Effective Ways to Use Social Proof in Email Marketing

What is social proof in email marketing?

Social proof is a psychological concept which means that people tend to look at others when making decisions. When we can’t choose, for instance, which online course to pick, we look for an opinion that we can trust. It may come in the form of:

• Endorsements by the best professionals in a specific niche.
• Mentions and promotions by celebrities.
• Positive reviews by real people.
• Discussions and recommendations on social media.

That’s how social proof in marketing works. You can use it in any marketing channel, including promotional emails. Actually, testimonial emails are a whole subgenre of email marketing. But it’s not the only use case of social proof in emails — you can add this secret spice to any campaign, like welcome emails or retention campaigns. 

In all these cases, highlighting endorsements and reviews in your email campaigns will show that your product or service is worth purchasing. At the same time, you can use emails to gain even more social proof by asking your audience for feedback and participation in your promotion.

Why is it important?

People often believe that others know better. If we see a lot of social proof for some product, we will most likely choose it when we have a choice of similar alternatives. It works best when a person knows little about the niche and doesn’t have an established preference yet.

Email campaigns are a great channel for social proof because you can send it right into your audience’s inboxes. And, by doing so, you’re saving your subscribers time and effort. Instead of having to search for reviews and opinions online, they have them delivered right to their digital doorstep. And if someone is interested in you enough to subscribe to your newsletter, they’re “warm” enough to buy your products after one or two emails with reviews.

How to collect social proof for further use in emails?

So, you decided to include social proof in your email marketing campaigns — but you need to get the proof in question first. Here are some ways that you can use to gather social proof for further use in your emails.

Ask customers to leave reviews in every way possible

Your current customers are the main source of social proof to show to people. So don’t be shy and just ask your customers for feedback.

• When someone makes a purchase, send them a triggered email asking them to rate and comment on your marketplace page.
• Add a QR code with a feedback form to the packaging of your product or send an email with a reminder.
• Add a feedback form to your website for your customers’ stories and opinions.
• Customer support is a great channel for this as well — if your team successfully solves the initial issue, they can ask for a review at the end of the interaction.

Get help from social media

Social media is another channel where you can ask for reviews — or even turn your accounts into a review platform! On Twitter or Instagram, you can create posts where your fans can share positive vibes. You can also propose to send stories and experiences straight into your DMs, asking for permission to feature some of them in your newsletter. 

Another way to get social proof off social media is by asking your subscribers to tag your account when they create brand-related content. Tagging makes it easier to monitor reviews written on users’ personal accounts so you can reply to them, repost them — and yes, include them in your newsletter.

Create case studies to talk about customer experiences with your business

While gathering customer stories, you can go even further and run a case study. To do this, you’ll need to interview a real client and discuss their experience with your product, highlighting how your company helps people with specific issues.

Case studies are a larger content format compared to reviews, so they can even become a standalone topic of your email. For example, here’s how 99designs introduced a case study in their newsletter. It features a short interview with a customer who even shares experience-based tips on making the most of the platform. Interestingly enough, it’s also a win for the customer — they got free promotion.

8 effective ways to use social proof in your email marketing campaigns

Once you gather social proof, you can introduce it in email campaigns — let’s explore the methods.

Include media mentions in your emails

Were your products featured in an industry magazine or a professional blog? Use that media leverage to promote yourself. Design a separate, distinctly-looking block and call it something like “Our brand in media” or “Here’s what the critics say”, then paste the best quotes from several publications. Remember that good press is one of the surest forms of social proof, so keep it where people can see it.

You don’t even have to write a long email to make an impact. For example, this email from Vanmoof features one-sentence quotes from three media outlets and a short copy accompanying them. It’s simple but effective.

Highlight real, positive customer reviews

Customer reviews are “the OG social proof”, and they’re a powerful marketing tool — they speak with your audience in their language and on their level. Someone’s story of a real experience with your product is something other people in a similar situation can easily relate to.

It really does work! Brightlocal reports that 50% of customers in 2024 trust user reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or a family member. The same survey shows that 47% of readers prefer sorting reviews by recency. Keep it in mind when picking which reviews to show. We suggest using newer reviews that highlight the benefits of using your product.

Leverage the endorsements of celebrities and influencers

Namedropping is another common email marketing strategy. Shoutouts from cultural and internet icons are often used to promote companies on social media. You can do the same in your emails to give your newsletter an extra punch. The endorsement can be a quote, a video, or a link to an Instagram post.

One-off endorsements are great but recruiting a celebrity to become the face of your marketing campaign is even better. Kaltura is a great example. The company collaborated with David Duchovny to make loads of content and use it in emails.

Collaborate with other brands

Speaking of collaborations, why not partner with other brands? It doesn’t have to be your direct competitor. But teaming up with another player in your general niche can work as a significant reputation boost for both of you. What’s more, it improves your outreach towards the audience of the brand that you collaborate with. Emphasize common values and goals that your brands pursue and invite people to become a part of your new community.

Show credibility with numbers

“If you’re really that great, show me some real numbers”, your customers might think. So, if you have stata, use them as social proof and a way to establish authority. These include the number of customers you have, the number of Amazon reviews, and so on. For example, Buoy used the number of positive reviews, and included some examples for extra credibility.

Even if the numbers are too small and don’t really work for your authority, don’t be shy. Saying “Hey, we are growing. Thank all 50 of you for being part of it” is better than saying nothing. Being that close to your customers and building your community little by little is the beauty of email marketing for small businesses.

Showcase your awards and nominations

Getting your company or products at least nominated for awards confirms their quality and stature, and it works as immense social proof. Success in competitions adds a lot to your reputation, be it the smaller and niche-specific industry awards or well-known things like Oscars.

Also, many reviewing platforms give out badges like “Top product of the month” — collect and show them to your audience. For example, Selzy shows off its “Product of the Day” Product Hunt badge on the landing page. You can use such badges in email marketing campaigns too.

Show expert endorsements

Opinions from reputable professionals in your niche can be amazing social proof. Expert endorsements are especially effective if your business targets industry pros, not laypeople. In this case, your customers will be more likely to believe other industry pros, not a random influencer.

Experts featured in your marketing emails can also convince those who don’t believe the crowd or follow trends. In such cases, a single professional review from someone they trust can be all the social proof you need to get these customers on your side.

Brag about your company

Why not go all in and use every piece of social proof you have on hand? Combine different types of endorsements, mention big client names, present successful projects — in one campaign! Use all that to make yourself look important and establish authority over subscribers. After all, you may have tons of social proof but you need to show it to your customers to make it work.

Conclusion

Using social proof in marketing campaigns is one of the best tactics, and you can apply it to your email newsletter too. Here are some ideas to try out in your next campaign:

• Put forward media features — if someone wrote about you, include the quotes in your campaign.
• Mention awards — small or big, wave that shiny medal!
• Highlight celebrity, influencer, or expert endorsements — depending on what you do and what your audience looks like, you may need to use the authority of different public figures.
• Show positive reviews and real numbers — as you grow, so does your social proof.
• Collaborate with other brands to find new audiences and show team spirit.
• Don’t shy away from bragging — include several kinds of social proof in one email.

Getting social proof to use in your emails is a matter of reaching out to people. Try asking for reviews wherever and whenever possible, run case studies, get in touch with important individuals, media outlets, and companies in your niche. Eventually, you’ll have enough social proof to freely use it in your campaign and really get things going.