Even the most inexperienced e-Commerce marketers are aware that psychological factors influence consumer purchasing decisions. Online and offline, psychological triggers and signals are widely employed to guide clients in the right direction: from clever product placement on the shelf to serial positioning on an e-Commerce website.
In some cases, social proof marketing is more effective than in others. When people are hesitant about a decision, they frequently imitate those with whom they identify. It would help if you strived to use reviews that your target clients can connect to boost the impact of social proof on your e-Commerce site.
Using a social proof app is the simplest and fastest way to add social proof to your website. However, each of the approaches on our list can also be accomplished by adding relevant content to your website.
What is Social Proof?
The psychological and social phenomenon of social proof (also known as an informational social influence) refers to people’s dependence on the feedback and behaviors of others to judge what is right and wrong in a given scenario.
Although social proof is as old as marketing itself, the development of social media — and possibly the internet in general — has increased the accessibility and usefulness of social proof as we know it today.
According to the concept of normative social influence (or society), people will follow to be liked by, similar to, or approved by the influencer, according to the concept of normative social influence (or society).
Related: Best Tools To Measure Social Media Engagement
It’s social proof when you’re on a landing page and see a testimonial from a respected industry expert. It’s social proof when you’re looking at a pricing page and find that a significant industry player is already using the technology. That’s social proof when you sign up for a demo because you see how the product solved a similar company’s problem.
In other words, it’s using third-party influence to persuade potential buyers.
What Makes Social Proof So Effective In E-commerce Marketing?
We think (and have research to back it up) that social proof is one of the most effective marketing techniques available today for boosting customer confidence and building trust earlier in the sales funnel.
However, the number of trust signals or the number of people advocating the business or product can influence the extent to which social proof affects customers.
More is better when it comes to trust signals.
Growing competition and a lack of trust in advertising significantly impact the consumer journey and decision-making process.
This poses a significant marketing issue for online retailers.
Related: Essential Ecommerce Marketing Strategies For Success
Customers can rapidly evaluate companies based on price, quality, and customer experience with just a few clicks, making it difficult for shops to separate from the online crowd. Traditional marketing strategies don’t have the same impact.
5 Ways To Improve Your Shopify Store’s Social Proof
According to recent research, 92 percent of online shoppers read at least one review before purchasing. Even more remarkable, 47% of respondents will only buy things with a rating of four stars or above. Despite these data, only a small percentage of firms have an effective Social Proof plan in place.
1- Using Testimonials
Obtaining testimonials is one of the most effective techniques to generate solid social evidence.
Encouraging your customers to talk about their great experiences with your product substantially impacts your sales conversions.
Another thing to consider is where the testimonials should be placed. Gather a few testimonies (at least three or four), and be sure to arrange them in natural places.
An intelligent product reviews app will perform all of the legwork for you by automatically soliciting testimonials and reviews from prior customers and appropriately displaying them on your website in the form of an image, video, or written form.
Related: Best WordPress Plugins For Testimonials
2- Instead Of Focusing On Yourself, Emphasize The Customers Who Have Recommended Your Products
Showing visitors how many prior customers endorse your product is far more potent than endorsing it yourself. “We recommend…” or “We advise…” sets a commercial tone right away and does not inspire confidence. Instead, demonstrating that a product or service has been highly recommended by their peers will be more credible and have a higher impact. People are also motivated to take action (such as purchasing something) when they find proof that it has been done many times before, implying that there have been no snags in the process and that they can safely carry out these same actions themselves.
Related: Benefits Of Recurring Revenue Business Model On Shopify
3- Create A Sense Of Urgency By Displaying The Number Of People Who Have Viewed A Product
We all know that a sense of urgency influences shopping decisions. When utilized correctly, it can persuade users to make a purchase when they might otherwise put it off or leave the website, increasing the likelihood that they will abandon the sales funnel.
Queues, busy stores, and people exploring the same racks make it easy to observe how many people are looking at a product in a physical store. All of these items stimulate people’s interest, and shoppers walk in to see what they’re looking at, resulting in a win-win situation.
Related: Best Marketing Tools For Shopify
E-commerce companies may replicate this experience online by simulating the feeling of being in a crowded store with others vying for the same items. Counting the number of persons who have looked at a product:
- Creates a sense of urgency: “If I don’t act immediately, someone else might steal this!”
- Demonstrates the product’s worth: other individuals are interested as well.
4- Allow For Customer Feedback
The first step in building social proof for your brand and business is to produce customer highlights from your existing customers.
According to recent studies, individuals look at social proof 87 percent of the time to see what others say about a product. And, like any rational customer, they choose products that have received positive feedback over those that have received low ratings and numerous negative reviews.
Have you ever suggested a product or service to a friend? You probably paid attention to what they were saying because you trusted them.
Related: Ways To Drive Traffic To Your Shopify Store
When reading reviews on the online platform, consumers now go through a similar mental process. While hearing positive comments from friends increases the likelihood of purchasing a product from your company, reviews from strangers are also quite effective!
Once you start receiving sales, you should ask your customers to leave a product review online to share their thoughts on the product.
5- Show What Others Have Bought To Make Recommendations
A proper ‘one-two punch’ of an eCommerce cross-selling approach shows products that others have bought or viewed beside the item a customer is now looking at.
Why? It not only reminds the customer that others have purchased the goods they’re looking at, providing social proof for the product they’re already contemplating, but it also offers a sales funnel for additional products, offering social proof for those as well.
Related: Shopify SEO Guide
This is most recognized as an Amazon method, but considering that Amazon’s recommendation algorithm accounts for 35% of all sales, it’s a very beneficial practice to implement. Suggestions based on other people’s purchases help consumers explore more products, which minimizes website abandonment.
Wrapping Up
Creating genuine social proof for your Shopify store can be really beneficial.
Boost your sales conversion rates. Increase your brand’s visibility and make more connections in your sector. There are several methods to get started, but I strongly advise you to follow the five stages outlined in this post.
I hope you find this post to be very useful and that you will use some of the tips in your Shopify store.
