#JTInTheRaw Show 28: Why What People Say About You Online & Offline Matters

By JT | January 17, 2017

What I have learned this week studying social proof, blew me away.  And made me wonder why don’t I use this more in my business?

Welcome to #JTInTheRaw show 28 and this week I’m talking social proof in your business!  Which by the way is the smarty pants term for using testimonials.

This week’s show has:

  • Shout outs
  • A big announcement
  • And the world famous, stop the presses, hold your breath Quote of the Week!

So hang in there.

#JTShoutOut

I have just one shout out today but it covers 1000’s probably 10’s of thousands of people.  I want to give a shout to every BODYPUMP instructor and person who has ever done a BODYPUMP class!

Les Mills the designers of BODYPUMP have dedicated January 14th as the launch date of BODYPUMP 100!  I think there are 4 BODYPUMPs released every year, so that’s 25 years of BODYPUMP across the globe.  I would hate to think how many bicep curls, dead lift, squats or rows that would amount to.

Many many in fact many years ago I became a BODYPUMP instructor.  I think I had to bribe Michelle Bridges and Shannon Cleary to pass me so I could teach BODYPUMP 19.  Fortunately, for the members of my gym and the integrity of Michelle and Shannon I never stood on stage.

So a huge shout out today goes to:

  • Everyone who has ever done BODYPUMP
  • All the instructors who have changed people’s lives through BODYPUMP
  • And of course Phillip and Jackie Mills who with their team have brought BODYPUMP into gyms and lives across the globe.

Enjoy tomorrow everyone who is Pumping!

So What Is Social Proof

Last week I mentioned I am working on a checklist for building testimonials in your business.  Well the checklist lead to research and I thought this week I’d share what I learned.

First up . . . Social proof is a psychological phenomenon refering to people’s reliance on the feedback and actions of others to determine what is right and what is wrong in a given situation.  Often used in marketing terms to impact buying decisions.

Just last week our TV gave up on us and moved on to TV heaven.  So Robyn trawled product review sites to get an idea of what TV we should buy.

In fact, studies show that 70% of consumers say they look at product reviews before making a purchase, and product reviews are 12x more trusted than product descriptions from manufacturers.

That makes sense right?

Now thanks to social media, social proof has been turbo boosted and catapulted into many of lives.  People sharing online successful or unsuccessful experiences is social proof.  Asking friends on Facebook do they know anyone who cuts grass, repairs cupboards or even a personal trainer who gets results is also social proof.

In my research, I came across 5 types of social proof and they go beyond what I imagined . . .

  1. Expert Social Proof. This is when you get the thumbs up from a credible expert. That expert could from the industry saying how good you are or for many of you a mummy blogger. Their proof can come in the form of a Twitter mention, a Facebook share or holy grail a dedicated blog post.
  1. Celebrity Social Proof. A thumbs up from a celebrity is generally a pure gold endorsement – if it’s authentic. Celebrity endorsement can be a double-edged sword. If the celebrity is properly matched to what you do, it will be sweet. Take into account a celebrity in your community may not be someone on TV or radio, they could be the captain of the local sporting team – whom everyone knows.
  2. User Social Proof. The most common social proof we see in marketing is the thumbs up from current users of your product or service. This includes your customer testimonials, case studies, and even online reviews. The benefit of this proof is we can imagine ourselves in other people’s shoes when we read or hear their story – so long as that person is like me!  Stories can be incredibly persuasive as they feel more real. The individual examples stick with us because we can relate to them – if they are like us!
  3. Wisdom of the Crowds Social Proof. Ever lined up to get into a night club? This is the approval from large numbers of people and we suffer FOMO – fear of missing out. So we act. FOMO is a real social anxiety, made more relevant and worse by social media.  We see everyone buying, subscribing, joining or even participating and think “I can’t miss out!”  We then take the action that the company wants you to take.
  4. ‘Wisdom of Your Friends’ Social Proof. Social media has sparked dozens of different ways to provide this kind of social proof. Facebook widgets that show other Facebook friends that “like” a brand, Twitter’s display of people you follow that also follow another person, and even the ways you offer rewards for referring others to you are all examples of this.

Which is the most powerful?

They are all as good as each other as an independent third party is telling others how good you are!

One study of a German bank found that customers who came from customer referrals had 16% higher lifetime value than those who came from other acquisition sources and the customers churn was 18% less.

What now . . .

Well now you know this stuff, start using it! Start being pro-active!

A few quick ways you can use social proof right away:

  • Add customer testimonials to your website or newsletters from a variety of different types of customers – ie your avatars
  • Emphasise your member or clients, follower and subscriber numbers on your blog
  • Be pro-active in your follow-up with great customers and ask for referrals
  • Find experts who are interested in what you’re doing, build relationships and work together to find ways that they can help promote you.
  • Find local celebrities, mummy bloggers and others that can influence your prospect base.

Now stop watching me and get to work!

Wait . . . only joking!

But seriously, if you think this video could help anyone in business, then I’d really appreciate you tagging them in the comments below.

See what I did there? See it? See it?

Your ‘user social proof’ is greatly appreciated. So please tag only people you think who would benefit from this week’s show.

This Week

This week I finalised the Active Management Theme for 2017.  We are super excited to announce our theme is #HustleModeOn.

Hustle as a verb means jostling, pushing, nudging and getting your way in.

Hustle as a noun it means a state of great activity.

We have identified 3 main areas to help fitness business owners, managers, fitpreneurs, industry suppliers or someone who has a career in the industry:

  • Resources
  • Education
  • Community

You can get your #HustleModeOn right now and be part of the Active Family:

Whether you want to use “hustle” as a noun or a verb, let’s get our #HustleModeOn together in 2017.

Thank you so much for tuning in today to show 28.  I know this was heavy on education. I look at lots of websites and think we can all do so much better, so for the growth of your business start collecting social proof!

Please share the show by tagging anyone if you know someone who will benefit from the social proof chat or should get their #HustleModeOn by joining at Active Management at www.Activemgmt.com.au/joinnow.

Quote of The Week

“85% of consumers said they read up to 10 reviews before feeling they can trust a business.” Search Engine Land

Check out all previous shows here: http://www.activemgmt.com.au/category/jt-in-the-raw/

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