Have you feared giving a company your email? Do you protect it against commercial emails?

It’s common for most of us to delete irrelevant emails. This inherent hesitation provides a problem for marketers that use email addresses to develop their companies.

Social evidence may overcome this reluctance.

What exactly is social proof?

Social proof marketing is uncontrolled. Social proof is perceived as more authentic since it depicts real customers who are happy.

Social evidence is multifaceted.

• Subscribers/customers (e.g. Join the 100,000 happy subscribers who get our newsletter each week)
• Testimonials (e.g. X offered me the time I needed to focus on my firm) (e.g. X provided me the time I needed to concentrate on my company) (X provided me business time)
• Reviews (e.g. This restaurant has an average of 4.7 stars) (e.g. This restaurant has an average of 4.7 stars) (This restaurant has 4.7 stars)
• Celebrity backing (e.g. a commercial, Instagram post, or sponsored blog post from a celebrity)
• We’re used by Facebook, McDonald’s, and Target.

Social proof is a strong marketing strategy, not a gimmick. Here are some social proof statistics:

• Buyers require 40 reviews to trust a company’s star rating.
• Younger shoppers (18 to 65) demand more reviews.
• Customers learn about new products via reviews.
• 48% of clients would work with a firm with less than four ratings.
• 14% of 18-plus buyers are influenced by celebrity endorsements.
• 31% of purchasers read more reviews, according COVID-19.

How can I use social proof to email marketing?

Now that you know what social proof is and how powerful it can be, let’s look at how to use it in email marketing.

Building your email list via social proof

Tip 1: Display subscription numbers

Include the subscriber count on opt-in forms if you have many email subscribers.

Popular tech newsletter The Hustle has high readership and written testimonials. Positive reviews include photos, names, and social media profiles for authenticity.

By highlighting their email’s popularity, the Hustle encourages others to subscribe. This verifies that others value their list.

Social proof? Clarify. By adding, “Join 15k sales professionals receiving our weekly emails,” you’re explicitly telling the viewer of the list’s popularity.

This appeals to subscribers’ competition and fear of missing out.

Tip 2: Include testimonials from influential people

Getting a testimonial from an industry figure may boost subscriptions.

Influencers are unlikely to endorse something they don’t believe in, which helps build brand trust. Influencers may market their own products, which is a plus. Everyone wins.

Collaborations may include blogs, emails, webinars, and social media.

Emma teamed up with marketing rockstar Ann Handley to produce blog content and a Twitter email dialogue.

Tip 3: Showcase reviews

By comforting prospective new buyers about your product, including reviews from genuine customers who have tried it may build demand as well as lessen buying fear.

Airbnb does a fantastic job of delivering automatic (but tailored) emails based on the information they’ve gathered:

Wrap up

Social proof isn’t simply a marketing ploy; it’s a key factor in our purchase decisions. You may use this psychological phenomena to develop your email list and turn those subscribers into customers by implementing some of these strategies into your email marketing.