As an entrepreneur and a marketer, understanding how social proof sells will change everything. Social proof has a direct correlation to your conversion online.
You have experienced it for yourself. How many times have you seen people in a line outside of a building and wondered what you were missing?
Have you ever bought an additional product from Amazon because you got to the shopping cart and saw that section that shows you other products that people bought when they bought this product?
How many times have you bought a product or program because someone you admire has given a testimonial on a sales page or you hear them talking about it somewhere?
Now how do you apply this to your business? Selling anything online today requires plenty of “social proof.” Testimonials, likes, shares, re-tweets and re-grams are all ways of saying “I like this. It’s worthy of my time and money.” For training programs, ebooks and other downloadable items, testimonials are the biggest and best tool in your toolbox.
How do you get social proof?
ASK! Don’t wait on people to offer testimonials.
If you are hosting an event or teaching a program—while everyone is feeling enthusiastic and excited for what’s on the horizon—that is the perfect time to grab some meaningful testimonials. Written testimonials are fine, and if you are in person and can capture them on video, you’ll be well ahead of the competition.
Simply set up a video camera on a tripod in a quiet corner of your venue, and ask attendees to take a few minutes out of their day to share their thoughts. You could even do this on the fly with a simple cell-phone video if you like.
TEACH! Teach people to share you on social media.
Every time someone clicks “like” on your post in Facebook or re-tweets you on Twitter, that is all social proof. My first year in business I was in a mastermind. My mastermind partners and I had an agreement to like, comment, share, retweet, etc. anything we saw each other post. This helped me to build that early social proof that I needed. Who can you partner with?
How do you get social proof that sells?
Let’s face it, not all social proof is equal in value. Most people don’t know how to give you an effective testimonial. So there are a couple of things you can do to get more effective testimonials.
Feel free to tell people what you would like the testimonial about. Is there a specific topic you want them to talk about? Is there a specific accomplishment you would like them to talk about?
Depending on the relationship you have with the client, you could write the testimonial for them and send it to them for editing. I find that a lot of people really appreciate when you consider their time.
If this sounds like a lot of work for one person to manage, well, it can be. But make no mistake, “social proof” is critical to your success, so the work will pay off. If necessary, consider hiring an assistant to take the stress out of photos, testimonials, and social posting. That way all your attention can be right where it needs to be, on your clients.
