You’re a pro.
You know your stuff and more people should pay attention to what you say (and write.)
Here’s the problem:
People aren’t paying attention to what you say (yet) because you don’t have enough authority within your niche.
So, what’s the answer? Social proof.
With social proof, you gain the credibility you need to be taken seriously. And when that happens your blog’s growth will skyrocket.
But how can you leverage the power of social proof?
In this post, I’ll show you exactly what social proof is, why you should leverage it, common pitfalls to avoid, how to leverage social proof on your blog, and more.
What if you don’t have any social proof to leverage? Don’t worry! I’ll show you how to fix that towards the end of this post. It’s easier than you think.
Let’s get right to it:
What is social proof?
Social proof is a type of social influence. Wikipedia defines it as:
“…a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in an attempt to undertake behavior in a given situation.”
Here’s what this means:
Typically people will look to those around them in order to decide on a course of action. On a psychological level, we assume that if a bunch of other people are taking one course of action, that it’s the correct course of action to take.
If you’ve ever walked past a nightclub with a long queue outside and thought “wow, we should totally go there!” then, you’ve experienced social proof in action.
In the context of digital marketing, what does this look like?
Testimonials and “as seen on” logos are two prime examples of social proof.
You can see both of them in action on the Blogging Wizard homepage. And you’ll find trust logos on the homepage of my personal blog, too:
However, these aren’t the only ways you can leverage social proof. In a moment I’ll show you a lot more ways you can display social proof on your blog.
But first, we need to cover the why and a common pitfall to avoid…
Why should you leverage social proof? (And how to do it right)
When you get social proof right, you’ll easily be able to convey your authority and help to build trust with your audience.
As a result, you’ll get more traffic, email subscribers, and customers. More bloggers, writers, and journalists will mention you, and blog growth will skyrocket.
But, there’s another concept you need to be aware of: negative social proof.
While we usually refer to social proof as something positive, when you get it wrong, social proof can backfire.
Here’s an example:
If you’ve got a social media widget on your blog that shows off the fact that you’ve got 100,000 Twitter followers – that tells people that they should follow you too.
But, if you have a widget that shows off that you’ve only got 10 or so followers – that tells people that others aren’t following you, and they shouldn’t either.
So, when you’re considering which types of social proof to display, avoid anything that may be considered a negative – especially when displaying numbers.
How to display social proof on your blog
Okay, great. So, how exactly can you harness the power of social proof?
Let’s explore some options:
1. Build maximum social proof into your homepage
Your homepage is important. It’ll be the first page that a lot of people see, and it’ll be the page that most of your visitors end up going back to.
A great example is how Elna Cain adds two forms of social proof to her homepage:
Even before I had chance to scroll down the page, Elna drops some pretty significant social proof.
First we’ve got the “15,000+” people that have taken her course, and logos of sites she’s been featured on.
Here’s another example from David Hartshorne’s homepage:
Like the previous example, we see two forms of social proof above the fold (above the fold means the area of the page we see before scrolling.)
This time, we’ve got trust logos followed by a glowing testimonial from the Inbound Marketing Manager, over at Sendible.
Now, it’s important that you consider your goals. Regardless of which type of social proof you use, or where you use it, it needs to be driven by your goals.
For example, David is a freelance writer, and his homepage is optimized specifically for that goal, and the social proof he uses aligns fully too.
2. Show off how many blog comments you get
If you allow comments on your blog, and you get a lot of comments – make sure your comment counts are visible.
A great example of this is Jon Morrow’s SmartBlogger:
Jon’s post on power words has well over 200 comments which is an impressive number. Well worth showing off.
It’s worth noting that comments are harder to get than social shares, so 200 comments > 200 shares.
Similarly, if you don’t get many comments (yet), I’d recommend hiding comment counts for the time being. You may find you get more comments as a result.
3. Create a dedicated testimonial page
Aside from adding testimonials to specific pages, or opt-in forms, you can also create a dedicated page for your testimonials.
For example, that’s what freelance writer, Lindsay Liedke, does on her website:
Testimonial pages can work especially well for those offering services.
However, the process of collecting testimonials and adding them to your website can be quite time consuming. If you use WordPress, you can make it easy for people to submit testimonials with a dedicated landing page.
The page doesn’t need to be too complicated. You’d just need a bit of basic copy and a form to collect testimonials.
4. Create a dedicated press page
If you’re getting media coverage, there are a few ways to let people know about it.
One way you can do this is to create a dedicated press page.
I love how Ted Rubin does this:
He has a lot of links to articles he’s been featured in, but he also has videos of media interviews too. And those videos are incredible social proof.
5. Display social proof on your landing pages
Whether you’re creating a landing page to build your email list, you should be adding some form of social proof.
This can include testimonials, trust logos, and any data that may impress your visitors.
If this is for a new piece of content, for example, trust logos are an easy win.
For example, here’s a screenshot of a landing page I’m building for a new lead magnet:
I’m building this landing page using Leadpages, but you can accomplish something similar with most popular landing page plugins for WordPress.
6. Highlight how many email subscribers you’ve got
Got a huge email list? Wear that number as a badge of honor. You’ve earned it.
I like how ConversionXL does this with their opt-in forms:
