The Five Mountains of Social Proof.

Leverage the Power of Others to Convert Web Visitors and Win Over Customers.

Today, customers make decisions about you faster than you think. Marketers can get web visitors to convert more effectively with these five ways to leverage social proof online. Help your customers get the comfort they need to get into your funnel.

What is Social Proof?

Social proof is a powerful psychological phenomenon that can make or break a B2B marketing campaign. The basic idea is that people are more likely to trust and follow the actions of others, especially those they perceive as being similar to themselves. In the context of B2B marketing, social proof can be leveraged to increase credibility, build trust, and ultimately win over new customers.

Assume that your prospect is visiting your website with the attitude that they shouldn’t engage with your brand. To maximize conversion, make use of these oft-necessary ways to leverage social proof in B2B Marketing:

Five Ways to Use Social Proof in B2B Marketing:

1. Customer Reviews and Testimonials: A testimonial from a satisfied customer can go a long way in convincing prospects that your product or service is worth their investment. Make sure to showcase testimonials prominently on your website and in your marketing materials.
   The trick here is that any testimonial will work – from a vendor, supplier, customer, prospect. It doesn’t matter who’s giving the testimonial as long as the testimonial is succinct and answers a common question prospects may have about your service or product, like “Can I trust these guys?”, “Does their product work?”, “How long have they been in business?”
2. Case Studies: Detailed case studies highlighting the success of past customers can help demonstrate the value of your solution. Case studies can be particularly effective when they highlight specific challenges faced by your target audience and how your product helped solve those problems. You’ll want to organize these by solution and/or problem so your prospect can quickly answer the question: “Can these guys do what I need them to do?”
3. Social Media: This one’s a no-brainer, really. Social media is a powerful tool for showcasing the positive experiences of your customers. It can be daunting to “loosen the reins”, but doing so can be exceptionally powerful for B2B brands. Encourage your customers to share their experiences on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. If you’ve got the traffic, get your customers to use a proprietary hashtag to help your prospects find reviews of your brand.
4. Industry Recognition: If you’ve won awards, been featured in industry publications, or have been recognized by other respected organizations in your industry, showcase those accomplishments. This type of recognition acts as a form of social proof that can help build credibility and increase trust. If there’s an official announcement for the award, link to it (“open in new tab”, though!), which will help with your SEO program.
5. Numbers and Statistics: Make use of your data. Showcase the number of customers you’ve served, the size of your customer base, or other statistics. Demonstrate the popularity of your solution and increase its perceived value. As data helps you make decisions about your processes, product features, and user experience, data helps your prospects gain comfort with your brand.

Build your Online Reputation

We work a lot with local service businesses with both on-site and off-site marketing and SEO. The trick is to identify the process by which your prospects find and evaluate you. Often, it’s a simple two step process:

• Google the service “Basement Underpining”
• Googling the business

One of the most common ways for our clients to ensure that their business “passes” the legitimacy/trustworthiness test put onto them by their prospects, is to add positive reviews on their Google’s Business Profile (Formerly “Google My Business”).

We help them quickly collect customer reviews so that they can create a compelling collection of social proof. We’d be happy to help you do the same.

Help your customers engage more comfortably with you.

In short, Social proof is a powerful tool for B2B and B2C marketers looking to win over new customers. By leveraging the power of others, you can increase credibility, build trust, and ultimately convert more website visitors. Including testimonials, case studies, social media mentions, industry recognition, and numbers and statistics in your marketing materials, can help demonstrate the value of your solution and increase the perceived trustworthiness of your brand.