How to Use Social Proof in Email and on Your E-commerce Site

Retailers constantly seek ways to stand out in crowded inboxes and influence subscribers to make purchases, some of them by offering deep discounts. But for companies that either can’t or don’t want to shrink their margins, finding another way to influence purchase decisions inside emails is essential. This is where using social proof in your email marketing can be a powerful sales tactic.

Luckily for companies — especially online retailers — they already possess a lot of content that can be used for social proof. Here are a few ways retailers can utilize this content in their email marketing programs to influence purchases.

How to Use Product Reviews in Email Marketing

Product reviews matter to consumers. Sixty-five percent of consumers check product reviews before making a purchase. When it comes to Gen Z, 67% of them read three or more reviews before making their first purchase. You’ve worked hard at collecting reviews, and now it’s time to put them to good use.

Look at the elements of product reviews you can use, including the actual rating, customer quote, and even a piece of user-generated content (UGC), like a picture or video. From here, you can use these elements to showcase top-rated products for different categories or sets of products. Using one or all of the elements can make the customer feel confident in their decision to purchase from you.

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Here’s an example from HalloweenCostumes.com that combines all of these elements in the recovery section of the email.

A great part about using product reviews in emails is that they fit well in a variety of email messages, from promotional emails to automated lifecycle messages like a welcome series or abandoned cart messages.

How to Use Social Media in Email Marketing

Social media provides a brand with the ability to engage in back-and-forth communication with consumers. It has also given brands a new outlet to let customers advertise and spread brand awareness for them. When someone shares a picture using a brand’s product on social media, it provides some level of brand and product credibility.

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Secondary content:  Include user-submitted photos as secondary content in each of your emails. You can even start a hashtag to showcase how customers use your products, such as in this example from Crocs.

In this email, the main content is their standard promotion creative, but they use UGC as secondary content to showcase how these products fit into their customers’ lifestyles.

Entire email: UGC does not have to be reserved for secondary content. As you can see in this example from Gone For A Run, the entire email is built by featuring a few of their customers from social media. Using customer photos like this provides an easy — and relatable — method for promoting products.    

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Influencers: We can’t talk about social media and not mention influencer marketing. If you do use influencers, find ways to incorporate them into your email promotions.

You can do this by creating an email where they showcase products, such as their favorites or top trends. And when it makes sense to do so, consider putting messages like these into your lifecycle messaging series.

Top posts: Monitor your social feed for your most engaging posts. If a specific post receives more than the average number of likes or comments, you know it has engaged your audience — use these actual posts in of your messages.

If an outfit posted on Instagram is popular, feature that post in your emails with a screenshot of the actual post or show the outfit itself. Using screenshots or referencing the social media post might prove more effective as it directly ties the social aspect to the promotion.

How to Use Your Employees in Email Marketing

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Customers trust your employees. Whether walking into a sporting goods store or a wine retailer, employee recommendations are trusted. This trust can be a powerful sales tool, so find ways to incorporate your employee product recommendations into your email marketing.

You can see in this example from REI that they humanize the email by showing staff pictures, names, locations, and quotes about why they recommend the products.

One great place to use recommendations like this is with browse recovery emails. Showcasing employee recommended products for the same category of products subscribers were viewing on their website can be a great tool in helping the customer decide on a product to purchase.

The Social Proof is in the Pudding

Using social proof to drive email conversions works. One company tested this by isolating website browsers based on the category of products viewed. They sent these consumers a “top-rated products” email based on that specific category and sent other non-category browsers a generic marketing message.

The social proof-driven message saw significant increases in all major email metrics, including an almost 8,000 percent lift in revenue per email. Even better, this email had only 3% of the volume of emails sent compared to the generic message — but it drove 140% more revenue.

Social proof comes down to finding the right opportunities to incorporate it. Look to your social networks, product reviews, and your employees to serve as proof for why they should purchase from your brand.

Trust me, they’re open to suggestions.

Read more of my thoughts on using social proof here

Don’t You Know Me at All? The Importance of Relevant Recommendations

Imagine this scenario. You’re staying at a hotel, and you visit the concierge for a great dinner recommendation. You give him all sorts of information, including your craving for surf and turf. You tell him about the vintage red wine you like and your wife’s favorite chardonnay. You say you want a relaxed, romantic atmosphere – nothing too loud. After sharing all of those details, the concierge recommends the local sports bar. Wouldn’t you have expected more? Would you think less of the concierge and even the hotel chain as a whole? This same kind of interaction happens between retailers and consumers every day.

Such a disconnect can quickly turn consumers off and send them searching for other options. They are demanding personalized experiences and have come to expect relevant recommendations in exchange for sharing information about themselves. In fact, according to a Bronto-commissioned survey of U.S. consumers, 60% of millennials and 45% of Gen Xers expect retailers to make product recommendations based on their past purchases. Yet just 21% of millennials and 9% of Gen Xers are always satisfied with the recommendations they receive. What a major gap between expectation and reality.

When they’re done well, product recommendations are a powerful tool for connecting with consumers and making them feel like you truly understand them. They can be used in virtually any email, from day-to-day promotional emails and automated lifecycle messages, such as post-purchase and browse recovery, to order and shipping confirmations. They can even stand on their own as recommendation-only emails. And the best part is they don’t cause any additional strain for your likely lean email marketing team.

Let’s explore some of the dos and don’ts.

Make Your Product Recommendations Stand Out

Be specific to the individual. Recommendations are just that, recommendations. But showing me something my neighbor wants isn’t going to necessarily help me. Whenever possible, create recommendations that are subscriber-specific. “Listen” to the data. Email subscribers give you all sorts of digital cues – click activity, browse history, preference data and purchase behavior. This data allows you to generate more relevant results, which is particularly critical when using recommendations in a batch-and-blast message. By nature, these emails are often irrelevant to a majority of recipients. But including targeted recommendations based on individual data can often be enough to capture interest and inspire action.

Combine them with lifecycle messages. Lifecycle messages are already more relevant than standard messages because they’re based on consumer behavior. Recommendations will only take them to the next level. For example, I received a message last year reminding me that my son’s third birthday was coming up. It said finding the perfect toy for a three-year-old can be hard, but they were there to make it easier. It was a timely and engaging message by itself. But what made it even better was it included recommendations for gift ideas for three-year-old boys.

Target your purchase-related messages. Using recommendations in both transactional and post-purchase messages should be a no-brainer. You can offer specific recommendations to sell complementary items. Did a customer buy a pair of boots without waterproof spray or a hat and scarf without the matching gloves? This is the perfect place to cross-sell the customer.

Avoid These Potential Pitfalls

“Just for you” subject lines. Have you ever received a message that claims to be “Just for you?” Yet when you open the message, the results aren’t relevant to you and your behavior, and all credibility is lost? I know I have. If you were to receive another message from this brand containing that same subject line, would you open it? Doubtful. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice … you know the rest.

Static recommendations. Using static, non-intuitive recommendations can still benefit retailers if they’re done right. But be mindful of the language you use in your message. When including recommendations as a secondary or tertiary section of an email message, forego the “just for you” strategy for less specific language. Instead, go with something like top sellers, customer favorites, highest rated, new additions, picks of the month, most viewed or staff picks. This will set the right expectation for subscribers.

Recommendation-only messages. As I said earlier, sending a message with nothing but recommendations isn’t a bad thing. They can be great messages, but be wary of how you present the information. When recommendations are irrelevant, you’ll quickly lose your credibility. One such email I received suggested stylus pens and ladies jewelry, which didn’t really go along with the iPhone accessory I had purchased. For these messages, be sure the majority, if not all, of your recommendations are appropriate for the individual recipient. If not, heed my earlier advice and set the right expectations with your subject line and email copy.

Make Email Recommendations Work for You

When it comes to recommendations, ignoring your data is the worst thing you can do. Think of yourself as that concierge. When your customers offer you information, use it to meet their needs and expectations. If you don’t, they’ll begin to feel undervalued and lose faith in your brand. They trust you – don’t give them a reason to stop.

What Will They Buy Next? Using Product Recommendations in Email

Creating relevant emails is not a new concept, but due to resource limitations, it can often be difficult to execute. If you can’t be as targeted and relevant as you’d like at the individual email level, using product recommendations in your messages can fill the gap.

For those who can create targeted promotional emails, product recommendations can help you take those messages to the next level. When using product recommendations, however, there are things to be mindful of, such as what your recommendations are based on. Is it purchase behavior, click behavior, website browse behavior, or a combination of these? It’s important to determine upfront so you can audit the results for accuracy and identify opportunities to potentially collect additional subscriber info. Doing so will help create more accurate recommendations.

Let’s look at some messages where recommendations would be most effective and some pitfalls to be wary of when doing so.

Lifecycle Messages

Inserting product recommendations in lifecycle messages, such as a post-purchase, anniversary, or birthday messages, is a natural fit. These messages are already relevant by nature, and including specific suggestions based on customer history can make them even more powerful. If you’re using a lifecycle message where you don’t have purchase info but may have click and preference details, such as a welcome series message, use whatever data you have to be as relevant as possible.

However, be careful not to refer to your recommendations as being “just for you.” Instead, consider using something more diplomatic, such as “items we think you may like” or “customer favorites.” You’re still learning what they may be interested in, so don’t make it sound as though you’re already certain of their preferences.. Doing so might give a negative impression.

Cart Abandonment Messages

As consumers get closer to making a purchase, recommendations may be the deciding factor in not only getting the contact to buy but also increase their cart total. Maybe the contact sees a dress in the recommendations that they missed while browsing your site. Or it could it be that pair of shoes that complement the outfit in the cart. Don’t underestimate the power of recommendations, even at a point so close to purchase.

The examples below show three slightly different approaches to recommending products. Pottery Barn Kids showed “also viewed” products, while NewEgg labeled their section “Trending Now.” Do I really believe that all four things trending on NewEgg are TV-related items? No, I don’t. And Adore Me may actually be showing their most popular sets, but they may not be as relevant to the shopper with this message because they tried to cross-sell their primary products rather than recommending products similar to the abandoned pajamas.

All three examples were well-constructed, but I would avoid using labels along the lines of “Products Recommended for You” in an abandoned cart message. The subscriber already identified specific items they’re interested in, so your goal should be to either complement the abandoned product or provide a similar solution to the problem the abandoned product solves.

Transactional Messages

Don’t forget about your transactional messages, such as order and shipping confirmations. These messages can be substantial revenue drivers, and considering recipients have just made a purchase, it might be the perfect opportunity to showcase some upsell or cross-sell items here. In this Williams-Sonoma example, the “also purchased” products are mostly relevant. Why wouldn’t I need a new spatula along with my new griddle? What I like about this is they are also relatively low-cost items, so making an impulse purchase decision is more likely.

If you can easily edit the message layout, I prefer to have this recommended content along the right rail as opposed to below the primary content. This allows you to keep your promotional content above the fold while remaining CAN-SPAM compliant.

Be Wary of Automated Promotional Messages

If you plan to send recurring recommendation emails to your audience, don’t automate the exact same message. Change the subject line from send to send. You could still automate your message, but be sure to keep your message fresh. All it takes is one not-so-relevant email before a contact decides to never open your messages again. Using the same subject line allows the subscriber to identify this message in the inbox before even opening it.

For instance, I once received an email from a company with the subject line “Gregory, Recommendations Just for You.” Upon opening, not a single product was indeed relevant to me. Now, every time this company sends me that message with the identical subject line, I immediately hit delete. Sending a message with an identical layout is fine. Just be sure to freshen the subject line with each repeated send to a contact.

In this example from KarmaLoop, I am a non-purchaser. They continue to send me recommendation messages like this. As you can see, these products don’t have much in common, yet the creative says these are just for me! The products are for both genders and from a variety of price points. This may be an attempt to determine what I click on to further their segmentation, but they could do that with standard promotional messages. They could also collect gender at sign-up, and even with no other info, make these recommendations more relevant.

Subject Line: Just for you. Really. (this week)

With Overstock.com, I have purchased in the past. I once bought a couple of iPhone accessories for my wife. What I don’t necessarily like about this message is the primary recommendation for stylus pens with a sub-recommendation for an iPhone accessory. Based on my purchase history, the iPhone accessory is more targeted to my potential needs, and the other two jewelry recommendations miss the mark.

I have no issue with trying to determine whether I might be in the market for some jewelry, but two recommendations for jewelry seem like a stretch to me. Why not include one jewelry item and maybe one other female fashion accessory?

Subject Line: Gregory, recommendations Just for You…

I do like the price points of the suggestions. They are all in line with the price of the original items purchased, so they are not making drastic recommendations. But the subject line used for this message is identical to the one I mentioned from another retailer above, so I know this is an automated message. Again, if these recommendations completely missed the mark, I would be very hesitant to open in the future. In this case, it was relevant enough to open again.

Always check that your recommendations are indeed hitting the mark. Remember, results will vary based on what you segment on (browse, purchase or click behavior). However, if they don’t appear to be delivering the results you’d expect, edit your settings and keep tweaking until you get the best possible results.

Final Thoughts

People have different needs and shopping behaviors, so recommendations don’t always have to be exact. They should simply estimate what people may like. But with that being said, they should still be in the ballpark in order to engage the subscriber. Test and monitor the results of your recommendations for relevance and accuracy. And finally, don’t force these recommendations into all of your messages. Look for the opportunities where it makes sense to do so and gives you the greatest likelihood of success.