A business cannot run successfully without marketing, but customers are getting more skeptical every day and so they demand something more reliable. After all, people tend to trust other buyers more than brands and their promo messages.
According to the report, more than 90% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. The logic is simple – a typical consumer will always check your company online before taking any concrete action.
This is exactly why you need to build up a social proof for your website and try to drive more leads and conversions. In this post, we will show you 10 ways to do it more productively.
1. Keep Your Accounts Updated
The first thing you need to do is to allow customers to express their opinions about your products or services. You can do it by creating accounts on relevant networks like Yelp or Facebook and keeping them fresh and up to date. A study shows that 40% of consumers will only look at online reviews written within the past two weeks, so you definitely want to keep generating endorsements week after week.
2. Ask for a review
Sometimes the easiest way to get a review is to ask for it. Jake Gardner, the author of essay services reviews, says a satisfied customer is probably willing to leave a short comment about your brand, so there is no reason to hesitate or feel uncomfortable: “If you’ve done everything perfectly, ask customers to give you a public review – they will likely do it.”
3. Add Testimonials with Photos
A website should contain client testimonials, but don’t let them be text-only comments. Why not? Well, testimonials with images look much more credible and authoritative. But don’t use generic images or stock files because they look fake and artificial. Instead, show photos of real people who actually did business with your company.
4. Organize Surveys
If your customers are not interested in writing reviews, you can make the process more interactive and easier by organizing online surveys. Surveys are fun and dynamic, which is why most users are willing to participate. All you need is a nice tool with ready-made templates. Survey Monkey is a popular solution in this field because it takes care of technicalities, so your only job is to come up with a few questions and publish the results on your website.
5. Shoot Video Case Studies
If there is one thing that seems even more credible than image-driven testimonials, it must be a video case study. Although it takes a little more work and investments, video testimonials are extremely popular because they help both sides: your clients receive additional exposure, while your brand earns a good-looking review. Check videos to see how case studies function in practice – you might find them perfect for your business, too.
6. Use Celebrity Endorsements
Celebrities are not average buyers, so it would be ideal to earn an endorsement from a VIP. What makes celebrity endorsements so amazing is the fact that they guarantee lots of online visibility. Take this Coca Cola Diet example: Taylor Swift endorsed the product and helped the company to reach out to millions of her fans and followers. Celebrity endorsements are usually expensive, but you can also try to make some sort of an alternative deal and get the endorsement without paying.
7. Get Expert Opinions
Another very useful tactic is to acquire expert opinions about your business. Key opinion leaders in your niche are highly respected individuals who have the authority to commend your work and still look convincing in the eyes of the target audience. You can often see this word of mouth mechanism in the pharmacy where doctors speak about the benefits of using a new medicament.
8. Add Media Mentions
If the media talk about your brand, you should use it to give additional credibility to your business. For example, a popular niche website could publish an article about your products or services. In this case, you are free to add their logo to your website and link it with the corresponding article. Although they don’t come from a customer, media mentions are considered to be very productive because people believe in their objectivity.
9. Add Badges and Certificates
Have you ever won an award for being a standout company? If the answer is positive, then you should not wait before adding it to your website. Any type of certificate or official badge showing your prowess and expertise is more than welcome. This is exactly what content creation services do – they immediately add it to their websites to brag about the quality of their work.
10. Show Your Best Numbers
The last tip on our list has become quite popular in the last few years. Namely, you can display your best numbers to convince the audience that your services are fully legit. For instance, you can present the number of clients, downloads, social media followers, and many more.
Conclusion
Word of mouth is a powerful marketing strategy, but it requires continuous efforts and work 365 days a year. Every comment matters, so it’s up to you to encourage more customers to praise the brand publicly and drive additional conversions through your site.
In this article, we showed you 10 ways to boost users’ reviews and point them out on your website. Keep our tips in mind and make sure to use them – they could help you take the business to the whole new level of productivity.
Author – Jack White
