We’re sure that you’re confident you’re great at what you do, but it’s unlikely new customers will just take your word for it — they’re going to want a second opinion.
Fortunately, you can provide this by displaying different types of social proof on your website. This will allow you to give your website visitors concrete evidence of the fantastic work you’ve done in the past, so they’ll be more likely to trust that they’re going to love your products or services.
Different types of social proof will work best in certain situations, so we’re going to outline exactly what you need to incorporate into your website for the best results. Read on to find out more.
Written or video testimonials that provide helpful information
Written or video testimonials are perfect for providing prospective clients with a lot more context about what you offer and what it’s like to work with you.
These longer reviews are particularly effective when published on the website of service-based businesses. This is because, when you offer more bespoke services that are tweaked to suit your clients’ needs, or you offer a wide range of options that have a variety of applications, it can be difficult to cover all of your bases. But, by collecting written or video testimonials from lots of different types of clients, you can provide website visitors with extra details they might be interested in.
When asking your existing clients for their thoughts, make sure you request that they talk about the problems they were previously facing, why they decided to work with you, and what kinds of results you helped them to achieve. This will provide your future clients with something they can easily relate to, earning their trust and making you more sales.
To give you some inspiration, let’s take a look at a couple of businesses that have incorporated testimonials into their websites to prove they’re great at what they do.
Rainbow Movers is a company that specializes in helping Los Angeles residents to move house. And, on their local moving page, they have a variety of written testimonials that provide a lot of additional context about their services.
These reviews address concerns potential clients may have. For instance, one mentions that none of their belongings were scratched, one mentions that the company’s communication is great, and another says that they would happily recommend the movers to their friends. The written testimonials are accompanied by names and photos, too, giving them more credibility.
This is something you should note if you plan to add testimonials to your website. Some visitors may be skeptical, so you’ll need to do everything you can to win their trust. And, providing some simple details about the customers who have given you reviews is great for increasing their trustworthiness.
At Loganix, we’ve added audio and video testimonials to a lot of our service pages. For instance, on our guest post service page, we have a review from a client in the personal injury space who we’ve helped with their SEO needs. The fact that website visitors can actually hear the client talk about his experiences of working with us is great for earning new clients’ trust and giving them something to relate to. Plus, we’ve also transcribed the testimonials, which we would always recommend doing, as it will make your video reviews more accessible and mean that people who prefer to read information will still get the important information provided.
This is a tactic most service businesses will be able to use. Ask past clients whether they would allow you to film them talking about their experiences, or request a simple voice note. Website visitors are very likely to trust this style of review, and it will provide them with a lot more context that will help them to decide whether to buy from your small business.
Star ratings customers will understand at a glance
If you have a product-based business, or your clients are often short on time, it can be helpful to ask your customers for star ratings and display them beside the related items that you stock, or on your relevant service pages.
There are a couple of benefits to using this approach. For instance, it can be very helpful for catching the eye of shoppers who don’t necessarily want to read a lot of copy, as they’re easy to understand at a glance. Plus, star ratings are ideal for helping your website visitors to compare and contrast the similar items you sell. High scores will help to earn your customers’ trust, support them in making informed decisions, and lead to more sales as well as better future reviews.
To give you an idea of how star ratings can be used effectively on your website, let’s take a look at some examples of businesses that are already using this technique.
For instance, iCASH, a Canadian financial lender, displays a star rating on its service pages for loans in Ontario. This is helpful for anyone who might be looking for financial assistance in a hurry, as it’s not difficult to see that past clients believe the company offers a five-star service.
This is a fantastic way for the company to win customers’ trust at a glance. Plus, there’s also an additional five-star rating from Trustpilot further up the page, which shows that the company’s reviews are legitimate, as they come from a third party site.
If you want to make it easy for prospective clients to assess your services and realize they’re of a very high quality, using a similar approach is a great idea. Just make sure you show the source of your reviews as iCASH has so visitors aren’t suspicious that you’ve simply made them up.
TruthFinder is another company that has displayed star ratings on their website to earn their audience’s trust, but they’ve taken a slightly different approach. As you can see, instead of simply mentioning that they’ve received five-star ratings from past customers, they’ve focused on highlighting the sheer volume of people who have given the company full marks for their services.
They mention that they have been given more than 60,000 five-star reviews, which is certainly impressive and worth highlighting. If you also have a large number of positive reviews from your past clients, this is an approach you should consider taking, too. As well as providing your average star rating, let everyone know just how many people have given you a great review. It’s sure to help you win your website visitors’ trust and make more sales.
Mentions of reputable publishers that have written about you
If the great work your company does has ever been acknowledged by a reputable publication, like an industry magazine or national newspaper, this is also worth highlighting on your website.
This may have happened if you provided expert commentary for an article, your company did something positive that was newsworthy, or someone simply wanted to write a feature about what you’ve achieved. This can prove to be great press for your business, and will also show people that you’re great at what you do. So, make sure you get the most out of it by also using these media mentions as social proof on your site.
This can be as simple as adding the logos of publications that have mentioned you to your homepage, or you could even include standout quotes and links to the actual content where you were mentioned. This can be great for winning your audience’s trust as people will actually be able to click-through and see what was said about you.
Let’s take a look at one business that uses this tactic for inspiration.
Excel Builders is a custom home building company that has been featured on a range of well-known websites, including the likes of Forbes, Professional Builder, and The Huffington Post. So, to show new website visitors that they’re great at what they do and win more business, they’ve highlighted this on their homepage.
Along with the logos of all these reputable websites, they’ve also included a quote from Forbes that shows the brand in a fantastic light. This is sure to appeal to people who are thinking about hiring the company to help them with a build, so it’s a great form of social proof that makes a great addition to their website.
If you have similar online mentions that you could display on your website, it’s a good idea to do so. It’s a concrete way to show your business is respected and that you do great work that’s worth reporting on.
Qualifications or awards that are relevant to your field
Another way you can provide concrete proof of your skills and knowledge is by displaying any relevant awards or qualifications your business has on your website. Again, being able to prove that you and your work have been recognized by a third party will help to earn your audience’s trust and make you more sales.
This is likely to be a particularly fruitful approach if you work in a relatively serious field, such as the medical, legal, or financial industries. This is because clients looking for help in these areas will want to be absolutely sure that they can trust you to help them, as they may be struggling or in a difficult position. So, displaying your qualifications and accolades on your website is sure to put them at ease and secure their business.
Florin Roebig is a personal injury law firm that uses this technique well. For instance, on their website’s homepage, you can see that they’ve showcased a range of awards they’ve received for their past work. The main thing to note here is that all of these awards are incredibly relevant to what the company does. They’re primarily from legal organizations and law schools, for example. This shows website visitors that the attorneys that work there are completely dedicated to their craft and are sure to get great results.
This is a technique that a lot of different businesses can use. If you haven’t already received many awards for your work, start applying for them — you have to be in it to win it. Then, if you do receive formal recognition for your great work, make sure this is displayed proudly on your website so it catches people’s eye. It could just be enough to make you more sales.
User-generated content from your customers
Finally, another effective way to show you’re genuinely great at what you do is by sharing user-generated content that shows your customers really love using your products or services.
For instance, when someone discovers a brand or product they love, it’s common for them to share their thoughts on social media. This could be in the form of a tweet, an Instagram post, or even a YouTube video. And, if you get their permission to do so, you could then share this on your website to grab visitors’ attention and earn their trust.
It’s a good idea to display user-generated content on the product or service page that it’s related to. So, for instance, if you run a makeup brand and a customer has shared a photo of themselves wearing one of your lipsticks, along with a glowing review, you could publish this on the product page for that item. This will provide prospective customers with more information when they need it the most and could be just what is needed to convince them to click “buy”.
Making the most of user-generated content is becoming an increasingly important trend in the digital marketing industry. So, embrace this tactic to get ahead of the competition.
Summary
There are so many businesses out there fighting for attention that consumers aren’t just going to take your word for it when you say you’re the best. So, it’s vital that you publish plenty of social proof on your website to give them a second opinion and concrete proof that you’re great at what you do.
By displaying written or video testimonials, user-generated content, and relevant awards or qualifications on your site, you can help prospective customers to trust you so they’ll be far more likely to make a purchase.
Author bio
Adam Steele is the COO at Loganix, an SEO fulfillment partner for agencies and marketers. We build easy-to-use SEO services that help businesses scale. If you liked this article, please check out our SEO guides and templates on the Loganix blog.