The Rise of Social Media: Social Proof Statistics
We are in a full-fledged digital world now and that means your customers live there too. Consumers are increasingly guided, directed and influenced by what they see and hear on social media.
According to IBIS World, just 51% of households in the US had at least one computer in 2000. In 2024, it has skyrocketed to 94.6%.
Backlink reports strong statistics for social media usage, as of October 2023:
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- 4.95 billion people use social media worldwide, according to platform reports on the current number of active users
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- 80.8% of the world’s population is active on social media when looking at eligible audiences aged 18+ years
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- Out of 8.06 billion people in the world, 61.4% of the population use social networks, regardless of age or internet access
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- Out of 5.3 billion internet users, 93.4% are active users
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- Out of 5.6 billion unique mobile phone users, 88.4% are active users
Understanding and Leveraging Social Proof
If you’re a business working to gain new customers, your arena is social media. And users are now looking for social proof to help them understand businesses, glean experiences and ratings from customers, and choose everything from where to find the latest trends in apparel to what florist to pick.
So, what exactly is social proof and why should you pay attention to it?
Social proof is the psychological concept that people are influenced in their decision making by others, compelling them to act within societal norms or expectations. In the context of marketing, social proof provides evidence of the popularity or usability of a brand among consumers to influence the purchase decisions of prospective and returning customers.
And an effective way to achieve positive social proof is through customer testimonials that speak to the digital world: personal, video interviews.
BigCommerce gives a lot of support for customer testimonials in their ability to draw in customers, increase conversion rate and retention, boots SEO optimization through algorithms, increase site visits and even increase the volume of orders.
The Strategic Placement of Social Proof
Where you use social proof and customer reviews matters. Social proof can be not just valuable, but vital in initiatives including social media, paid ads, SEO optimization, video testimonials, and influencer marketing. Pros and cons, costs and other factors are outlined in detail for you by in the BigCommerce article referenced above. Your budget and marketing strategy will determine the best routes to go.
We recommend customer video testimonials. Here’s why:
In addition to the social proof statistics on customer reviews, we know they have the power to increase conversion by up to 62%, and go a long way to earning trust, building your reputation, and gaining new customers. Moreover, 79% of people say they prefer video testimonials over written reviews to learn more about a company.
And that’s because written reviews aren’t trustworthy. We don’t know who is writing them – is it the business owner? A competitor? With our lives playing out on social media now, we only trust what we can see and hear directly from a real person – and not all of that is trustworthy either. It’s in the delivery and authenticity of the endorser.
Share One is the answer. We don’t strand the guest with self-interview software… we guide them through their interview process, asking questions and digging deeper to grab the best soundbites. We care about the end result and want our clients to have successful outcomes from their videos testimonials.
Customer video testimonials share authentic experiences with us. We make them feel comfortable to speak their truths and capture the best reviews without putting words into their mouths. We can’t count the number of times people end by saying how much they enjoyed the interview and felt at ease throughout the process.
Perhaps best of all, video testimonials are affordable – a real bang for your buck! Paying an SEO expert or working with influencers can be costly. And they work well for large companies with large budgets, but having your customers tell their real stories and real results as opposed to an influencer who is paid to review your product or service is much more effective and trustworthy.
We encourage you to read the article by BigCommerce and – when you’re ready – reach out to us for a strategy call. We want to help you build your social proof collection!
