Social Proof and Membership

Why sharing members’ stories and encouraging reviews is great for engagement

There is an increasing trend in the reliance and credibility of social proof and human interest pieces. In the membership sector, the importance of generating authentic and relatable content grows in importance as a means of conveying and communicating the benefits of your association in real-life circumstances.

We are currently helping many of our clients to understand the best ways to relay and maximise feedback, testimonials and case studies. We do this by helping them to connect with members’ needs in the first instance, and develop strong relationships that faciliate content-building dialogue that culminates in case studies and features that mutually benefit the organisation and the member.

Social Proof and Members

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we have seen a rise in the need for social proof as an additional factor in decision making, owing to the additional need for justifying spend. This sentiment cascades down to how your members also relay their own testimonials and feedback to their customers, present and future, to help promote their own businesses.

88% of people read reviews to determine the quality of a local business. (Source: Brightlocal.com)
72% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a local business. (Source: Moresocialsuccesspartners.com)
88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (Source: Mdgadvertising.com)
Providing your members with guidance on how best to accumulate reviews and maximise testimonials across Google My Business, Facebook and other industry specific platform is a worthy exercise to ensure members are upskilled and aware of the importance of accruing social proof.

Social Proof and Membership

Social proof and human interest goes deeper in the membership sector to not only explore how your association or membership organisation enables business success, growth and sustenance, but also to convey the benefits of the community you have developed within your industry.

At present, there is an increased need for reassurance and ‘safety in numbers’. making it incredibly important to share your members’ achievements and relay positive feedback to demonstrate the importance of retaining membership or joining.

Success Stories

Publish members’ success stories or relatable experience across your owned digital assets (website, newsletter, social media channels) and at the same time, reach out to other members who may also wish to share their stories and experiences. This process of collaboration further solidifies your community whilst demonstrating your desire to understand your members’ needs and celebrate their achievements.

We are also in the thick of a crisis that demands opportunity to spread positivity. Generating positive, constructive and reassuring content by publishing your members’ achievements and celebrating how they are overcoming current challenges will inspire and motivate other members to find similar solutions and successes.