The goal with using social proof is to influence your reader in ways that copy simply can’t. It’s one thing for me to say that I’m awesome and my company rocks balls. But it’s a whole other story when someone like Joel Bauer says it…
Bam.
Strength in numbers. Nobody wants to be the first to try something or be the only one doing it.
And that’s why social proof is one of the most determining factors of a successful anything. Whether it’s on a landing page, sales page, blog, advertisement or what have you.
Not only do we want to know it works for other people, but that there are actually other people doing it.
This single element can make or break you.
With online marketing I’m talking about tweets, followers, likes, comments, star ratings, reviews, and testimonials both written and on video.
So here are three quick and easy ways to provide social proof that increases conversions.
1. Subscribers
This is especially prevalent in gaining more subscribers to your blog. The higher the number of people following you, the higher the chance that even more people will follow you. Herd mentality FTW.
MenWithPens.ca displays it on their homepage with a clear call to action.
While zenhabits.net adds a benefit of joining the ranks of their breath-taking readers.
Previously they used this. Which I actually prefer. Because I am sexy.
Prospects will evaluate whether or not to subscribe to you based on a variety of factors, and the number of subscribers you currently have is one of them. The same goes to Facebook likes and Twitter followers. Nobody wants to like something that hasn’t proven to be worth liking.
Aside from the blogosphere you can also use this form of social proof on sales letters with a running meter of how many members you have on your membership site or the number of new sign ups you get.
2. Endorsements
Ramit Sethi’s blog I Will Teach You To Be Rich has a stamp of approval from massively massive media companies. As legit as it gets.
3. Testimonials
By far my favorite form of social proof. Positive feedback from past clients, current customers, authority figures and more. Replay video above to view example.
It helps to have a face that your prospect can identify with.
So if you’re selling something targeted at students, I’d advise against using a senior citizen. Or at the very least, mix it up so it makes sense to the prospect.
