Social Proof: Power of Reviews and Testimonials in Advertising

Value and quality of a product or service is a driving force for customer buying decisions. The journey and buying experience is another vital aspect of the value your business offers.

One of the most significant pieces of advertising these days incorporates how your customers feel about your product or service. Customer Reviews and testimonials in advertising are massively regarded as a reason to buy something.

Consider if you’re looking for a place to eat. If you look at a restaurant and there aren’t many people inside. Another restaurant you’re considering has a line out the door. The dynamic is called “social proof” - the reason people follow the crowd.

In the digital world, social media serves as a primary landscape for people to engage with your brand. It’s a way to showcase value and hit pain points so prospects become engaged and convert. If your business isn’t utilizing social media within marketing campaigns, you’re missing out on how to boost your sales.

However, another way to utilize social proof in digital marketing is by maximizing the power of reviews and testimonials from existing customers. The power of testimonials in advertising is that someone who isn’t an advocate or sponsor for a brand has more credibility than the average person to potential customers.

Social Proof in Digital Marketing

Digital marketing utilizes online channels, social media, and other platforms to promote and market products and services. The social proof aspect of that is a technique brands use to increase their number of conversions and, ultimately, sales.

The reviews and testimonials in advertising you display act as the social proof that increases the perceived value of your product or service. They work to boost the chances that someone reading them will indeed purchase because there is a more confident feeling.

Your brand has the power to leverage these excellent reviews according to target buyers and use them within social media or other marketing campaigns. Have your Marketing Teams create posts, share blogs or videos featuring these Happy customers, and use the reviews within the descriptions and captions to promote and effectively tap into your target audience.

Effective Social Proof Strategy

If your brand collects testimonials and feedback, it’s necessary to put them somewhere your potential clients can see. Consider adding a testimonials/review page to your website to showcase client’s happy experiences. It doesn’t matter if your business is B2B or B2C - they can benefit from social proof as part of their digital strategy.

A whopping 97% of consumers in 2021 reported that satisfied customer reviews and testimonials influence their purchasing decisions. Social proof is necessary because of how well it works. People will buy something if they see that others have purchased it and are advocating for it.

Using reviews also helps to improve trust and loyalty with customers. You can even work to pre-sell products and services with active promotions from existing customers who can write raving testimonials that entice prospective clients to check it out.

Businesses use positive reviews to help influence leads and boost sales, driving action to get those on the fence to push that “buy” button. Adding pictures using videos with accurate attributions can make a massive impact.

Social Media for Social Proof

Social media is an excellent platform to showcase products and services. Users like to utilize social media platforms to research products and services they want to buy. And then 71% of these users are likely to convert based on social media referrals.

Social proof is more than just a tool when used in digital marketing. It provides the potential to prove that your product or service works better than others in the same market. Encourage your customers to leave reviews, particularly those who are satisfied and happy with your brand. Then, there are ways to leverage those reviews and testimonials to boost your marketing.

Tracking and Response

It’s important to note that it’s necessary to use digital attribution to follow up and see how your tactics are working. Monitoring what customers say about your business and understanding any potential issues or risks associated with your offerings is necessary to help you address and quickly fix them.

Negative reviews or upset customers can also be handled quickly if you can monitor and track your performance. The positive testimonials can also be identified and utilized within your campaign strategy. Many of the words or phrases your customers use will also help build up your SEO and keyword search ranking.

Responding to reviews and comments is a great way to build up your customer service. Part of the experience that clients look forward to is how their questions, comments, problems, and more are addressed. Check your social ads for comments, address any concerns on your website, and demonstrate how much you care about the customer to listen and respond to feedback.

Showcasing Positive Testimonials in Advertising

Creating posts through your social media is one of the easiest ways to showcase positive customer testimonials. Another way to maximize this is with User-Generated Content (UGC), a commonly utilized form of social proof. UGC creators often use demonstrative videos to showcase a particular product or service in action, generating a lot of buzz and hype to purchase.

Websites, brochures, and case studies can all benefit from having positive testimonials for your brand. Email marketing campaigns for your lists also can be an excellent way to add social proof to your messages and build trust with potential customers. It works to improve customer confidence in your brand.

Other Benefits of Social Proof in Digital Advertising

If you own a business, another tactic you can use to help increase social proof is displaying any awards, badges, or certifications to help boost your legitimacy. Accreditations and honors work well for a brand’s reputation.

These advantages help boost the business's morale so your staff members and teams feel privileged to work for your company. You also are supplied an edge over the competition to win more business opportunities.

Photo by Brett Jordan

Digital marketing has changed the landscape for business operations, with social media at its core. Social proof is beneficial in various methods that aid your business in achieving its goals for higher conversion rates and sales in digital marketing. It increases your brand awareness and ultimately builds loyalty and trust for those who are interested in your brand.

You can quickly adapt your marketing efforts to adopt these social proof methods if you haven't already. Those who visit your website and peruse your socials can see for themselves the positive feedback, reviews, and testimonials that showcase your products and services in the best way possible.