Isn't it funny how no one wants to go first in so many different things? No one wants to be the first customer. No one wants to be the first to share their story at a meeting.
No one wants to be the first in line to cliff diving or skydiving for the first time. People are afraid of uncertainty. People don't want to be alone in the things they do.
This even applies to your business. Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and billionaire entrepreneur said, “Customers want to see that you have other customers.”
Why Do People Feel This Way?
The bigger the customer base, the more credibility people associate with your brand. The more social media shares you have, the more popular your blog looks.
The more comments you have on your blog posts, the more likely people are to leave their own comments. It's the snowball effect. All you have to do is get the ball rolling downhill and the rest will take care of itself as you keep working.
Until you have a big following, you need to have a plan to get those first few post shares, comments, social engagements, testimonials, customers, etc.
How would you feel if you a company had a cool product that you want, but they don't have any other customers? You might second guess your buying decision, right?
You might see it as a potential scam or a not so credible company. It's called social proof and considering how cautious people are about being the first to do anything, you're going to need it.
Action Steps
Here's a few things you can do to grow your brand's engagement, subscribers and customers using social proof:
- Selling something on Amazon? Give the product away for free to get your first 10+ reviews. Without reviews no one will buy and no one will leave new reviews.
- Trying to get more traffic through social shares? Use Viral Content Buzz or Just Retweet to get your first shares after publishing posts. This will encourage more shares by your actual following.
- Need more comments to make posts look good? Use Empire Kred and send post updates to your email list to get your first comments after publishing. This will help others do the same.
- Need more customers? Give away your product for free or at a discount until you have testimonials and other social proof to share. If it's a quality product, this won't be a problem.
- Need more subscribers to your email list? Give people something for free in exchange for their email (known as a lead magnet) and tell them how many people are on your list once you get to a respectable number.
Conclusion
There is power in numbers. When Mark Cuban said, “Customers want to see that you have other customers,” he knew exactly what he was talking about.
This philosophy actually applies to not only customers, but reviews, social shares, comments, subscribers and the list goes on. Once you understand it and know how to use it, social proof can be one of your most powerful marketing tools.
What does Mark Cuban's quote mean to YOU?
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