When it comes to advertising these days it isn’t hard-hitting radio or newsprint that are influencing consumers. It’s not television or billboards either. Instead the best and most meaningful recommendations are those from friends and family. In fact, according to a recent study, 83% of consumers say recommendations from peers make them more likely to purchase a product or service. That tells you that simply doing traditional marketing and advertising won’t cut it anymore.
This type of behavior, known as social proof doesn’t though just have to come from personal friends and family. There are a lot of other forms of social proof that can benefit your business including:
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- Industry experts and influencers. Every vertical has them and if they are talking about you on their social media channels, blog or podcast there is a good chance you will get business from them. That’s why influencer marketing is so important and valuable.
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- Genuine testimonials. More and more people everyday are looking at review sites such as Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor, Amazon and others before they make a purchase. Whether that is for a restaurant, a new car or anything else it is very important for a business to claim their locations and monitor as well as respond to reviews, both good and bad. As a business, this shows you care about your customers and enhances your social proof.
- Placement of testimonials. Many company websites these days create a page on their website for reviews and testimonials. As a business, of your course you are only going to put good things that people say about you and consumers know that. If you are going to put testimonials on your website, put them on the checkout page. This will help reinforce to shoppers why they should make a purchase. Also, include a photo and use a different font for the testimonial quote. This way it doesn’t blend in with other copy on the page.
With 88% of consumers trusting user reviews as much as personal recommendations, influencers and testimonials are huge pieces of social proof that can truly benefit your business and its bottom line.
As a business you need to be aware of what others are saying about you and need to have the opportunity to respond. Not everything people say about you, especially on social media is going to be positive. By having two sides to a story shows you care about your customers, whether the review is accurate or not. For the stuff you do have control of, make sure you are doing it constructively.
For more information and a strategy on how to achieve social proof for your business contact The Interactive Imprint today at 954-254-1650 or visit TheInteractiveImprint.com.
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