How Is Social Proof – The Psychology of Turning Business Traffic Into Sales

how is social proof
April 27, 2018 Jordan Meola 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read My Disclosure for more info.

 

 

Marketing is psychological. It doesn’t matter what your business is, or what you’re trying to sell, the success of your marketing is all about understanding what’s going on inside the brains of your potential customers.

 

We know this; people are social creatures. And now, possibly more than any other time in history, people are consulting other consumers on the quality of a buying decision.

 

Take note.

 

That’s why we need to discuss the method of social proof. How is social proof? And what is the psychology of social proof that turn all of your business visitors and traffic into sales?

 

 

how is social proof

 

Connect

 

Whether you’re running an ecommerce store dropshipping physical products, an affiliate marketing blog, a business selling services or software – you name it – social engagement is a MUST.

 

That doesn’t mean you need to be awesome at direct sales. You might get an ulcer just thinking about selling face to face. But if you want your business to succeed you’re going to need a brand, and if you want your brand to succeed, you need to be everywhere. Approachable. Present.

 

Social connectivity online drives the marketplace. Openness builds trust. And this converts traffic into sales.

 

 

how is social proof

So where exactly should you be? Every relevant social media source that gets a lot of traffic. Find where your target audience/customers can be found on these social sources.

 

 

 

 

Pinterest for a visual social media presence

Facebook. 2 billion+ users.

how is social proof?

Twitter for grabbing fast attention.

 

 


 

 

 

Google for Search Engine Rankings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The point is, your customers are going to be connecting in these social spheres. Be a part of the conversation.

 

 

So How Does Social Proof Work?

 

Social proof is an innovative technique with social marketing. Essentially, social proof subtly lets your visitors know every time someone makes a purchase.

 

It looks something like this:

 

 

 

If you’re not using this for your business already yourself, you’ve likely at least seen this at play. A webinar with a sales pitch at the end, a webstore, and so on.

 

This may seem like the smallest thing in the world. But the psychological effect is enormous.

 

Think about it this way. The vast majority of consumers, especially in advertisement saturated societies, are getting a lot of marketing fatigue. People are not inclined to automatically trust an ad, sponsored by a company, claiming that it’s a worthwhile buy. OF COURSE the company trying to make a profit would endorse their own product, but because of the social resources available to today’s consumers, more and more people are looking to the unbiased endorsements of their peers.

 

The statistics suggest that more than 40% of consumers will now read consumer reviews before they even consider making a purchase.

 

Social proof doesn’t feel like being advertised to. It simply let’s your website visitors know that their peers and fellow customers are purchasing. It’s a quiet but powerful endorsement of the product in the eyes of your visitors. Not only does this assure the customer that the product seems to be approved by their peers, but it appeals to the natural human tendency to want to conform to what is popular.

 

It says “yes, people are buying this”. The “you should buy this too” is a blank that people will then fill in themselves. A buyer feeling like THEY are the primary decision-maker and influencer will almost always be happier with their purchase. Rather than a buyer feeling pressured by advertising and bombardment.

 

 

how is social proof

 

 

Customer journeys are the next level up! When you have a product or service that is hot, and has hit a strong selling streak, customer journeys can explode your conversions exponentially. It tells your visitors not only that their peers are buying the product, but it displays the frequency with which the items are selling.

 

Sam bought your product 6 minutes ago. Dev bought it an hour ago. And Sandra bought it 45 seconds ago. This creates not only a sense of the product being popular, but even an urgency to join the community buying it NOW.

 

Make sense?

 

I’ve studied marketing for years, and got my degree in Integrated Marketing, but the first few times I experienced social proof, without knowing what it was, it worked on me…. and I didn’t even realize it right away!

 

So What Do You Do If Nothing Is Selling Yet?

 

Social proof is obviously most useful when some items are already selling, but is it useless until you have your first conversions?

 

Some of you are not even selling physical products. You may make your money through a blog, or some other kind of entrepreneureal venture.

 

Well, once you have traffic, even that can be used to endorse your brand in the eyes of your visitors. When someone is looking to your blog for information, reads your review of a specific item, or notices your business and looks into it, people always want to know that your business is reputable. There might be some reviews about your business that they can look to, but maybe not.

 

Social proof can still take advantage of their visits. The more traffic your landing pages get, social proof can be used to assure your visitors that many others are also consulting your website.

 

This solidarity in of itself can go a very long way.

 

So How Do You Get Social Proof On Your Site?

 

Social proof is a software that is actually very easy to obtain. And thousands of business owners and entrepreneurs are now using a resource called Use Proof to give their websites the 10%-15% conversion lift typical of social proofed sites.

 

The shocking thing about businesses and bloggers today is that statistically most are STILL spending $92 on getting traffic, for every $1 they spend on conversions.

 

You can get all the traffic in the world, but without converting those website visitors into actual purchasing customers, you will never build wealth, or see significant profits.

 

Conversions are key.

 

how is social proof

 

Use Proof is one of the essential marketing solutions. If you want more details on how it works you can check out a detailed view of Proof right here. Use Proof will install right onto your website, and immediately begin using your traffic and sales to your advantage.

 

The plans and pricing will depend on your level of traffic, and how big your site is. They have plans for sites with 10,000 monthly visitors, 50,000 monthly visitors, 100,000 monthly visitors, and even more!

 

Check it out HERE, and you can even get a 2 week free trial to try it out on your websites and businesses.

 

Marketing is Emotional, and Psychological

 

Do you want your customers to love your brand? How can you make them want what you have to offer?

 

Marketing to your potential customers is all about knowing them, connecting with them, and building their trust. Isn’t that what you, as a customer, would want?

 

This is what social proof is about. It’s grounded in an understand of what today’s consumers want. It’s not loud and flashy ads. Expensive lights shows or gimics. It’s all about visual, messaging, atmosphere, and the approval of the social world.

 

That’s what Use Proof is for.

 

 

 

6 People reacted on this

  1. Hey JMeola, your post rocks! I’ll tell you something, I’ve been with Wealthy Affiliate for the last 7 ½ months and I’m getting the concept of affiliate marketing little by little but I do feel like I am always missing a piece or I make myself believe that I’m not doing something right.
    Your post confirms that I am and the social media aspect of that is king which I also use when I finish a post, I post it on all of my social media.
    I do have a question, is there more to psychological aspect of affiliate marketing or am I just overthinking it, I haven’t made a sale yet which leads me to believe that I’m not doing something right but I believe I am, am I overthinking it?

    1. Hey R.J., thanks so much! 

      I know what you mean, it can really tough in the beginning to not get discouraged. It’s takes a lot of persistence and strategy. You’re probably doing everything right if you’re following the Wealthy Affiliate guidelines, some niches take longer to get off the ground than others. 

      Without seeing your website it would be hard to say if everything is right, but it sounds like you’re doing the right things!

  2. Hey Jordan:

    Thanks for this kick-in-the-pants post. It’s a truth…no matter how good you are at getting traffic, if that flood of interest does not convert into sales at some point then you’re just busy spinning your wheels.

    Your explanations of how to get more sales is also a blessing.

    Thank you for the timely reminder!

    1. Hi Netta, I’m glad you found it helpful!

      Getting traffic to our websites takes a lot of work, but once we have a flow of traffic, I think a lot of internet marketers forget that conversions are just as important, if not more. 

      I wish you success! 

  3. I also think that the psychological effect is huge. It can help with the conversions.
    However I just don’t have time to focus on every social media out there. So I need to pick one or two. In future, I am thinking of building a computer web site. Which social media do I need to focus on?

    1. Hello Furkan!

      Good question. When it comes to marketing it helps to be everywhere. It’s difficult to choose just 1 or 2 social media options, and nothing else. But I probably recommend prioritizing Facebook and Google+. Facebook is easy to use, and it has an astronomical number of users. Exposure is very easy to generate. Google+ I recommend primarily because it’s Google’s favorite choice, so it will make them like your website a little more.

      I have very little experience with Twitter, so I can’t say much to that. Pinterest is a strong option for certain niches with more visual customers. Pictures are huge. And people make a LOT of buying choices through Pinterest. 

      Once you get your social media presence established it becomes a lot easier to maintain. 

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