What is social proof? The concept focuses on how people adopt others’ actions to reflect correct behavior in a social situation. So if someone feels uncertain about something, they’ll look at another person’s behavior to help them make a decision on what to do.

With small businesses, social proof might take the form of case studies, reviews, or even trust icons on websites showing their media mentions. But one of the most common forms of social proof is testimonials which are recommendations from happy clients and customers that talk about the person’s experience using a product or service.

You see testimonials everywhere because they’re so effective, and they can be only a couple of lines to something more in-depth. In this episode, I talk about what you need to know when using testimonials in your marketing and how to get permission to use them from your clients.

Please subscribe if you haven’t already. And if you like the show, I’d love it if you’d give it a review wherever you listen to podcasts!

 

In this episode:

[02:53] - Danielle gives a quick made-up example of a testimonial.

[03:58] - Danielle offers a short recap of the Federal Trade Commission’s main goals.

[05:00] - In the eyes of the FTC, endorsements and testimonials are effectively the same thing. 

[05:58] - Danielle distills some information you need to know to take advantage of the power of testimonials in your marketing.

[07:11] - What do you do if you can’t use a client’s or customer’s testimonial due to unsubstantiated claims about your product or service?

[08:34] - While exact wording in testimonials isn’t necessary, you do need to be careful to avoid this mistake.

[09:26] - Danielle discusses the need to differentiate between testimonials that depict typical vs. atypical results.

[10:54] - If you regularly solicit testimonials, consider adding something to your terms or client agreement. Danielle goes over common things to include.

[12:29] - Is it okay to share screenshots of comments posted on forums or Facebook groups to use as testimonials?

[13:31] - What should you do if you’re asked by an endorser to remove a testimonial they’ve provided?

[14:16] - Danielle reveals your action steps to wrap up the episode.

 

Links & Resources:

FTC Guide: Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising

Influence: Science and Practice by Robert Cialdini

Businessese

Liss Legal