. It also boosts your SEO rankings by making your website look more relevant to search engine algorithms.
If you need more case studies and other SEO-optimized website copy, Compose.ly has you covered. Through our case study writing services, we pair you with professional freelance writers to turn your success stories into impactful lead-generation tools.
We also offer a variety of SEO services, from website audits to competitive analysis. See where you measure up against the competition and use a customized content strategy to pass them in the rankings.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
