Trust. It can be built and it can be earned, but it’s rarely instant.

As customers grow more and more wary of brands and businesses they don’t know, gaining their trust upfront is your main marketing objective.

Social proof is your ace in the hole when it comes to influencing visitors and facilitating new relationships. Here’s a high-level overview of what it is, why it’s so valuable, and how to showcase it.

What is Social Proof?

This social and psychological theory has been around since 1984 when Dr. Robert Cialdini coined it in his manifesto, Influence.

In essence, social proof describes the human tendency to “follow the crowd”. Cialdini and marketing mavens understand that, as social creatures, we tend to observe the behaviors and opinions of others, and direct our actions to match, assuming what most people do is the “correct” way to be.  

And though you may think of yourself as a truly independent, unique flower, we’re guessing social proof has influenced your own decisions from time to time.

Ever stopped to read a social media update that already has tons of comments and reactions? Or tune in to a new sitcom that’s getting tons of buzz?

Bingo. That’s social proof.

Why is social proof so irresistible? Simple. It validates the user’s interest in your product, service, or piece of content and promises they won’t be wasting time or money by engaging with it.

Where can you use social proof? Easy. Anywhere you have an online presence, from your website to your social media channels and beyond.

Now that you have a sense of what social proof entails, here’s how you can utilize the power of group influence in your own marketing tactics.

1. Go for quantity.

Would you trust an unknown brand that had seven likes or 700? That’s what we thought. Whether looking up recipe ratings or follower counts on your social media pages, customers are looking for signs of your popularity. Focus on increasing these numbers to give your business some off the cuff credibility.

2. Share user-generated content.

Anyone sharing content about your brand deserves thanks, praise, and maybe a small parade. Or, you could acknowledge them by sharing the post with your network. Not only is it a show of appreciation, but it also showcases some serious social proof. That’s because user-generated content is perceived as more genuine and relatable than paid ads or sponsorships.   

3. Display reviews and ratings.

You work hard to make sure your customers are satisfied. Once they are, collect and display them on your website, Google Knowledge Panel, Facebook, etc. There’s no better marketing than the praise you collect and show from your peers.

4. Show off your endorsements.

Influencer marketing has come a long way in recent years. The trick with paid-partnerships is to ensure they are authentic. Whether you partner with an industry expert or a respected blogger in your field, ensure the praise is genuine. Your customers are likely to reject anything too “salesy.”

5. Humanize your testimonials.

Without a photo to accompany your testimonials, they’re simply words on a site. Though they still represent your brand well, you need a little more credibility as an unfamiliar brand. Make sure you take every opportunity to personalize them with a photo, location, title, etc.

6. Create case studies.

Customer success stories are huge boons for your brand. Stories capture social proof in a way that’s engaging and relatable. Case studies make your claims concrete and tell potential customers their problems are not only common but also solvable.

7. Offer some authority.

Authority begets authority. Meaning, if your brand is worth its weight in salt, you’ll be able to show other respected companies who are associated with you. Be it a display with all your client logos or an ‘as seen in’ like Globe Runner sports, it gives your brand instant integrity.

There you have it. The social proof is in the pudding. If you’re not already leveraging genuine peer-praise in your marketing strategy, time to turn over the mic to your current customers.

There’s no such thing as a static social media platform. Like most of the internet, social sites and the algorithms that power them are continuously being updated. Sometimes the changes are sweeping and make our lives easier. Other times they’re hardly noticeable at all, but can still have a huge impact on your social media marketing strategy.

The most recent algorithm changes to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are a mixture of both, but definitely ones your small business needs to act on. Ahead is a recap of what you should be aware of moving forward and how to plan accordingly. 

Facebook Compresses Mobile Ad Format

Social media advertising is mission-critical in the pay-to-play world marketers are contending with, and that goes double for ads viewed on mobile devices. Ad format changes on the largest social media network mean social media marketers will need to make their new paid posts even punchier with less space for images and copy.

Last month, a Facebook Business blog announced the compression, stating that as of August 19^th mobile News Feed ads would shrink to, “match the look and feel of the new Facebook design introduced earlier this year.“

Now, images and media will be capped at a vertical 4:5 aspect ratio, down from a previously generous 2:3. Copy, which used to show a lengthy seven lines, will now be reduced to a mere 3 lines of primary text before being truncated.

Why the change? According to the same post, Facebook is looking to “drive increased ad effectiveness and make it easier to use the same assets on Facebook News Feed and Instagram feed.” Essentially, this is great for cross-promotion between the two Facebook-owned channels, and not simply about looks.

What businesses need to do: Starting now, you can maximize your Facebook ad potential by making your first three lines of ad text as irresistible as possible, and formatting all your media to fit the predetermined height ahead of time.

LinkedIn Adopts Reaction Buttons

For the last three years, Facebook users have enjoyed emoting via their reaction buttons. Now, LinkedIn is following suit, offering desktop and mobile users the chance to not just “like” a post, but respond using a professionally-appropriate “celebrate,” “love,” “insightful,” and “curious” reaction.

They certainly took their time rolling out this feature. Now that it’s more than just a passing trend, the professional networking platform is hoping the reaction buttons will ultimately help them remain relevant among other social media players and increase overall engagement.

What businesses need to do: Make sure you’re posting regularly on LinkedIn. Include a variety of professional content so you can capitalize on these projected increasing engagement rates.

Instagram Cracks Down on “Offensive” Posts

All businesses want to make sure their Instagram posts and stories are seen by as many target audience eyes as possible. But they will need to be extra cautious to see that what they’re sharing doesn’t border on “inappropriate content.”

Now, even if a post doesn’t technically violate the network’s Community Guidelines, content that is too sexually suggestive or otherwise offensive will still have a drastically reduced reach. According to one Facebook Newsroom article, the demotion will limit, “those types of posts from being recommended on our Explore and hashtag pages.”

For the time being, your Instagram Stories bar will not be subject to the same problematic content management strategies, but best to steer clear anyway.

What businesses need to do: Before you post, verify that nothing you’re putting out into the world can be considered clickbaity or fake news-worthy. You should also be very careful about sharing any offensive memes (especially if they or the comments contain hate speech) or content that can be perceived as sexualized. In other words, don’t even attempt to push the limits. It’s also a good idea to review the “borderline content” section of the Instagram Help Center.

As the saying goes, “the only constant is change.” But don’t spend too much time mourning the past. If you need a hand to help your social media content roll with the changes just make contact.

Logged on to your Google + page lately? If so you might have noticed something different – nothing at all. Though the shuttering of this once highly promising social media platform wasn’t a total surprise you might have been anticipating more time together – and you’re not alone.

When Google first announced the shutdown we were told we would have until August 2019 to say goodbye. But security bugs coupled with reported, “low usage” forced Google’s hand. Earlier this year they revised that date to April 2^nd.

And close it down they did. But what now? If Google + has been a component of your SEO and social media marketing plan you may be looking for a new way to get in front of your target audience.

Here’s how localized social marketing strategies are picking up where Google + left off and helping businesses move onward and upward.

How will the Google + Shutdown impact your SEO + Social?

Google and search marketing are one and the same, so it stands to reason that a social networking product under this all-seeing search engine would make SEO soar, right? Wrong.

The good news is that you haven’t just been doing it wrong this whole time. Poor user adoption across the board meant that posts didn’t really amount to much in the way of increased traffic or SEO benefits. That paired with a security breach that compromised the accounts of more than 500k businesses left the writing on the wall.

More good news – even if you were active on the low-performing social site, posts from your other social media profiles have been and will continue to (literally) pull rank. In other words, you really shouldn’t see much of a dip in your search rankings.

Remember that social signals have always had minimal impact on SEO while things like successful website development and backlinks from other credible sites to it count for a lot!

In the wake of this atypical Google blunder, be sure to go back through your site and other profiles to remove the G+ link and icon. Staying goodbye to G+ shouldn’t sink your SEO ranking, but dead links still can.

Google My Business (GMB) and Adwords pages will also not be impacted but hit those heavily for a nice counterbalancing effect.

Localized Social Marketing

Fear not. Especially if you have more than one location or run a multi-store brand platform like Facebook makes it easier than ever to communicate with your local audience in the wake of the Google + shutdown.

SOCi, a social media and reputation management platform, defines localized social marketing as, “marketing efforts that focus on building a local presence for a business, leveraging locally-driven communication channels to reach the specific local communities it serves.” The idea is to turn things like social reviews and ads into “two-way engagement channels.”

According to findings published in a recent SOCi report, “more than 70 percent of brand engagement on social is happening on location Pages.”

Setting up local Facebook Pages for your various locations makes capturing reviews a breeze and gives local leaders a chance to answer questions in more personal and thorough ways than your corporate team can.

In the end, it may not be as tearful a Google+ goodbye as you’d envisioned, but that’s ok. Where Google has closed a door, social media has opened a window.

Want help improving your SEO or setting up a localized social marketing strategy? Let us take your brand beyond.