Social Validation is the Key to Amplifying Your Customer Base

Social Validation is the Key to Amplifying Your Customer Base

Social validation is one of the greatest motivators in our daily lives. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, once our basic physical and safety needs are met, the next set of needs includes a sense of belonging and love, followed immediately by esteem needs — things like status and respect. Both groups tie directly into the concept of validation from one’s social group.

Social media has only amplified our need for social validation. Instead of now seeking approval directly from our immediate family and close circle of friends, we seek it from our entire social network. Our craving for social validation is more intense and demanding in our day-to-day lives. It’s the entire reason that people do things like post photos of their new car on their Facebook profile before they’ve even left the dealer lot.

If you want to electrify your customer base, you need to learn to tap into this need for social validation. Your customers are proud of doing business with you. Make it simple for them to share that enthusiasm with their friends. Create a chain reaction: people want what others have. They despise being left out. They loathe being the last of their social circle to have what everyone else has.

When we are uncertain about what to do we will look to other people to guide us. And we do this automatically and unconsciously. - Susan Weinschenk

Our need for social validation is why techniques like Facebook’s sponsored posts are so effective. It’s built-in social approval, making it more acceptable for us to also like those things.

So how do you go about tapping into this need for social validation? There are a few basic ways, none of which are particularly difficult to implement. 

Make it easy to share!

This seems a bit obvious, but too many business owners overlook it. If you want your customers to share your offerings with their social circle, make it quick and painless for them to do so. That means including share buttons and outright asking your customers to share.

Every single bit of content you publish, from product listings to email newsletters to blog posts should include an easy, obvious way to share on the popular social media sites. These buttons are generally easy to implement and make sharing significantly more likely. - Tweet this

Make sure you use buttons that are easily identified with each site by using the appropriate colors and logos or icons, even if you don’t use stock buttons. People are used to seeing this kind of branding and instantly recognize these buttons. The less they have to think before sharing, the more likely they are to follow through. 

Tap into the early adopters.

These are the people who are the first in their social circle to try something new. These are the risk-takers, but they still want social validation. Except instead of seeking approval from those who have already done something, they look for a sense of approval when they convince others to do something new. Same motivation, but manifested in a slightly different way.

Figure out where these early adopters get their information and then target your marketing and advertising to those places. This could be a blog from an industry leader, a particular news source, or something else. It’s all dependent on your industry. But tapping into those sources is vital if you want to reach these risk-takers.

Take advantage of marketing and advertising offerings that tap into social validation.

Create content on your social networking pages that your followers want to share. While things like Facebook’s sponsored posts advertising are no longer available, there’s nothing that prevents your followers from sharing things you post to your page with their own friends. This is instant social validation. So look at what content is shared most often and post more content like that, while posting less of what isn’t getting shared or clicked on.

The human need for social validation is a powerful motivational force. Leverage it in your social media marketing efforts to drive new revenue through word-of-mouth and referrals. Let us know in the comments how you tap into your customer's desire for social validation to improve your business.