
The power of social proof is ever-growing. Product ratings and reviews have become a key decision-influencing factor for consumers in the evaluation and purchase stages of the buyer’s journey. Much more impressively, brand reputation has become crucial in allowing businesses to attract audiences and get them into the sales cycle.
According to the latest research from Forbes Advisor, most of today’s buyers (between 40% and 73%) decide whether to interact with a business based on its standing. An organization’s reputation can be more effective at attracting audience attention than its offer, values, and online presence.
For this reason, you must implement the right credibility-boosting tactics in your marketing strategy.
Are you looking to maximize brand trust and position your business as the go-to competent entity in your industry? The following social proof marketing examples are excellent options for you to explore. Let’s get started.
Align Influencer Content With Your Brand Voice
One of the best social proof marketing examples right now comes from Bay Alarm Medical.
Look at the brand’s homepage. You’ll see a prominent “Real People, Real Testimonials” section, which takes web visitors to a YouTube vlog posted by Homestead Homemaker. The video offers an unfiltered view of the influencers’ visit to their grandma, including cooking and cleaning with her and presenting her with Bay Alarm Medical’s Personal Alert Button.
However, what shines through during the 20-or-so-minute video isn’t a convincing endorsement of the brand’s products. Instead, it’s the feeling that this young person genuinely cares about their elderly family member and is willing to go above and beyond to keep them healthy and safe.
You see, choosing spokespeople for your brand can be tricky. Yes, people trust influencers—especially relatable people they perceive as transparent and honest.
However, establishing your brand’s credibility and competence isn’t merely about collaborating with someone with thousands of followers. Instead, it’s about choosing collaborators who will create content suited to your brand.
Consumers appreciate authenticity. And many (82%, to be precise) want to support brands whose values and missions align with their personal beliefs.
So, the consequence of picking the wrong influencer (or spokesperson) isn’t just the possibility of subpar returns. Instead, it’s the threat of harming your brand’s reputation and credibility (thus minimizing its potential to convert new and retain existing clients).
Ensure Testimonials Are Trustworthy
Check out the Eden Emerald Mortgages homepage and pay particular attention to the Testimonials section. Is there anything that stands out to you?
At first glance, this is just another example of a social proof marketing strategy in which a business uses positive customer feedback to establish its credibility. However, a closer look reveals a recurring theme.
You see, Eden Emerald sources every single one of the featured testimonials from Google. So, in addition to helping the brand boost its trustworthy reputation, this choice maximizes credibility by showing the name and face of each customer because these reviews are connected to their Google accounts.
But why is this tactic so effective?
You must understand how consumers perceive testimonials to use effective social proof marketing examples.
Yes, most people read reviews and consider them when evaluating solutions to their pain points. Nonetheless, it’s also important to note that most consumers know that not all testimonials are genuine.
A 2022 survey from PowerReviews discovered that 81% of consumers worry about fake testimonials. Moreover, Bazaarvoice found that most people (63%, to be precise) think it’s a brand’s job to ensure that they only display authentic social proof.
Fortunately, simple solutions — like pulling third-party verified testimonials from websites like Google or Trustpilot still work.
So, to establish and expand your brand’s credible reputation, prioritize authenticity and only post genuine and trustworthy reviews on your online channels.
Allow Customers to Upload Media Along with Their Reviews
The best social proof marketing examples don’t focus on positive feedback alone. Instead, they rely on visual formats, like in this example from the Infraredi Body Wrap product page:
Traditional customer feedback can be an excellent way to demonstrate your brand’s ability to meet customer expectations and remove their pain points. However, due to The Picture-Superiority Effect, people are far more likely to comprehend and remember information they consume through visual formats.
By allowing customers to upload media along with their reviews—images, videos, or both—brands like Infraredi cleverly enhance their social proof. The result isn’t just a boost in the brand’s reputation; potential buyers benefit, too.
They receive access to unique formats that aid their product evaluation process and instill in them the necessary confidence to invest their hard-earned money in a solution that genuinely has the potential to solve their pain points.
Get the Most Out of Earned Media
Showcasing earned media is an exceptional strategy for winning your prospects‘ trust (and business).
But the truth is that showing off the logo of a publication that mentions your brand or solution usually isn’t enough to convince consumers to convert. Instead, to get the most out of earned media, you must go above and beyond — akin to what Escort Radar does on its homepage.
Look at how this brand utilizes social proof marketing. Each of its earned media mentions includes a logo, a direct quote, and a link to a dedicated media mentions page with links to relevant articles in publications such as Forbes, Car and Driver, and Road and Track.
These examples of social proof marketing don’t just work because they build brand credibility through association. (Although, being associated with well-known names such as Forbes is influential in and of itself).
However, what is particularly noteworthy about this type of social proof is that the quotes provide context and mention highly specific user benefits.
Most importantly, they’re easily verifiable thanks to the included links, proving that the brand didn’t just put a random logo on its website but is genuinely well-regarded as an industry authority and provider of an exceptional product.
Allow Granular Star-Ratings in Product Reviews
Details are what distinguish average from exceptional social proof. Unconvinced? Check out what Main Clinic Supply does on its Inogen One G4 Portable Oxygen Concentrator product page.
You see, customer satisfaction is made by more than a high-quality product.
Today’s buyers require a well-rounded shopping experience that includes informative pre-purchase resources, fast and convenient shipping and payment options, exceptional post-purchase support, and everything in between.
So, if you want to use social proof marketing to maximize your brand’s credibility (and increase your prospects’ willingness to convert), consider allowing granular star ratings in your product reviews.
By doing something similar to Main Clinic Supply and inviting your buyers to rate your brand based on multiple relevant purchase factors, you will show first-time web visitors that they can rely on your business to deliver a positive shopping experience that aligns with your promises. (This is something that 53% of shoppers seek out in the first place.)
More importantly, you’ll gain a unique opportunity to highlight everything your business does better (or differently) than anyone else in your niche, making it easy and logical for your ideal customers to buy from you instead of your competitors.
Showcase Relatable Reviews
Check out the Outdoor Kitchen Cabinets product page on EXT Cabinets. The brand takes a fairly standard approach to choosing which customer reviews to highlight.
However, if you examine these testimonials more closely, you’ll find they all follow a similar theme. They describe a specific, highly relatable pain point the brand removed for its buyers.
You see, sometimes, the best way to maximize your credibility isn’t to display testimonials that address impressive features or exceptional quality of your solutions. Instead, it highlights the benefits of your solutions that hit close to home.
Ultimately, the best social proof marketing examples aren’t convincing because they’re impressive. It’s because they’re relevant and relatable to your audience.
Just consider the types of testimonials consumers find authentic. According to the 2023 State of Community-Powered Marketing report from TINT, 80% of consumers prefer seeing photos from customers, like themselves, over stock (or staged) photography.
Why? Because they know their product experience won’t happen in a vacuum, with perfectly optimized lighting and conditions.
Instead, people want proof of someone like them using a solution. Furthermore, they want unfiltered feedback, even if it’s not perfect. The only thing that matters is that it paints a genuine picture of what they can expect.
Feature Social Media UGC on Your Site
While discussing social proof marketing strategies that rely on user-generated content, it’s impossible not to mention the tactic of embedding social media UGC on your website. For instance, check out how Shay & Blue does it on its homepage below.
Ultimately, UGC can be exceptionally effective at nurturing brand trust, demonstrating the quality of your products, and engaging your audience. However, while it works marvelously on social media, you must understand that your prospects will likely need multiple touches with your business before deciding to convert.
With that in mind, it’s important to employ authentic instances of social proof on all your online channels — including your website.
By embedding existing social media UGC on your homepage, you can enrich your site with purchase-inspiring content demonstrating the key benefits of your solutions. Perhaps even more importantly, you’ll demonstrate your brand’s pride in making customers happy. This is an exceptional way to maximize your credibility and get your audience to fall in love with your brand.
Liberally Display Star Ratings throughout Your Site
One of the most important things you must understand about social proof is that it can be valuable (and conversion-inspiring) no matter what stage of the buyer’s journey your customers populate. To ensure you don’t miss out on valuable opportunities to convert new clients, consider showing off star ratings, as Transparent Labs did on their ProteinSeries category page.
Yes, buyers go through several distinct phases between becoming aware of a solution to a pain point and becoming ready to invest in it. However, while informing themselves about your offer, they subconsciously evaluate your products and your brand’s competence.
If you can leave a positive impression and position your business as a trustworthy authority, their chances of returning to your store once they’re ready to buy will increase.
The strategy showcased above is an excellent method to achieve this effect.
On the one hand, it’s a great way of communicating the quality of your products and encouraging consumers to form a positive impression about your products.
On the other hand, it’s a non-aggressive sales method that gently nudges prospects down the sales funnel—mostly because it generates desirability without pushing people to buy.
Include Customer Success Stories in Your Blog
How do brands like Klaviyo use social proof? In addition to all the traditional strategies, one of their primary methods of displaying social proof is posting customer success stories on their blog.
But does this approach work? The answer is a resounding yes.
Content marketing — blogging, specifically — is an exceptional method of boosting brand awareness and establishing credibility.
But while investing in educational resources can help position your business as a go-to (even in competitive industries), it’s important to note that a significant portion of your readers will have their first brand interaction on your site’s blog section.
With this in mind, you must leave a positive first impression with a well-written blog that offers unique value. It’s also a good idea to explore opportunities to emphasize your brand’s authority and trustworthiness.
By dedicating a portion of your brand’s blog to customer success stories, you can unlock the opportunity to show off social proof in a space where it’s bound to make an impact. You also gain an opportunity to go into how you have helped your customers, giving new prospects the perfect introduction to your brand’s solutions, your dedication to customer satisfaction, and an inspirational incentive to try your offer.
Embrace Social Media to Answer Support Questions
Finally, if you want to delight your potential customers and convince them of your brand’s credibility, don’t hesitate to follow Shure’s example.
Knowing that customers (new and existing) often have questions regarding their future and past purchases, this brand does its best to use its social media channels to answer a wide variety of support questions.
So, why does this example of social proof marketing work? It’s simple. Social media is an excellent channel for engaging with your target audience and showing them you care about their experience, but that’s not all.
Thanks to its ability to enable instantaneous communication, social media also appeals as a customer support channel to 70% of consumers who expect brands to answer their questions in 24 hours or less.
Moreover, social media interactions are visible to anyone.
So, while some of your prospects may not have questions, they’re highly likely to notice your dedication to (and success with) addressing your followers’ questions. That will leave a positive impression and benefit your brand’s reputation.
Final Thoughts
There you have it: ten social proof marketing examples you can take inspiration from to maximize your brand’s credibility.
As you can see, none of these tactics is too resource—or energy-intensive. Best of all, you can easily adjust them to your brand’s (and audience’s) needs.
So, don’t hesitate to try out these strategies. Moreover, make sure you continue investing in social proof marketing. Its influence on consumer behavior will only grow in the near future as consumers continue to seek trustworthy resources to help them make informed purchases.