Dos and Don’ts of Social Proof Marketing for Healthcare, B2B, and Healthy Consumer Brands

Our team jumped for joy last month when we were recognized as a Clutch Global Leader in Digital Marketing - an award based exclusively upon consistent, quality reviews from our customers. 

With over 25 years of expertise in brand strategy and digital marketing for Medical Device and Healthcare clients, we prefer to let our clients be the judge of our success.

Which leads to an important commandment that all marketers should adhere to– Gain and disseminate Social Proof to become a market leader in your space, no matter B2B or B2C. 

Why Social Proof Works 

With digital content bombarding audiences 24/7, customers are skeptical of brand claims and messages that are not validated. This is why they search the web for reviews to validate their product or service research.  

Your audience, no matter who they are, wants to trust they are making the best decision by choosing you. There is no better way to earn trust than by gaining and showcasing authentic social proof.

Getting your clients or customers to love you means that you are serving their needs and expectations on a consistent and authentic basis. We have compiled a list to help you gain endorsements from those that matter most to your brand.

Dos and Don’ts of Social Proof Marketing: 

Do:

Earn It:   

Be Remarkable – Don’t just check the box, be obsessed with providing the highest level of service and product integrity from the very first impression in connecting with your brand. 

Differentiate – What makes your product or service better? It’s easier for an audience to tout your ingenuity if you stand out from the sea of sameness. 

Customer Experience – How are you engaging with your customers at every stage of interaction? For today’s savvy, yet sometimes fickle audiences to give a high review, there must be satisfaction across all customer touchpoints.

Culture – How is your brand impacting the world or customers’ lives, and why do employees want to be a part of it? Millennials want to feel a sense of purpose, make them your champions and see your Glassdoor ratings soar.

Request It: 

Be Upfront - For B2Bs, a standardized request for testimonials must be baked into the project management workflow. Set expectations early, “We want to earn your positive review, once we deliver on your objectives and deliverables, we want to hear how we performed.”  

Make it Easy – For us, having a credible aggregator of service professionals like Clutch makes it easy for our clients to provide honest feedback and endorsements on our performance.

Define It: 

Strategize - Once you start receiving social proof, develop a strategy for leveraging your success, and deploying content based on your reviews and testimonials.

Analyze - Make sure you’re showcasing social proof on the platforms where your target audience is looking for social proof. 

Create Add-On Content - How can you turn gaining and celebrating social proof into additional content stories for social. For example videos, case studies, interviews?  

Diffuse It: 

PR – Spread the love. Is any of the social proof you are receiving newsworthy? If so, share it through your industry channels.

Employees - Create an internal buzz around the reviews, awards, etc, to create pride and encourage your team to personally share about the award to their networks.  

Collaborate - Would any of your business partners like to add your social proof to their content? i.e. Some of your partners may want to showcase they are working with a top-notch firm.  

Don’t:

Hide it - While you’d want to work behind the scenes to rectify any major customer complaints, don’t be afraid to show reviews that aren’t perfect. No one trusts (50) 5-star reviews. 

Fake It - Stay away from manufactured social proof and make sure any display of your social proof clearly shows that it came from a real person and real exchange.   

Ignore it - Every piece of feedback, especially negative, provides you with an opportunity to improve. If you’re in denial, you’ll never grow.

If you’d like to hear about how we gained our positive reviews over the years or gain more direction in discovering and defining your Social Proof marketing strategy, contact us and see how our expertise could help you.  

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