What is social proof?
Social proof is a psychological concept that was first coined by American
social psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini in 1984. It's based on the idea of
social influence, where people tend to "follow the crowd." Social
influence theories were also published by Professor Sherif in 1935 and Dr.
Asch in 1952.
The theory is that humans are highly influenced by others around them, and
this can affect their behaviours. In uncertain or ambiguous situations,
humans will copy the actions of others around them if it is what the
majority of people are doing. According to Cialdini, social proof is one
of the six key principles behind the power of persuasion, which is useful
when applied to marketing.
Why is social proof important for ecommerce?
Buying behaviours can be shaped to a degree with social proof. There are
psychological marketing techniques that can be applied that can persuade
and sway online shoppers to make a purchase.
This works particularly well when a customer has no clear preference for
which product to purchase, so they are more easily influenced by social
proof nudges. Nudges such as product reviews, customer testimonials, case
studies, and user-generated content can alter and affect a customer's
choice when making a decision.
Learning about and implementing social proof nudges for an ecommerce
website could increase customer trust and the number of sales.
9 ways to boost social proof for your dropshipping store
1. Display customer reviews beneath products
The classic five-star rating scale is prevalent everywhere on ecommerce
stores, and there's a good reason why. Customers are used to this rating
system - it's trusted, useful, and offers information quickly to help them
make a purchasing decision. Show the average rating score next to product
images while customers are browsing a category page. It saves customers
time, so they don't have to click on each product just to see the average
review rating.
2. Link customer reviews from a trusted review site
To boost the confidence of customers in your products, choose to link your
ecommerce store with a review website. Google My Business, Feefo, and
Trustpilot are just a few of the major review platforms that customers
know and trust.
The key benefit here is piggybacking on the credibility of these review
websites. This is especially useful for a new ecommerce store that doesn't
have an established brand in the market. Customers appreciate the high
reputation of review websites as they know the reviews are authentic and
not fake as part of a false marketing strategy.
3. Add customer location to reviews
Increase customer trust by adding more detail to customer reviews.
Displaying the location of a reviewing customer can help potential buyers
believe the reviews are genuine and credible. It has also been shown in
studies that people trust the actions and opinions of someone from their
country, city, or town. This depends on the context. In the case of
travel, hotels, and flights, this might not be an important factor for
buyers.
Some ecommerce stores also ask reviewing customers to add other details
such as their age or clothing size. This can help potential customers
compare and match themselves with a reviewer to see if an item would fit
or work for them.
4. Allow customers to add their product photos to reviews
Customers will feel more secure in their purchase when they can browse
images of products uploaded by previous buyers. This can allow them to
compare the user-generated content with the website images to see how
accurate they are, the quality of the product, and how it looks in the
appropriate setting (clothing on a person, furniture in a home, bicycle
accessories outside on a bicycle trip).
5. Manage negative customer reviews
Replying to upset customers is important for other buyers to see. Not only
are you helping the person with a complaint, but you are impressing
potential buyers with your ability to handle the situation professionally
and with a solution to their problem. This shows buyers that you are an
ecommerce company that cares about good customer service and not just
sales.
6. Highlight your best-selling products
Marking which of your products are best sellers makes it easier for unsure
customers. It steers them in their decision-making, which leads to a
higher chance of a sale. Customers trust a product that is labelled as
"popular," "selling fast," or "trending" as they believe that it must be a
good product if many others have already bought it.
7. Show how many people bought a product
Customers are influenced by the crowd. When showing the number of other
customers that have purchased a product, this invokes trust that the
product is of good quality and that it is worth buying.
8. Show recommendations with "customers also bought"
The classic "customers also bought" makes it simple for browsing shoppers
when choosing what to buy. Shoppers like to see what other related items
they might need or want in addition to the ones they put in their online
basket. It gains trust that other shoppers bought these products, and it
helps to increase the value of their basket.
9. Have a high number of social media followers
People naturally trust brands that have a high following count on their
social media channels. Of course, you might not reach over a million
followers within your first or second year of business (but it's not
impossible) however, it's good to try and increase the following as much
as you can.
Having a high number of followers suggests that you are a well-known
brand, trustworthy, reputable, and have a large customer base.
10. A high number of social media likes, shares, and comments
High numbers of likes, shares, and comments are influential for online
shoppers. It shows that you have an established brand, that other
customers like you and your content, that you have good marketing, and
that you are worth following and purchasing from if so many others are
interacting with you.
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