There are many factors that go into a successful marketing and distribution plan. Reviews, feedback, and social proof, in general, are essential to building trust and rapport with modern, informed consumers — especially in an area as sensitive as health and wellness.
In this resource, we will go over the concept of social proof and provide some ideas for ways health and wellness companies can use the power of customer input to supercharge their brand reputation.
Why Does Customer Input Matter?
Social proof is the concept of using the positive experiences of existing customers to encourage potential customers to engage with your brand. It is also called informational social influence. Another term is earned media.
There is a powerful psychological reaction to seeing feedback from another human being. It involves the natural human reaction to mimic one another, especially when making an uncertain decision.
Social proof seeks to utilize this phenomenon by harnessing positive feedback to position your brand in a positive light to potential customers and the larger public. It puts positive reviews and glowing feedback front and center as a way to signal to others that your brand is already trusted and has effectively served others.
The Stats Behind Customer Feedback
Customer testimonials are a powerful way to market a brand. Consider the impact of the most potent social proof of them all: word-of-mouth marketing. A staggering 92% of customers trust earned media over all other kinds of promotion.
Digital social proof has a major influence, too. 95% of customers report reading online reviews before making a purchase. The purpose of that research? To vet the social proof of other consumers who have come before them.
Along with spurring potential customers to take positive action and convert, social proof also plays a key role after the point of purchase. Customer feedback, for example, can highlight the positives and negatives of a product, making it easier for internal teams to refine and improve the offering over time.
Ways to Implement Social Proof Into Your Marketing Strategy
So, how can you implement social proof into your marketing strategy? Here are a few ways health and wellness brands can naturally tap into this potent promotional tool:
- Encourage and respond to reviews on Google Business profiles, Facebook pages, and similar settings.
- Request user-generated content (UGC) as a way to have satisfied customers post positive review content on your website or social profiles.
- Use social media to encourage customer engagement across public platforms.
- Build social influencer relationships. (These offer an added dimension of social proof, as the audience has already bought into the influencer’s message and trusts them.)
- Use press releases as a way for journalists to pick up and share your messaging on unaffiliated third-party sites.
Social proof is an effective way to improve your visibility. Positive feedback encourages credibility and fosters trust among existing and future customers.
If you’re struggling to generate social proof as a health and wellness brand, we encourage you to reach out to the TruLife Distribution team. Through a free consultation, our veteran marketers can assess your situation and help you begin creating a way to harness the energy of your satisfied customers to help build out and scale up your brand.
