Social proofing is a psychological marketing tool where brands rely heavily on creating a bandwagon effect on their customers to sway them to take action. A customer is likely to do something when they have the confidence that other people have done it and succeeded. It gets even better when the person writing the review is a celebrity or social influencer with a large following.
Readers are highly likely to convert because they now trust the product since they are being promoted by a celebrity they look up to. It is therefore no wonder that some media stars seem to be brand ambassadors for so many businesses.
When BetMGM signed up Barry Sanders, a former National Football League player, as their celebrity brand ambassador, they looked to entice as many people as possible to their betting platform. They were right in their move. Fans of Barry Sanders would be sure to try out a sports betting app promoted by their football darling and this easily BetMGM saw a large group of bettors signing up with their platform.
The legendary marketer, Robert Cialdini, has pointed out social proofing as one of the significant factors influencing customers to take action in a business.
5 Ways How social proofing can increase your probability of success
Below are some of the ways that digital sports betting platforms can use social proofing to convince more customers to their platform:
1. Honest testimonials from their old customers
One way that digital marketers can incorporate social proofing into their businesses is by having a testimonials page. Here customers tell stories of how they found the product or service offered by the brand. This way, new customers can get a picture of the kind of service to expect while at the same time getting a perspective of old customers who have bought from the brand.
Today, you will find most sites with a testimonials section on their home pages. Others will have a dedicated page with the testimonials. The customers could also leave their star ratings based on how they found the service to be.
The one mistake that most digital marketers make is weeding out all negative reviews so that the only thing they post are these flowery and excellent testimonials. But as David Ogilvy, founder of Ogilvy and Mather, once said, your customer is not a moron. They are wise and will detect this strategy as fake and dishonest. The correct way is to have a mix of both positive and negative testimonials so that new customers can see you as a legit business.
Besides having the testimonials on their websites, brands could also ask their customers to post their experiences on third-party review sites such as TrustPilot. When new customers visit these third-party sites, they will see the different perspectives that old customers have about the brands. This way, the brands not only get online visibility but the testimonials also act as social proof that their businesses are legit and trustworthy.
Case studies
Betnow.eu has been reviewed by old customers such as the review written here that looks at both the website’s positive and negative parts. There are also many reviews written about the site on Trust pilot by people who both love and hate the website in equal measure.
Scoresandstats, a site that gives its users live odds from different sportsbooks, has also written a comprehensive compilation of places they trust as the best for betting. When a site like scores and stats reviews a sports betting site, online bettors are highly likely to trust it.
2. Social media presence and using celebrities as their brand ambassadors
Today everyone is on social media. You can tell people about your brand by posting pictures of celebrities who have used your service on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This way, you will be building a lot of social proof.
Case studies
Celebrity, 50 cents once tweeted that he gets voices in his head that tell him what to bet and when he does it, he wins.
In 2015, Pokerstars had listed Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the brand ambassadors of their gambling program. They would then post his image on their social media pages. Sports fans and bettors alike would be swayed to try the betting platform simply because they love Cristiano Ronaldo.
3. Use of case studies on your website
While numbers do not lie and data is a good way to get people’s attention, stories are what touch people most. Stories are memorable and captivate emotions most. You could have a few case studies of your old customers so that new customers can relate with them and get to buy from you.
Case studies
Gamblingsites.com has published articles on case studies of people like Adrian Hayward who trusted their gut intuition and went ahead to place huge bets and were surprised when their dream came true. With such a story which was later taken by the BBC, customers are highly likely to also trust their gut intuitions and place high wagers with their sports betting sites. If Adrian Hayward could do it, who are you not to do it?
4. Backing up your arguments with numbers
Numbers do not lie. What better metric to tell new customers of how old customers have found your service than to use the number of customers who you have served or were satisfied with your offer?
Brands can post the number of customers served as a social proofing strategy.
Case studies
BetRadar provides data insights on the number of customers that they have served, the services they have provided as well as the satisfaction level of their customers. This way, they are able to inspire confidence in new users who would like to give a try to their platform.
5. Using trust icons on your website
Brands usually post trust icons on their sites that show new customers that they have been tested, tried and proven to provide what they promise you.
Case studies
If you visit sites such as betnow.eu and pokestars, you will find that they have trust icons such as certified elite +, gaminglabs certified, Gamcare, thestarsgroup, malta gaming authority, responsiblegambling as well as assurance that your credit card details are safe when you use them on the site. The sites also have SSL security so that you are assured that your personal details are not accessible to unauthorized people.
Wrap up on how to social proof your digital marketing
With these five strategies, businesses will be able to socially proof their marketing efforts, become trusted and entice more customers to convert. “If other people are doing it, why not you?” will be ringing in the minds of your new customers as they go through your social media reviews or see celebrities endorsing you.
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Scoresandstats is a trustworthy website that gives you live odds on sports books where you would like to place your wager. They give you past data about teams and this helps you make a decision on which team is highly likely to win in a match. Other than soccer, they give statistics about racing, NFL and basketball. All the data they provide is aimed at reducing your betting risk as much as possible while increasing your revenue.