9 powerful real-life examples of social proof

Gather inspiration from some of the internet's best social proof examples and use cases, plus how to effectively find, store, and use your social proof, according to the experts.

Your online reputation is your currency. Back in the day, professionals took a real "trust me, bro" approach to building relationships with potential customers. Now, people want references, verification, and evidence that you are a good person who knows what they're doing before forking over their hard-earned cash. This often comes in the form of social proof.

Social proof is a big part of how individuals and brands can build trust, demonstrate confidence, and showcase what they can do. Here is how to get social proof, how to keep track of it, and some of the best examples of social proof that we could find. Trust us, bro.

• What is social proof?
• How to get social proof
• How to store and catalog social proof
• Examples of social proof
• Embrace the power of social proof

Social proof is any content, quote, review, or referral from people outside of your agency. While it can take many forms, social proof is essentially the product of anyone who takes time out of their day to discuss your brand in a positive light.

You can use these quotes, videos, reviews, and snippets in your marketing efforts to show potential customers, "Hey! These people like us, you might too!"

So we know that social proof is "people saying good things about your brand or product", but what does that actually look like? Here are just some of the many types of social proof:

• Case studies of customers using your product or service in their personal or professional life
• Video testimonials or text interviews of happy customers sharing their thoughts and opinions on your brand
• Quotes from customers
• Media mentions
• Comments on forums and discussion spaces (Reddit, Quora, Facebook groups)
• Honest-to-goodness direct referrals
• Influencer sponsorships and unboxing videos
• Reviews of your product or service
• UGC ("user-generated content")
• Examples of customers using your product in successful ways

This list is far from exhaustive. There are many other types of unconventional social proof that may not be listed. No matter what it looks like, the concept is the same: people saying good things about your product, sharing their opinions with others, and allowing you to leverage that in your marketing efforts.

If you simply can't wait for our list of examples, check out how Prezly leverages case studies with our happy customers to see social proof in action:

We at Prezly talk a lot about strategy and how it relates to public relations. If you're not thinking strategically, you're probably not doing it right. A good strategy is all about connecting with the public, current and future clients, the media, and the world at large.

Consider Gini Dietrich's PESO model: Paid, Earned, Social, and Owned media. The concept of social proof is a boon to pretty much every single type of media because it bolsters and reinforces anything you're claiming with the power of tangible, real-world proof.

Take earned media, for example. If you want to be featured in a newspaper or magazine, the ability to demonstrate to journalists that people love your products will reinforce the newsworthiness of your brand. This makes journalistic outlets more likely to feature you, which is, in marketing terms, "a good thing".

Another example is social media. If your social feed is filled with your marketing team constantly reiterating how amazing your company is, that's boring. But a testimonial from a third-party? People will pay attention to that far more than your big, lofty promises.

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You're a discerning reader and aren't fully convinced as to the remarkable importance of social proof. I get it, and I respect it. Let me throw some statistics your way to change your mind.

• 98% of participants read reviews for local businesses when considering who to work with, according to survey results from Bright Local
• SaaS companies report that case studies are the biggest driver of sales, surpassing SEO, content, books, and more
• 89% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know (a form of direct social proof), and 71% trust influencers, according to Nielsen
• One study found that 9 out of 10 consumers read reviews before buying a product

Numbers are good. But intuitively, you know that the power of social proof is obvious. People trust those who are already trusted. They are more likely to go out on a limb and try your service if other people have done so previously. Which product are you more likely to buy: the one with no reviews, or the one with thousands of reviews and a 4+ star rating?

Now that you're fully convinced as to the importance of social proof, how are you supposed to get this magic? Unfortunately, it's a pretty big ask. You are, essentially, requesting that somebody take time out of their precious day and do you a solid.

Don't worry, we're going to walk you through the steps.

One of the nice things about the internet is that you don't always have to seek out social proof. Sometimes, people provide that for you organically in their everyday lives. Setting up a Google Alert will help you discover these precious little nuggets of mentions around the internet. Anytime a website is indexed mentioning your company by name, you'll get an alert in your email, and you can respond in a timely and appropriate manner.

Sometimes this will involve putting out fires, and other times it will involve collecting said positive mentions in your social proof database (which we will discuss shortly). Either way, it's always good to know what the people are saying, whether those people are on Quora or Reddit or whatever Elon Musk is calling his platform this week.

Even with Google Alerts set up, things will sometimes fall through the cracks. It's good to regularly (~every month or so) search on Reddit, X, TikTok, Quora, etc, to see what the people are saying and react appropriately.

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There are three truths in life: death, taxes, and people reviewing things online. These reviews can happen almost anywhere, but the big ones are Google Reviews, Amazon, TrustRadius, Capterra, G2, BBB, Booking.com, Yelp, etc.

It all depends on your niche. Regardless of your industry, there will be a place for people to rate, review, and discuss your product or service. Wherever that place happens to be, so should you. This will help you to be proactive and reactive, not to mention collect valuable feedback to make your product or service even better.

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There are many very good and very bad ways to ask your customers for social proof. We like to ask customers who are obviously happy with our product after a good interaction, such as when our amazing support team solves an issue or when we integrate a requested feature into the software based on customer feedback. We even have a friendly landing page for customers to "share the love ❤️" however they'd like:

You can also tap the shoulders of happy customers and ask for case studies, interviews, reviews, and more. Maybe occasionally ask for social proof via newsletter (since they like you enough to subscribe to your newsletter!) or when chatting about other stuff.

However you decide to ask, do your best to reduce the friction between "asking" and "providing the social proof." People simply don't want to be bothered that much to help random brands, even if they happen to like said brand or the people who work there. Reducing friction can look like:

• Providing links to review sites
• Including sharing options to socials
• Writing a stock editable template
• Incentivizing reviews with gift cards and discounts (questionably ethical/legal)

Just make it as easy as possible for them. If you do an interview, for example, do it on their timeframe. If they do provide the social proof requested, be sure to hype them up! They did you a huge favor that will seriously benefit your brand. Make sure to shower them with gratitude and reciprocity when available.

When happy Prezly customers participate in a case study or video, we showcase the amazing work that their company does using our software. That way, it's a mutually beneficial experience: they get a nice video shout-out, and we get a nice series of quotes about how our software helps them do what they do best.

Nothing undermines the credibility of a solid quote or recommendation like it being 3+ years old. Social proof can grow stale, and discerning customers may not trust an outdated recommendation. It's important to constantly be searching, inquiring, and compiling quotes and reviews from your happy customers.

Having a place to put all your social proof is both incredibly important, and really difficult. Some social proof is video, some are text, some are on social media, and some are random reviews housed on a third-party website. These different formats can be really tricky to track and organize. However you decide to do it, make sure your catalog system is:

• Searchable
• Easy to update
• Incorporates different media/file types
• Can be accessed by everyone who needs it in your agency

The worst thing ever is when a C-suite or potential customer wants to see some social proof and you have to awkwardly cobble together a smattering of comments, tweets, and reviews from all around the internet. For us at Prezly, we keep our social mentions organized in a searchable Airtable spreadsheet, which works quite well for us.

Does it accidentally get pushed to the back burner and go a few weeks or months without getting updated until we need a fresh quote, and we don't have it because we forgot about the database? .… No, of course not. 👀

We asked some brilliant industry professionals for examples of their brand's social proof, and they were kind enough to share. Feel free to glean inspiration and motivation for collecting and sharing social proof in your marketing efforts from people who are already doing it fabulously.

Do you have quotes or videos from happy customers? Showcase them! Landing pages should be full of strategically placed testimonials. Lead generator Learo showcases happy customer reviews on their About page. When you click each one, it goes to a video of a customer testimonial:

What Learo's founder Scott has to say about their social proof:

As previously mentioned, there are tons of review sites out there where current customers can share their experiences on a neutral platform. You can, however, host reviews on your own site as well. This allows people to share their perspectives, give honest opinions, and let your brand and potential buyers know what they think. This is popular for e-commerce and online stores.

The only issue with having owned media reviews is that prospective customers may not trust the neutrality of the reviews as much. What stopping you from deleting bad reviews? Not that you would ever do that, of course. There is something to be said for allowing customers to have informed opinions and see both the good and the bad before purchasing or working with your company.

Meg Hellerstedt shares how reviews on their site help Sylvane customers share their experiences:

Do people love you on Capterra? G2? Amazon? Shout it to the world. Niceboard.io, a tool to help customers build job custom boards, does exactly this on their main page:

According to Niceboard's Growth Marketer, Hanna:

Part of growing in the digital age is actively engaging with your fan base on social media. Social is a powerful tool for connecting with new audiences and showing how your product or service can enrich your future customers' lives.

Maternity Center Oula shares client journeys on socials and does a brilliant and consistent job of capturing the midwife experience through the testimonials of mothers and families.

Most of our examples so far have showcased social proof from a consumer-to-consumer perspective, but there are plenty of B2B social proof opportunities as well. You can share credible mentions in large publications if you've been able to garner that sort of press. What's more impressive than a Business Insider mention?

While this one is most impressive when utilized by things like digital marketing professionals, public relations agencies, and other comms experts, highlighting impressive media mentions can work for other industries as well. Ascendly Marketing uses publication mentions as part of their social proof to demonstrate the kind of coverage they can garner for their clients:

The ability to visually demonstrate your product or service in action is a fantastic tool and should definitely be part of your social proof strategy if you have a visual product. That's what the team at HeadshotPros does with their dedicated wall of real customers:

This is pretty fantastic social proof. Being able to show, not tell, what your service is capable of should always be the way to go.

This is obviously more for the B2B audience, but it can work for anyone. If you have an impressive roster of high-profile clients, show it! With their permission, of course. Some clients will not necessarily want to be featured in your marketing efforts, and that should be respected.

We at Prezly appreciate all of our clients equally, but we also recognize the social power of brand recognition, which is why we highlight some of the big guns, like Ikea, Sennheiser, and Shopify, on our main page and elsewhere. It's good to let prospective customers know they'd be in good company.

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Case studies are a terrific way of letting your brand's capabilities speak for itself. They are illustrative, engaging, and demonstrate your product or service in action.

Digital marketing agency Promodoro uses case studies to get potential customers excited about what they can accomplish together:

We already mentioned customer success and stories on social, but you can (and should) share reviews directly on social, too!

While your social media strategy should probably find a healthy balance between engaging, educational, and self-promotional content, if you do go the self-promo route, why not let happy customers do the work for you?

Because social proof is your currency, make it work for you. Collect as much positivity as you can, organize it in meaningful ways, and share it liberally with potential customers.

If you're looking for a fantastic, all-in-one platform for your press releases, case studies, email campaigns, and so much more, why not try Prezly? Our free 14-day, no credit card trial lets you see if it might be the powerhouse you've been looking for 👇

Katelynn Sortino

Storyteller, Prezly

• [email protected]