In the highly competitive world of e-commerce, convincing potential customers to choose your products over countless alternatives can be a daunting challenge.

One powerful strategy that can make a significant difference is leveraging social proof. This psychological phenomenon, where people look to others' actions and opinions to guide their own decisions, can be a game-changer for online retailers.

In this blog post, we'll explore how incorporating social proof into your e-commerce strategy can boost sales, build trust, and create a loyal customer base, driving your business towards greater success..

Understanding Social Proof

There are a number of different outlets and types of social proof that you can use in your business and across your online touch-points.

These include reviews and testimonials, endorsements from influencers, collaboration posts and products with other brands, and User-Generated Content (UGC).

You will notice that some of these are geared towards social media while others are most likely to exist on a website or review site. It’s important that brands consider and tap into all of these, to ensure that social proof exists and is available for all customers regardless of how and where they discover the brand or product.

Types of Social Proof in e-commerce

To look more specifically at e-commerce and the online purchase journey that customers go through, there are several types of social proof that matter.

• Customer reviews, specifically those that outline the benefits of a product for them specifically. This is the closest that e-commerce brands can get to word of mouth recommendation, so any reviews that outline a specific problem and how the product solves that problem are like gold dust!
• Best-selling products and popularity metrics. That is, if a brand has a selection of options, being able to pitch one as a bestseller will likely drive conversion of that product, due to customers trusting the views of others.
• User-Generated Content, that is images and videos (usually on social media) of existing customers using the product. Think of this as a review but taken to the next level.
• Celebrity and influencer endorsements, increasing the visibility of both a brand and product, and marketing it specifically to those who want to be like their favourite influencers.
• Trust badges, industry affiliations, and collaborations. That is, anything that connects a product to the wider industry and shows it as being trusted and valued by others in the industry.

These are all popular examples of social proof that can and often are used to boost e-commerce sales and conversion. Keep reading for a breakdown on how best to use each to its maximum advantage.

Implementing Customer Reviews and Testimonials

There are a number of ways that you can implement reviews and testimonials into the customer journey on your e-commerce platforms.

Sites like Trustpilot are considered some of the best platforms to use for authentic reviews, as customers can clearly see who left the review. These can be embedded into your website so that the review pulls through directly as a block of content.

Sharing screenshots of comments and DM reviews is becoming common practice on social media, with brands using positive feedback as a form of content.

Or you can take reviews and build them into case studies, adding context to the review to make the product even more relatable to the ideal or target customer.

Leveraging User-Generated Content

UGC is not only great as an example of social proof for future and prospective customers - it is also an effortless example of social media content that will boost engagement on your page.

A quick and easy example of social media content that you can share on your own page, UGC puts all the marketing power into the hands of your customers. It can include pictures or videos of them using the product, highlighting their specific experiences and why they chose the product.

For customers who are in the consideration stage of their journey, this is the kind of content that works wonders and can push them into the final conversion step - provided they see it at the right time.

UGC is best integrated into social media platforms as well as individual product pages and can also be leveraged as part of a marketing campaign on email or landing pages.

The Role of Influencer Partnerships

Influencer marketing is not for everyone - however, if there are influencers or celebrities who share your values, relate to your target audience, and represent your customers, then endorsements from them can be incredibly powerful.

This is the kind of social proof that will help to convert those customers who want to be like their favourite influencers, and who see value in making the same buyer decisions as people who they admire.

Enhancing Credibility with Trust Signals

Another form of social proof is ‘trust signals’; that is, the badges and security signals that pop up across your website and let customers know that they can use your site safely.

In addition to the logistic security signals that establish a foundation of trust in your site, this can also link to brand collaborations and industry partnerships - endorsing your product as something recognised and recommended by others in your industry.

If other examples of social proof drive customers into your website and towards a product page, these are the extra touch-points that are likely to give them the assurance they need to complete the purchase.

Optimising Social Proof for e-commerce Conversions

Now that we’ve covered the breadth of the social proof sphere and how each can maximise conversion and boost your e-commerce sales, it’s time to work out which is best for you and your customer base.

Typically, A/B testing is used to experiment with different forms of social proof and to see which resonate best with customers at different stages of their journey. With so many different touch points available to customers, the best way to manage this is to find out where your audience spends time online and look into the content that they engage with.

If your target market is younger users who respond to interactive content on TikTok and other platforms, then the best social proof will likely be UGC that’s shared on these social platforms.

If your target market is mum’s, accessing direct reviews and testimonials will often work most effectively.

Meanwhile, B2B businesses will often value the trust signals as highly as reviews and testimonials, seeking solutions that are safe to use and trusted by industry professionals as well as other users.

Optimising social proof is, in essence, about identifying your target customer and then selecting the social proof that they are most likely to respond to - before placing it in the right location for them to find it.

Managing Challenges to Maximise Social Proof’s Effectiveness

Before we leave you to experiment with social proof across your own brand or business, we can’t ignore the risk of a negative review or unfavourable testimonial.

Negative reviews are a normal part of business operations - and it’s how you deal with them that matters. If you receive a negative review, our advice is to not hide or shy away from it but instead to deal with it directly and professionally. If there is a mistake that can be rectified, do so - showing potential customers how well you handle situations and how committed you are to delivering a good experience to customers.

Unlock Social Proof with the Help of Social Loop

Here at Social Loop, we work with brands across all industries and markets, helping them to unlock the power of customer content in driving conversion and sales.

Reach out to our team to find out how we can turn your reviews and tagged videos into increased sales.