Reversing risk and social proof

“Social proof (above the fold) adds instant credibility to the value you’re promising…

Any startup can write “How small brands sell more online”. But it’s their “18,000+ reviews” that make you believe it.”

• MarketingExamples.com, My step-by-step guide to landing pages that convert

Do you remember those house parties as an adolescent?

“Who else is going?”

“I heard Tommy is going.”

“Jen said it would be cool.”

When you’re marketing as a newcomer, you’re as beholden to these popularity markers as you were back then.

People get scammed and spammed all of the time. If you’re coming at them and you’re unknown - there’s a good chance you’re one of them too.

You need to do everything in your power to remove the risk for potential buyers to ensure you’re not lumped into the same category as the scammers.

One way you do this is risk reversal. This simply means removing and reducing the chances of a buyer wasting their time, money, and energy. The obvious option is a guarantee - offering money back on dissatisfaction removes some of the risk - but what about the buyer’s time and energy spent on you in the first place?

Other ways you can reduce risk is offering a free trial, a sample of the product, or agreeing to do a small project together first to establish a working relationship. As the newcomer, you’re trying to reduce any potential friction or resistance before it appears.

Once you’ve got some customers under your belt - the other big lever you can pull is providing social proof. This can be reviews, testimonials, talking head case study videos, and client logos. As someone starting out, your job is to gather as much of this evidence as you can. If you’re already established - hit up your existing customer base with a polite request to feature them in your channels in exchange for some kind words. Social proof also plays a big role on an offer page in your Visual hierarchy (a tad later).

Social proof is a credibility marker - illustrating that you can deliver what you say you can.