Marketing your business can be difficult to do, especially when it seems that there is a new platform or a new update every single day. For the most part though, every business can assume that they will need to circulate promotional images or videos, post updates on social media and interact with customers both online and in person. Something that may be overlooked in a marketing strategy, however, is ‘social-proof’.
What is social-proof you may ask?
It’s a magical type of marketing, which for the most part, is free. Yes free.
Long story short; social-proof is the ability to build brand awareness and credibility by sharing reviews and positive content from your customers. The goal here is to encourage others to purchase a product or service, as a result of seeing other satisfied customers. One of the most important things customers can do after using a product or service is to review it on Facebook, Yelp, or Instagram. Businesses can then use these reviews to their advantage while learning about what makes their customers happy, or what makes them not.
When people are thinking of trying a new product or service, the majority of the time they go straight to the internet to research it. Based on the reviews that they see, your potential customer will decide if they want to purchase from your business or not.
For example, when looking for a new nail salon, I always look online for reviews and social media posts. When looking at the reviews, I focus on if their social-proof is credible enough for me to make an appointment. If the posts are negative, I won’t want to use their services. But, if many satisfied customers are posting online (with happy pictures), I’m much more likely to try it out.
There is one issue that many businesses run into, though. They do not have a lot of reviews! This can be easily solved by encouraging customers to promote or post about your products or services online. Don’t be afraid to plain out ask customers to post pictures of themselves using your products, or sharing their experience with your company. If this is not your style, you can host contests or offer discounts for shoppers. Either way, the content shown on your social platforms can increase your social credibility and gain the attention of potential buyers.
So long story short, reviews are extremely useful for the marketing of any and every business. Don’t overlook their power.
