3 Revitalized Social Proof Practices

Your audience deserves the gift of going second.
We’ve reframed social proof avenues to help you allow them this privilege.
Social proof refers to the phenomenon that others are more likely to do something if others have already done it. "Going second" is a more reassuring route to take if you're a customer. When it comes to marketing, proving the positive experience of your customers and building trustworthiness will allow your audience to take that route. Incorporating social proof into your strategy is directly related to centering your customer and their unique, valuable journey.

UGC - don’t just ask for content. Control your narrative.

User Generated Content is taking over, especially on short-form video content platforms. But don’t let your users take your story in the wrong direction. Help cultivate your viral pocket with content that serves your KPIs.

• Have users post under a certain branded hashtag. This will make content easy to find, increase name recognition, and generate more direct leads. After all, if consumers can click on a hashtag and find your account through it rather than sifting through the noise of other brands or creators, you’ve cut out a step. For example—don’t post under the hashtag #runningshoes. Have your UGC creators put all your promotional content under #yourbrandrunningshoes. This also organizes all your UGC for future curation.
• Host a contest or giveaway that requires some form of UGC to compete. Allow your consumer base to show off your brand and get competitive about delivering their best UGC. Be clear with rules and guidelines to attract the right audience. Once you’ve delivered the news to your niche target audience and onboarded your evangelists, they will spread the news. Then, you can insert the hashtag tip to get the most out of your entries.
• Only repost or share content that aligns directly with KPIs or brand objectives. Your UGC should be a funnel your audience goes through to reach your central messaging. Don’t let it distract or confuse your audience, especially when it comes to fast-paced content. Aim to showcase authoritative, authentic content that testifies to your central claims and story. Also, ensure you are choosing from creators that speak to an audience you would want to attract to your page.

See it in action: Vitamix' "Smoothie of the Year" contest put all three of these tips into play. Last year, they ran a contest that pit "Nourish"---nutrition-rich smoothies---against "Flourish"---gorgeous, eye-catching ones---against each other. Vitamix asked their consumer base to post their submission for either team under #TeamNourish or #TeamFlourish, and subsequently featured a carousel of submissions on their website that echoed the narrative of the contest and were aesthetically cohesive. By running a hot button context that centered the customer's art/creations with their product and curating the content that best aligned with their goals, Vitamix truly harnessed an effective UGC campaign.

(Plus, they highlighted their UGC creators and "team captains" by social tag on their website, giving them a great feature alongside using their content!)

[Pictured: submissions from #TeamFlourish]

Case Studies - tell a story, don’t trudge through reality.

79% of B2B buyers considered case studies to be a major factor when it comes to decision-making. You can capitalize on this statistic and add credibility to any kind of business by showing off how you were able to take your customers from promise to prosperity.

• Clearly define the challenge your previous consumer went through. This is your current audience’s pain points. If your consumer is the hero, you’re helping them through the call to action phase of their story. Frame this segment of your case study as such. According to Neil Patel, you should articulate the “impact, scope, and duration of the problem.” How does this affect your consumer in their day-to-day life and the big picture? How does this tarnish the image of themselves they have or want?
• Help your audience visualize the transformation. Document your solution through charts, graphs, colorful data points, and images that jump from your media. Consumers aren’t keen on wading through the noise of technicalities and boring back-and-forth communications you went through to actually achieve success. They want to see the highlights, just as any good story takes the viewer through the high points by implementing stellar pacing. The best way to do this? Employ visual aids.
• Showcase unique challenges that you or your consumer faced. Most likely, these challenges will be anything but foreign to the audience you’re seeking to attract. A common mistake is not introducing obstacles to the story. Without stakes, a real story cannot take flight. You can also use overcoming these challenges as a launch point to show where your customer narrative drops off from that of your competitors. What don’t they pay attention to that you do?

See it in action: Figma featured EndeavourX as a case study on how its product can help bring together teams and get results. To drive this case study home, Figma told a story. First, it outlined the characters: the rich and diverse team working on EndeavourX. Then, the problem. When the team expanded, they needed to stay on the same page to continue to create an exceptional output. Figma even tells how it went above and beyond to unite the team, going from just being the UI tool to becoming central in EndeavourX's "UX, Business Analysis, Quality Assurance, Delivery and Product teams." They even tell how EndeavourX became an evangelist for their brand, teaching non-designers how to use Figma. But Figma doesn't just tell a story: they break down their impact into stats of time saved by the team, surveys in which EndeavourX attests to their increased productivity, and a layout for how EndeavourX plans to use Figma in the future. It ends with a strong call to action and a form where you can sign up to use Figma.

[Pictured: the data part of the EndeavourX case study]

Testimonials - wine and dine your customers, they deserve it.

If getting testimonials has previously felt like a pretty tall hurdle, never fear. There are ways to soften the big ask. By employing these practices, consumers will come to you with their gushing reviews.

• Offer incentives to provide testimonials. We’ve all seen surveys emailed to us, and 9/10 times we don’t fill them out unless there’s a fat prize raffle on the other side of them. Otherwise, only people with strong feelings about your brand (positive or negative) will respond, which is a very small percentage of your happy consumer base. With an incentive, customers are more likely to include detailed responses that have better social proof potential.
• Take good care of customer privacy and permissions. Always ask testimonial providers if they are comfortable with their words being shared. Beyond that, ask about their permissions with every step of the testimony process. Can you share their name? Photo? Info about what intent brought them to your company? The more you ensure you’re respecting them, the less trouble you will face. But beyond that, customers will feel safer providing you information if they choose to do so, and the more information you can share about them, the more grounded in personhood their testimonies will appear.
• Highlight diverse perspectives. Not only will this help you widen the applicability of your product/service, but it will make often unnoticed customers feel heard and valued for their time in providing a testimony. Does your business target largely cisgender male users? Use these testimonials on primary points on your site and ads, but involve women and transgender men when you can to provide the microphone to all corners of your audience. This can target new buyer personas and round out your relatability. Here’s how to implement this in your surveys.

See it in action: Slack takes an innovative approach when it comes to their customer testimonials. They wield testimony-case study-interview-blog post hybrids to create a force of social proof. All of this is collected on their database of "customer stories." Slack keeps its testimonials diverse, featuring companies from OpenAI to Crumbl Cookies to Sue Ryder Ireland, an Irish retirement housing service. In each story, Slack thoroughly describes how these unique teams use its service to communicate and enhance their businesses. These testimonials center direct quotes from the companies themselves detailing their experience with Slack, which adds a layer of authenticity and human-to-human interaction for the reader. By driving home the idea that its service is just as available for mega-corporations like Verizon as it is your startup (it has a free option), Slack has integrated its user base effectively into its own brand story. It has given its customers the gift of going second, no matter what industry they plan to use Slack in.

[Pictured: Slack's Customer Stories page and its search function]

When working with your business to reinforce key objectives, social proof can drive traffic to your product and service. It can define your brand and its dedication to personal interactions and customer service. At its core, social proof helps your customer go second.

Want to go second in social proof for marketing? Explore our plans for a personalized marketing strategy crafted to grow and scale your business.