6 Proven Methods for Integrating Social Proof into Email
Trustmary teamLast edited: November 1st, 2024
If you have ever ordered the same meal as someone on a neighboring table in a restaurant, then you’re proof that, well, social proof works.
The same concept applies to email marketing. Using social proof in email campaigns is an effective way to boost your email subscribers’ trust in your brand. People tend to believe what others say about companies and their products. Over 90% of people trust recommendations from friends and family or earned media.
If you’re wondering how to integrate social proof in email campaigns, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll learn six tips for using social proof to elevate your email marketing strategy.
But first:
What Is Social Proof?
Social proof is a social and psychological phenomenon where people choose how to behave based on the actions of others. In essence, it is using the actions of others to validate their own choices.
People use social proof more often when they’re unsure of the appropriate behavior or choice given a situation. They end up resorting to “herding behavior,” essentially conforming to certain actions they see. Their rationale is this: If other people do it, then it must be the best thing to do, right? Since this is the same thinking that prevails when people make purchase decisions (“if other people buy the product, then it must be a great one”), smart marketers use social proof to get consumers to take their desired action.
Using social proof in marketing campaigns, including your email marketing, helps boost customer trust in your brand and your products or services. As a result, you can improve metrics such as your click-through rate and overall conversions.
6 Tips for Using Social Proof in Email Campaigns
With the definition out of the way, here are key tips to integrate social proof into your email campaigns:
1. Showcase Your Awards and Nominations
If you’ve been nominated for or have won an award, you should definitely brag about it in your email campaigns. Mention your awards and nominations in your emails in prominent positions. This ensures your email subscribers see them.
Check out this email:
Consider adding a link to the certification you received or the official nomination listing in the email signature. That way, readers who are interested in further details about the award or nomination can click, verify, and read all about it. It’s an effective way to harness the power of social proof to grow your business.
You want to ensure your email doesn’t look cluttered, though. So, only include up to three awards or nominations per campaign. You can also make a digital business card for your email signature. Include everything from your contact details and social media links in the card instead of making them occupy a huge chunk of your email space. Your subscribers will have an easy time accessing all these details, too. All they’d need to do is scan the card’s dedicated QR code.
You’ll need to leverage the best email marketing services to bring all these elements together beautifully. Look for a platform that has a drag-and-drop email editor. It will allow you to easily add these elements and create polished emails even with no coding knowledge.
Using awards and nominations as social proof in email campaigns sets you above the competition. It shows that other recognized bodies find your brand impressive and adherent to industry standards. It also boosts customer confidence in what you offer.
2. Incorporate Customer Reviews and Testimonials
Over 90% of consumers read about customer experiences with a product before making purchase decisions. So, incorporating customer reviews and testimonials into your email campaigns is a must. While testimonials typically come in the form of short quotes, reviews are more detailed and cover several aspects of a product. Both are great ways to show others that you serve customers well enough for them to give positive feedback.
When choosing reviews and testimonials to include in your email, it helps to know your subscribers’ pain points. You can learn these via surveys or by looking at your analytics. Then choose the social proof that shows that your products can help solve those specific ones. For instance, the social proof included in this email aims to get the subscriber to overcome their apprehension of not getting value out of a designated stylist:
You can also create an entire email campaign based on testimonials and reviews. Want to increase the chances of your subscriber taking your desired action? Make sure each customer feedback you include in your email talks about a specific aspect of your product or brand.
Check out the testimonials in these emails. The first one talks about how tasty Pulp & Press’ product is. The next one gives a glowing review about the buying experience. Then the third one talks about how nutritious the product is.
Consider using tools like Trustmary to collect customer reviews. You get to present branded product review forms to happy customers they can easily fill out and submit.
The tool also helps you easily add reviews to your website and share them on social media. That way, you won’t just build credibility with your email subscribers. You’ll win over website visitors and social media users, too.
3. Highlight Media Coverage and Mentions
Any time you get a media mention or get interviewed by a media outlet, make sure your email subscribers know about it. These make for excellent re-engagement messages and promotional emails. They show your customers just how credible others find your brand to be.
You can use media monitoring platforms such as Meltwater to look for these. Remember that by the media we no longer just mean newspaper and television outlets. The scope of the media has broadened in today’s digital world. So, you’ll want to look at podcast interviews, famous blog posts, and the like as well.
Consider incorporating these types of social proof in carousel format into a dedicated email newsletter. This will act as an attention-grabbing element for readers and can help boost the click-through rate.
The example below is from Brooklinen. The brand added the following media feedback at the end of an email campaign to boost customer trust.
This strategy particularly works well for smaller brands that would like to showcase their growing authority in their industry.
Consider using PR services if you don’t have any media mentions so far. PR agencies have an extensive network of media contacts they can tap into to grow brand awareness and visibility for your brand.
4. Collaborate with Influencers for Marketing
Influencer marketing works wonders for brands. When influencers are well chosen and campaigns strategically executed, they will elevate your email campaign and boost sales.
The main platform for influencer marketing is social media. However, you can still incorporate these influencer reviews into your email marketing campaigns as social proof. There are email marketing platforms that make it easy for you to embed social media posts into emails. Or you could just include the influencer’s quote in your email.
Even a single picture of the influencer using your products can be powerful. Check out this email featuring Dutch fashion influencer Fia Hamelijnck wearing Jane Koenig jewelry:
When choosing influencers, make sure they hold sway over your target audience. Don’t work with a tech influencer if your goal is to promote your food products. Your target audience will more likely believe what a food influencer has to say about what you have to offer.
Like Jane Koenig above, you could hire an influencer as your long-term brand ambassador. Another option is to let them try out your products and hope they review them. Since you’re technically not paying the influencer when using this strategy, you’ll want to make sure your product is high-quality. If it isn’t, you’ll only end up with a bad review that will reach hundreds, thousands, and millions of the influencer’s followers.
5. Demonstrate Authority with Statistics and Numbers
Here’s another way to include social proof in your email marketing campaigns: Specify the numbers. You can mention what percentage of your stocks have already been claimed, how many have actually already bought your products or how many clients you’ve already satisfied, among others. With this strategy, you essentially show potential customers that you’re a trustworthy business that’s worth spending money on.
Check out the email below. Buoy made sure to highlight the fact that the brand has made “over 10,000 people worldwide” happy.
You can also leverage scarcity marketing. Phrases like “We only made 200” give subscribers the impression your stocks are limited. This will make it more likely for them to quickly click on that Buy call-to-action button before stocks run out.
For the best results, you can display a detailed customer review or testimonial alongside these digits. By giving a face to your numbers, you make your email message more relatable and, therefore, more impactful.
6. Feature User-Generated Content
One of the most authentic forms of social proof is user-generated content. By definition, user-generated content is created by actual product users without the intervention of the brand. In other words, the creator isn’t paid by the brand to review the products.
Since UGC is created by everyday people as they document their experiences using a product, other consumers tend to trust it. In fact, 84% of people are more likely to trust a brand if they use user-generated content in their marketing strategy.
You can find UGC on social media by using social media listening tools. The tools can give you a list of users who have tagged you or mentioned your brand in their posts. All you need to do is sift through the content.
Another strategy is to run a UGC contest for existing customers, like Starbucks did below:
This won’t just help you generate social proof for your email campaigns. It will also boost customer engagement. Just remember to create designated hashtags like Starbucks to make it easier to find the UGC created around your brand.
Once you have your UGC, just use your email marketing platform to embed your chosen posts into your email. You could also just download the UGC and upload them. Just tag the UGC creator, like West Elm did below:
Be sure to request the original owner for permission to use their content in your email campaigns, by the way. It’s good digital etiquette that’ll earn you more points as a brand.
In Closing
Used the right way in email marketing, social proof can help you build credibility for your brand and boost conversions.
You learned six tips for using social proof in email campaigns.
Showcase your awards and nominations, incorporate customer reviews and testimonials, and highlight media coverage of your brand. Don’t forget to collaborate with influencers for your marketing campaigns. Influencers hold sway over your target audiences, which means they’ll believe anything they say about your brand.
Also, demonstrate your authority using statistics and numbers so your audience can clearly understand your product’s popularity and impact. Finally, feature user-generated content to show how real customers enjoy using your products.
Now you’re ready to harness the full power of social proof in email marketing. Good luck!
