Social proof is one of the most powerful marketing techniques that can easily boost your sales, build consumer trust, and increase your online store’s influence and power.

What is social proof? According to Neil Patel, “social proof means that people will copy others’ actions, assuming it’s the right thing to do.”

For example, let’s say you are walking downtown and notice a packed Italian restaurant with a line out the door. Tons of people are waiting to eat at the Italian restaurant, but nobody is in the pizza shop next door.

As you approach the pizza shop, you’re subconsciously processing the situation:

“More people are lining up for the Italian restaurant. Therefore, it must be the tastier of the two.”

Chances are, you’re doing the right thing by following the crowd.

But you’re doing just that — following the crowd. This is the core of social proof, and it also explains why it’s so powerful.

HERE ARE 2 WAYS TO UTILIZE SOCIAL PROOF ON GEARLAUNCH:

1. ASK FOR A PICTURE TO SHARE.

Download your customer list from the GearLaunch admin. Upload the list to your favorite email marketing software and email your customers to send a photo of them wearing your product in exchange for a discount coupon. This is a 2 for 1 — you get an extra sale and an awesome picture for marketing.

Take the photos and post it on your fan page without any links; the goal here is for the post to reach a lot of fans. Add the link in the comments section of the post. Boost the Facebook post to reach more fans and previous website visitors from your custom audience.

You can also utilize the photos in other social channels like Instagram and future marketing emails.

2. SHOW THE NUMBER OF PURCHASES.

People feel comfortable joining the crowd. When you display how many shirts have sold in a campaign, customers feel like they’ve made the right choice.

Social proof is also a way to reduce purchase anxiety. Entrepreneur magazine makes this point about online shopping: “Online shoppers tend to suffer from purchase anxiety more than offline shoppers. After all, when you buy something over the internet, it’s often a product you’ve never seen before sold by a person you’ve never met before.”

Customers want to know that the choice they make is the choice that other people have made.

If you’re a new ecommerce store, use social proof to help potential customers trust you. Without it, your business runs the risk of being ignored.

What methods have you used to build social proof?

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