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Four Ways to Leverage Social Proof for Your Small Business Marketing
Social proof is the psychological phenomenon in which people adapt their behavior or decisions according to those of other people. Small businesses can reach their marketing goals by building social proof using a number of different tactics. Here are four ways that your small business can build social proof to reach a wider audience and gain more customers.
Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash
I am a member of a Facebook group for vegans in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Almost every Saturday this past winter, a ton of members would post pictures of these vegan donuts from a local business called Donut Garden.
As a self-proclaimed donut connoisseur, I was a little skeptical. Most vegan donuts that I had tried in the past were really cakey. However, with all these other vegans saying how amazing these donuts were, I had to visit Donut Garden’s booth at the farmer’s market to try them for myself.
Guess what? The donuts are amazing and I order from them almost every chance that I get! If I hadn’t received so many recommendations from my fellow vegan peers about these donuts, I may not have ever tried them!
This is an example of social proof in action. The term “social proof” was first coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. The basic premise of social proof is that people will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing.
This rings true in marketing and business! According to a report by Chatter Matters, 83% of consumers say that a recommendation from a friend or family member would make them more likely to purchase a product or service.
Building Social Proof for Your Small Business
Social proof comes in many different forms, but not all of them are ideal for small businesses. Here are the top four strategies of building social proof that you can implement.
Customer Reviews
When potential customers see positive reviews from your past customers, they will already be more likely to want to check out your products or services.
There are many ways to use customer reviews to build social proof. First, make sure to encourage customers to write a review of your business on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms if they have had a positive experience with you. More times than not, if you used the angle of helping support a small business, they will happily oblige.
Depending on the type of products or service you sell, you can add this type of social proof to your website. If you sell products, try adding the option for customers to leave reviews on the product level to share their experiences.
If you own a service-based business, ask customers for a testimonial that you can share on your website, social media platforms, or even video content.
Influencer Marketing
Yes, influencer marketing is an example of building social proof. Why? Because that person has the power to influence the decisions of their following by reviewing your product.
Identify micro-influencers in your industry—or really anyone that has a significant following on social media comprised of your target customers—and introduce your product or service to them.
Aside from a product review or unboxing post, you could ask your influencer to do a “social media takeover” for 24 hours. This is when you grant them access to your social media account and allow them to post content to attract more followers.
Expert Reviews
Are there experts in your industry that will endorse your brand in some way? Is there anything you can do to get that stamp of approval?
Additionally, maybe there are opportunities to partner with another business that offers something different to your target audience. Both of you will not only enjoy more traffic, but also added trust in each of your brands.
Once you’ve identified and established a more synergistic partnership with another business, create some content together. You could do social media takeovers of each other’s brands here too!
Earned Media
Earned media is any sort of publicity or content that is created about your brand that you don’t pay for or create yourself.
A more traditional example of earned media is an interview segment with the local news station. How do you land something like this without paying for it? Well, your business needs to do or accomplish something newsworthy.
It’s the same thing with being featured in a news article. Keep your business active with community engagement and making moves in your industry, and you might catch the attention of the local media.
Building social proof can help you reach your small business’ marketing goals, like reaching a wider audience or converting more website visitors to customers. Once you have a better idea of these goals, you can get started with some of these recommendations.
Five Marketing Strategies to Help You Reach and Engage with Your Gen Z Audience
Generation Z, currently defined as those born in 1997 or later, is quickly becoming the most financially influential generation ever. If your small business is looking for more ways to reach this type of audience, it’s important to first understand exactly what makes this age group so unique, and how to best resonate with them.
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash
Generation Z, defined by Statistica as those born in 1997 or later, is the largest generation in the US, making up over 90 million of the population. This group is on track to become the most financially influential generation ever.
Gen Z already has an estimated purchasing power of $44 billion per year, which means now is the time for small businesses to adjust to this group’s behaviors and values in their marketing strategies.
However, it’s important to understand what makes Gen Z-ers unique. As the first generation that was born into this digital age, Gen Z is excellent at shutting out the more traditional, disruptive advertisements that offer them no value or personalized experience.
In general, this group of consumers seem to be much more responsive to:
Genuine reviews from experts or influencers
Personalized ads and experiences
New, interesting, and up-to-date content
Corporate social responsibility
Connectedness (both in-person and digitally)
With this in mind, here are some strategies that your small business can utilize to help you reach a Gen Z audience.
Influencer Marketing
According to a report by Morning Consult, nearly 75% of Gen Z-ers follow at least one influencer on social media. An influencer is loosely defined as anyone with a large following that can, obviously, influence the decisions of that following.
Have you ever seen a YouTube makeup artist do a special unboxing or demo video of a package of product sent to them by a major brand? What about an Instagram post spotlighting a product with the hashtag “#ad” in the caption? These are examples of influencer marketing.
As a small business, you might think that influencer marketing is way out of your budget; this simply isn’t true. You can identify micro-influencers who have a smaller following of people more related to your industry or product to create ads that are much more organic and appealing to your Gen Z audience, who appreciate more personalized and genuine content anyway.
Personalized Communication
Speaking of personalization, this is something to keep in mind when creating content for Gen Z consumers. According to Mobile Marketer, Gen Z prefers to see online ads and communication based on their browsing history.
This might open up the idea of remarketing through Google Ads or another platform, but remember that this generation has been looking at online ads almost their entire life already and have gotten really good at ignoring them.
To cater to Gen Z’s personalization preference, use it as much as possible in email marketing and other communications. Rather than send a newsletter with a list of new products, send a coupon code for a recently viewed item, or spotlight an item related to one that was already purchased.
Video Marketing
What do YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok all have in common? They’re not only three of the most popular social media platforms for Gen Z users, they are primarily video-sharing platforms. Video is a great way to not only grab the attention of your Gen Z audience, but also quickly and effectively communicate with them before they move on to the next thing.
Your small business doesn’t need expensive equipment to start creating video content, either. Even a video shot on a smartphone can get your message across—just make sure you have some sort of tripod or stand to hold it in place.
Create videos that explain your product or service, show customer testimonials, or that simply tell a great story. Don’t be shy—get in front of the camera and tell people how your business can help them.
Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
Social Responsibility
Experts report that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is huge for both Millennials and Gen Z. As Sarah Cavill writes for Digital Media Solutions:
Gen Z, in particular, looks at the world with a side-eye stemming from having grown up amid recessions, fractured politics and often unexpected job transitions for their Gen X parents, leading to decreased trust in businesses.
If you’re looking for more ways to appeal to potential Gen Z customers, consider implementing a CSR program for your small business that aligns with your vision. Choose a cause that you or your staff are passionate about, and find ways to contribute and/or bring awareness to that cause that incorporates your mission, products, customers, and employees.
Still not sure where to start? Your cause could be as simple as sourcing your materials or supplies from other local or sustainable businesses. What are other changes you can make to your business model that support this cause? Are there any hands-on opportunities to volunteer with your staff? Is there a way to donate a portion of your sales to this cause?
Once you have that sorted out, make sure to communicate this with your customer base in a variety of ways. Make it clear to all potential customers—not just the Gen Z-ers— that by supporting your business, they are also supporting this cause.
Social Media Marketing
Unsurprisingly, out of all the other generations, Gen Z spends the most time on social media—two hours and 55 minutes each day, on average. This makes social media a great way to reach this age group. However, keep in mind that they’re not logging on to social media with the intention to connect with brands, but to connect with friends, peers, or just for entertainment. This means that your small business’ approach on social media should be less purchase-driven and more focused on one or more of the previously mentioned strategies.
If we know anything about Generation Z, it’s that they can see right past the forced, synthetic messaging that comes with traditional marketing tactics. As children of the digital age, they have the ability to ignore so many types of advertising. One thing to keep in mind when marketing to this very influential age group is to be as genuine, personable, and non-disruptive as possible.
Hi! I’m Jennie.
Thank you for visiting my blog! I write about marketing tips for small businesses and how to succeed as a female professional. I write from experience about the things that I love.