Social proof is the secret weapon that makes your small business website instantly trustworthy for your site visitors. Being a small business means you’ve got a lot of extra work to do because people don’t know you or know to trust you, yet. Social proof can fill this gap for you.
If you’re not sure what social proof is, we’ve put together some examples for you.
This blog will tell you why you need to be using social proof and the psychology of how it works. 10/10 of its previous readers found it helpful, so you will too😉
Social Proof About Social Proof
Your competitors are using social proof, you should be using it too.
- 50% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations (Brightlocal)
- 91% of consumers say that local branch reviews impact their perceptions of the wider brand in some way (Brightlocal)
- 82% of Americans say they seek recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase (Ambassador)
- 64% of consumers need to hear company claims 3-5x before they believe it (Edelman)
The Psychology of Social Proof
Social proof works by tapping into the basic human instinct to follow the actions of others, building trust and credibility, and lowering barriers to making purchases online. Essentially, it’s borrowing third-party influence to sway potential customers.
Behavioural psychology says that we have an innate need to fit in. Social proof appeals to that need by presenting your product as the thing that everyone is using so the visitor feels compelled to join the crowd.
5 Benefits of Using Social Proof
- Helps you establish credibility and trust.
- Makes customers feel like they’re part of your brand — if their testimonial is on your site they’re bound to have some loyalty to you.
- Case studies help position your product as a solution to a problem and show off the benefits.
- Helps site visitors understand how your product works.
- Makes it easier for customers to envision themselves using your products when they hear how others have used them.
- Often brings in emotive language which builds connections between site visitors and products.
- Seeing someone’s similar problems solved will make people want to buy and experience that success as well.
Ready to start using social proof?
Social proof is an extremely powerful way to build trust with your ideal audience. But our guidance on the topic doesn’t end here.
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