What is Social Proof in Marketing, Branding, and Advertising and How to Use It

What is social proof?

Social proof is a phenomenon that drives us to look for other people’s opinions on something when we don’t have our own. When we lack the experience that will help us choose a product, we check what the masses say about it before deciding.

In marketing, the more people back up a brand, the more social proof it has. In some cases, it can affect purchase decisions greatly. In other cases, social proof can play an informational role. For example, a good friend or a reputable expert may tell us about a product we’ve never heard of. Then, we end up buying the product simply because we’ve just learned about it.

This idea is closely tied to human psychology. We don’t trust advertising anymore — being constantly online leads to ad avoidance and desensitization to traditional marketing. But when we struggle with choice, a simple unboxing video or a recommendation from someone we know can gently push us toward a certain choice. And such things can be a part of your brand’s marketing strategy.

Why is it important?

Social proof helps companies sell their products and services so well because it’s beneficial to both parties. Here’s how it works.

A couple of months ago, I was in the market for a mechanical keyboard to make my writing more engaging and fun. At the moment, I knew nothing about the different brands, models, and their features. But I didn’t want to grab a random box from a shelf or take whatever my local store tried to sell. After a few days of sifting through Reddit threads and YouTube videos, I found a keyboard that fit my needs and was liked by many — and I’m using it right now to type this very text.

My market research gave me a couple of insights into how social proof works from a customer’s point of view:

• When looking for a product, we want something that is proven to be good, not just advertised this way. That is why we base our search on the number of positive reviews and expert recommendations.
• We love belonging to a community. Even online, we need to fit in with something bigger, adopting the opinions and patterns of people that we find trustworthy.
• Social proof also plays a big part in our decision-making when we don’t have knowledge or personal preferences yet.

For a brand, social proof is important to get the word out there and bring more people in:

• Asking happy customers to share their experiences is a foolproof growth tactic, as each raving review can motivate a new purchase.
• The same goes for your collaborations with influencers and experts who promote your products through their recommendations.
• Being well-known as a company that interacts with user-generated content and provides good-quality customer service also strengthens your brand image and increases your social outreach.

Carefully curating your reputation can get you stellar results, so be sure to include some social proof management in your marketing strategy. The sales will follow.

Types of social proof in marketing

While searching for my new keyboard, I went through several types of sources, including Reddit threads and videos by experts on YouTube. These are my go-to channels when I need someone’s opinion — but there are many more tactics you can use to sell with social proof. Here are some social proof marketing tips to increase your brand awareness and sales.

Endorsement by famous people

A dream scenario for any company is getting a proper star to endorse your brand. Just hiring a famous actor to do an ad won’t always do the trick. But when a celebrity name-drops your business in an interview or mentions you in their content, your sales go through the roof. Endorsements from media stars help you sell the very idea of your brand to new customers. The effects of this were once described in this rather eloquent video by Cardi B on her Instagram.

Here are two more examples of celebrity social proof in different types of media.

Positive reviews or comments from users of your product

Almost every product-oriented platform from Amazon to IMDb has a built-in rate and review system. It helps their audiences find the best thing for them and learn about its pros and cons. At the same time, the positive reviews that customers write about your business or products form your brand’s social proof. It’s confirmed by numbers: according to Gartner, 86% of software buyers say that verified reviews are important or very important for decision-making.

Review sites are not the only place where people can leave reviews — they can talk about you on Twitter or Reddit as well. If this happens, it means that the word about your brand is spreading beyond specialized platforms. Keep an eye out for such discussions on socials and don’t be shy to interact with them. Encouraging honest feedback will show your confidence in your products and drive even more sales.

Recommendation from an expert

Nothing beats a thumbs-up from an established professional in your area of business. A review by a respected specialist can win over the most unshakable skeptics. In the customers’ eyes, celebrities can be bought and comments can be planted by bots, but an expert is a figure that has a decisive say on the quality of the product.

A large number of admirers of your brand

People cling to people. That’s why one of the oldest tricks in the book is to simply count how many customers you have. And the more devout fanbase you gain, the more new customers they will bring. Use the large amount of sales and the growing subscriber base on your socials to increase your social proof. If anything, the curiosity will drive new people to check you out.

Official certification

Getting recognized by well-known organizations will let people know that you are not a hack. Look up for whoever gives out certification for products in your niche, and get tested and verified. Use it on your website, marketplace page, and product description. This will make your brand image stronger and convert into more sales.

For example, the world of online courses is not as anarchist as you may think. Depending on the niche, the country of operation, and other factors many registrars like ECICEL and CPD are available to course providers. If your online course is certified by any of these organizations, mentioning it on the landing page counts as social proof. Yes, these abbreviations are not very well-known — however, even laypeople will look at it and think “If it’s accredited, then it’s not a scam at least, right?”.

How to use social proof in marketing

Now, let’s take a focused look at the approaches you may take to make social proof your main instrument in marketing. It’s better to build your social proof across several channels — that’s why we’re not narrowing our recommendations down to social media or email marketing alone. Here are some social proof examples that we gathered across the web. 

1. Always respond quickly to all user and customer inquiries

This is something that you can and should do from day one. Working with user feedback and keeping in touch with your customers is a must to build trust, grow your reputation, and improve your business. Answer their questions on socials and provide customer service on your website or through a marketplace. Fast response time and well-timed support may tip the scales in your favor even if a client encounters some problem with your products.

As we already mentioned, reviews are important and will affect your sales. So, it’s in your best interests to ensure that the customer journey is something worth leaving a good review.

2. Use the company’s social media profile and invite experts there

Don’t just run your socials for the sake of it. Make your Facebook or YouTube page a knowledge hub for all things connected with your business. Create useful content, tell success stories, and demonstrate real use cases. Inviting important people to endorse your products will bring more customers your way, and putting forward expert-driven content will raise your brand’s credibility in the eyes of your audience. All of it will result in trust, recognition, and sales skyrocketing.

Nike’s YouTube channel highlights real athletes, designers, and artists who educate and inspire viewers with their life stories and expertise. It creates a sense of community centered around the brand. One of the many examples of expert social proof on the channel is their series about a fellow designer and Nike collaborator Virgil Abloh.

3. Use social proof in advertising

What is marketing if not carefully arranged facts? Use the power of social proof and invite a movie star to tell the world about the number of satisfied customers and the heap of official certifications that your product has. 

Another way to do it is to go meta and invert the tropes, as CeraVe did in their viral Michael Cera ad. Notice how the video addresses the idea of using celebrities in media to appeal to people and the contrast between his made-up story and the final scene with (supposedly) real experts.

4. Collaborate with famous bloggers

Collaborating with influencers is a great way to attract new audiences and increase sales. However, if it goes wrong, it may feel like a forced product placement. So, don’t just wave your money around — make friends and build partnerships. Send your stuff for reviews and ask for an honest opinion, or become a sponsor and provide necessary items for bloggers to make their content with.

While searching for my dream keyboard, I stumbled upon Hipyo Tech on YouTube. He often receives free products for his reviews but always stays objective. That’s exactly why his recommendations have a huge impact on the featured brands. Great reviews on a channel like this are the surefire way to get more social proof for your business and drive your sales up.

5. Also use microbloggers with a small reach

Here’s the catch — popular bloggers tend to promote larger brands. That’s understandable: they have a reputation to worry about, and working with a big business increases their own social proof. That’s why micro-influencers should be your pals when you don’t have huge digital marketing budgets. Small-time bloggers on platforms like TikTok or Twitter don’t set sky-high demands and most likely will be glad to cooperate, boosting social proof for both of you. On top of that, they can cover a certain niche that you are interested in, and act as a gateway for you to sell your products to specific communities or demographics.

A couple of years ago, Stanley made it big with their cups and tumblers in the UK and US. The secret recipe was reaching out to lifestyle bloggers on TikTok in these countries. Their reviews and everyday content started a media trend that made the company a cultural phenomenon and drastically increased their sales.

6. Highlight user-generated content

When your fans generate their own content based on your products, you can put down that marketing ROI calculator, sit back, and enjoy free social media promotion. Your customer base can be an inexhaustible source of creativity and produce anything from testaments to catchy memes.

You can go even further. LEGO has been following their fanbase for decades, even before the Internet came around. Through the years, it evolved into the LEGO Ideas project — a special site where fans can share their own original set designs. Best creations make it to the official product line, with full credit and sales royalties. This often drives people to become die-hard fans, spending hundreds of dollars on building blocks needed to become a LEGO pro.

If you’re curious, one of the recent fan projects that made it to the product line is Tuxedo Cat.

7. Place the testimonial form and the reviews you receive in a prominent place on your site

A review section is a must-have for your company’s website. Since the website is 100% yours, it may be easy to accuse you of fake reviews written by your staff copywriters. However, first-hand customer testimonials on a landing page still add more weight to your marketing claims. This is social proof in its purest form — you let people see that you have loyal clients ready to back you up. 

Even though it may seem pretty basic, there’s just no reason why you shouldn’t design a review section on your website right now. In the meantime, take a look at ours.

8. Get verified on social media

Seeing a blue or gold check mark next to your profile name on socials will let people know that you are the real deal. While being verified won’t affect people’s actions immediately, it’s still important to show your authenticity. After all, the verification process became a thing for protecting companies and users from fake accounts.

It’s awesome if you use your verified business account to interact with user-generated content, post endorsements, and even provide customer support through socials. It helps existing and potential customers easily gather around your brand. This visible community brings people together while making different forms of social proof and other online marketing strategies work as one.

Final thoughts

Using social proof marketing is important for promoting your products through the power of community. When traditional advertising gets ignored, recommendations from real people and respected professionals will come into play and let you get new customers.

Here are some of the strategies that can make social proof work for you:

• Seek endorsements from famous people and industry experts
• Establish relationships with bloggers and micro-influencers on social media
• Encourage user-generated content for free promotion and a chance at virality
• Get certified and verified to boost your importance

Use these methods to grow your reputation, find new admirers for your business, and sell more products.