What is the major reason for your e-commerce success?
Table of Contents
- 1. What is Social Proof?
- 2. Why Merchants Need It?
- 3. How To Use It?
What is “Social Proof” and why do people in eCommerce rave about it? Sure, you’ve heard a lot of advice about it but do you really use this tool in your eCommerce business? And more importantly: do you know how to use it?
As a person who was lucky enough to be in the Customer Support Manager’s shoes, I can say that not every shop owner/merchant (and mere mortal) knows what social proof is and how to use it.
1. What is Social Proof?
Social proof is evidence that other people have made your product their choice or have encouraged others to do so.
We see social proof not only in the eCommerce universe but in real life as well. I bet you’ve been in a situation where your friend recently watched a movie and couldn’t stop talking it up and recommending that everybody check it out. This is an example of social proof in real life.
We face social proof almost every day, even if we aren’t overtly aware of it.
We face social proof almost every day, even if we aren’t overtly aware of it.
Below is just one example of how social proof can evolve from a hobby or fun pastime to a respected, full-time role. I’m sure you’re familiar with bloggers/vloggers, the ones who do product reviews or paid endorsements. The same goes for actresses and actors, musical artists, sports stars, political leaders, reality show stars, etc.
Paid or unpaid, celebrities are walking billboards. We pay attention to any product they use or recommend because we give their celebrity status a lot of weight. Any product with a celebrity endorsement is bound to get a lot more attention. And since we love celebrities, this kind of social proof works.
2. Why Merchants Need It?
Brands are eager to land a strong endorsement and if they’ve been endorsed by a star, sales tend to jump.
Ellen Degeneres’s famous Oscar selfie in 2014 is a great example of this. Did you spot the Samsung Galaxy Note that Degeneres pulled out to take a selfie with stars? No? Did you know that particular selfie was estimated to bring a $900 million benefit to Samsung, though the Ecommerce company claimed the photo was unplanned? Either way, it is a blatant example of successful product placement – millions of viewers seeing the Samsung device in action.
Thus, social proof is an effective and economic tool – a clever resource that captures your audience’s interest and helps them decide that your brand is trustworthy.
However, celebrity endorsement can be quite expensive, so if you are not Samsung’s owner but a merchant that has just started their way on Shopify Development (or already have a growing business) there are several other ways to lend gravitas to your store.
3. How To Use It?
There are people who don’t realize just how many ways of presenting social proof we have. Most people only consider reviews as social proof, but there are more options to convince potential buyers that your products are loved and bought by others. So let’s dive in!
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