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Social proof is the phenomenon where we imitate the behaviors of others, especially those who are close to us. For example, a consumer is more likely to buy a product if his or her friends have had a good experience with that product. Gathering qualified reviews is one of the most common tactics for you, as an e-commerce store owners, to build social proof. In fact, 93% of consumers rely on online reviews to make purchasing decisions.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss three ways to establish social proof that, in turn, help you increase sales for your online store.
First and foremost, you need to back your store and products with genuine reviews. Reviews from your past customers provides more insights beyond your product description. Written from real experiences by real people, these reviews play a better role in convincing potential buyers to press the “add to cart” button. A simple and effective way to collect and display reviews on your product pages is to add a Review Widget.
If your customers are happy about their purchases, they are willing to give you a positive review. Your task is to make that journey as seamless as possible. An easy and quick process of sending review requests also helps you, as a business owner, focus on more important business decisions.
So, what’s the best way to collect more reviews?
A quick and user-friendly way to collect more reviews is to use review request emails. With Judge.me’s powerful email editor, you get multiple drag-and-drop elements that can be customized to your needs. By using review request emails, you can both save your precious time as a business owner and make it easy for your happy customers to give you a good review.
Adding testimonials gives a human touch to your email campaigns, which can work wonders in improving your conversion rate. Here are a few ways to do so:
Have customers who wanted to buy something in your store but changed their minds at the last minute? Target them with a positive review of your products in your abandoned cart emails. Proof of a happy experience from a fellow shopper might be the final push they needed. Make sure to send your emails at the best time for maximum reach.
Got any awards or certifications for your products? Or endorsed by a reputable source in your industry? Show them to your potential customers! Your email footer is the best place to highlight these achievements.
Another good idea is to send a follow-up email to your recent customers with a message saying:
“X people who bought Y also bought Z.”
A classic upselling move is much more convincing with the presence of social proof.
Saying nice things about your products or services in advertising is a great first step. But you know what’s even better? When other people say good things about your brand! This is where user-generated content steps in.
A study by Stackla revealed that user-generated content has a high impact on buying decisions for 79% of people surveyed. In other words, content from real customers, rather than brands, is more persuasive to drive potential buyers to the shopping cart.
The second tip for building social proof is to encourage your customers to post photos and videos of your products. Tagging your brand or adding relevant hashtags are also helpful if you are running a campaign on social media. Then, you can repost the posts from these customers or use them in your future ads (with permission from the original posters). To get the ball moving, offer a reward (e.g. a discount or a chance to win a big prize) for posting content with your products.
Getting lots of genuine likes, shares, and comments can sometimes take a bit of effort. So, once you have a great, say, Facebook ad that gathers lots of positive attention from your target audience, use it in your new campaign, and save your time. Find out how to reuse the old Facebook ad for social proof and reach even more potential buyers!
Building social proof is laborious, especially when you just start up your online business, but it pays off later on. Faking social proof may be tempting at first, but trust us, it will soon backfire on you. Instead, focus on improving your products and shopping experience, and the reviews will come! Most importantly, make it easier and faster for your customers to give you reviews by using a fully-functioned review app.
This blog article is contributed by Julija Televiciute. Julija is a freelance copywriter at sixads, an app that helps online store owners accelerate sales with easy ads. Specialized in copywriting, social media, and dog memes, Julija helps businesses get creative with ideas for content that creates value and sells.
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