Social proof builds business and authentic testimonial feedback is how to get it.
Have you ever landed on a page and been presented with comments from random people about how good the website products or services are? Sure you have – ‘testimonials’ are as ubiquitous today as search boxes and pop-ups but can they be trusted?
Some claims seem too good to be genuine so you need to make up your own mind but often the lack of such proof can be more of a concern. If your business is new on the block it’s likely you are building your customer base and don’t have real-person feedback to share. Try providing a service or two for free and seek a comment in return for use as a testimonial. This will suffice until you have some additional feedback from paying customers but get something on your site as soon as you can.
Never make up your own feedback or invent people as the impact of being found out could wreck the reputation you are trying to build. It takes time and effort so recognise that and keep it real.
Other effective types of social proof are:
- Figures showing approval ratings or quality scores
- Ratings and Reviews
- Endorsement by influential people
- Display of brand logos (often clients)
- Accreditation badges
- Social Media follower numbers
As with testimonials, all these elements give site website visitors the confidence to proceed to their goal so use them judiciously and honestly.
