Of all the e-commerce marketing and conversion strategies, building social proof has been undoubtedly among the most successful one. It is one of the most effective levers for building trust in an ecommerce company, and it has the ability to become even more efficient as you evolve.

Persuasive content is the secret to selling more in e-commerce, but to get that, you need to know how people think. One of the most important factors in influencing our choices is social proof It is an important part of the choices made by consumers. This is why ‘Social Proof’ is such an effective e-commerce marketing tool.

Socially strengthened trust metrics would help you as an e-commerce site:

Boost conversions.
Bring trust in your brand.
Help improve customer’s confidence in dealing with your brand.

Here, we are going to discuss some most effective ways to use social proof.

Product Reviews & Ratings

Star ratings, like/dislikes, text description, comments — each determinant is an indication that already in the mind of the customer attempts to answer a fundamental question: What do other people think of the purchase a person is thinking to make?

Customer ratings are seen on ecommerce platforms as one of the most powerful types of social evidence to be used. About 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase, and the probability of buying a product with five ratings is 270% higher than the probability of buying a product without them. Which sums up that if your website does not include feedback from customers anywhere on the product page, you may lose a significant amount of business. So, put product reviews and ratings in order to make customers sure of their purchase.

Product Recommendations

One of the drawbacks with most review systems is that if you don’t have a high volume of feedback or reviews, the customers may think you don’t have a lot of customers, your customers don’t like specific product lines, and/or your products aren’t nice.

Recommendations are a good combo or substitution for reviews as they give potential consumers a clear look into whether the products are valued by existing customers. Such recommendations can be aggregated to provide you with a number of recommended customers, equivalent to a product level NPS (net promoter score).

Show Interest in Existing Products

Social proof is all about indicating a buyer’s interest. When showing a brand in high demand, you hit all the factors that encourage people to buy on the basis of the fact that others are doing the same thing.

Below are four ways you can indicate buyer interest on your product pages:

Limited Stock Alert – Show it explicitly next to the main CTA when stock is limited.

Display out-of-stock items– Through showing that certain product variants – such as shoe sizes – are not available you show automatically strong buyer interest.

Show ‘recent purchase made’ – Show a pop-up telling customers when a product is purchased.

Display number of purchases within the last 24 hours – If this is feasible, let customers know how many sales you have made over the past 24 hours.

Showcase seasonal shortage – Let people know if a product is going to be popular on a buying holiday like at Christmas or Mother’s Day! If buyers are tied to specific events, they are more inclined to believe slogans such as “While Stocks Last.”

FAQs Segment

Organize your customer service ticketing process questions to define and answer the product’s top-asked questions.

Social proof is not only about showing your product’s raving reviews – it’s also about exhibiting that your product or brand advocates are responsive to the needs of your customers for any questions that arise.

Celebrity/Influencer’s Say About Your Product

We cannot neglect the importance of influencers and celebrities while talking about social proof. If you haven’t already reached celebrities or influencers in your marketing strategies, you should find ways to incorporate them into your website.

On your front door, you can show that the product is approved by the influencers/celebrities. Explore ways to work on content for influencers that support both parties. They offer workable tips to promote your e-store.

89% of marketers claim the influencer marketing ROI is equal or higher than other forms of marketing Certainly, endorsing celebrities and influencers can be a very powerful form of social proof but it depends on the types of products you sell and the influencers you pick.

You must acknowledge that it doesn’t matter how popular or famous the influencer is as long as you find someone who is popular among people who use your product or services.

Customer Testimonials

Requesting your previous customers’ testimonials can be a good way to build trust and confidence in your audience. They vary in the way they are presented from the product reviews. Testimonials are succinct recommendations put in the call-out format. Testimonials are the face of reviews and are the foundation of social proof. It is an especially powerful technique to mix video testimonials with your written testimonials.

UGC (User Generated Content)

UGC is one of the growing drivers of ecommerce sites social proof. Reviews, testimonials and images of your customers using your products on-site and offsite are marketing gold for business expansion.

User-generated content (UGC) is a term used to describe any content created about you by your customers. This content can take various forms including social media posts, in-depth video reviews, blog reviews, or maybe even a brand/product podcast.

Take Away…

Social proof is a psychological and social theory that explains that people seek advice and recommendations from other individuals before they decide to buy. Since potential customers know that others have bought a product before, they may gain confidence while buying from a new store or unfamiliar products.

Whether you’re selling to a B2B or B2C audience social proof is one of the most effective ways of improving conversion rates as well as boosting sales.

Website design for e-commerce is a kind of sales pitch. Muddle your words and lose interest in your audience. Get the pitch right and become valued customers for your audience. When selling the products, social proof is one of the most reliable and effective strategies to use.