What is Social Proof and Why it Matters

Social proof refers to the psychological and social phenomenon where people look to the behavior of others to guide their actions and decisions. It stems from the desire to mimic positive behaviors seen in others, especially when uncertain.

In e-commerce and marketing, social proof comes in many forms, including:

• Social media engagement – Likes, shares, comments
• Reviews and testimonials – Third-party endorsements provide credibility
• Popularity metrics – Sales numbers, subscriber counts, etc, that suggest something is trending
• Referrals and mentions – Being connected to influencers builds trust

Research has proven that including practical social proof elements on websites, stores, and apps can increase conversions by over 15%. Displaying that real people on social media platforms enjoy your brand and recommend your products is very powerful. FOMO also kicks in, as visitors fear missing out on what others buy or engage with.

With social proof directly impacting buying behavior, dedicating efforts to showcase it properly makes tremendous marketing sense.

Key Takeaways

• Social proof is a powerful psychological concept that influences people’s purchasing decisions. Displaying social proof elements like social media engagement and reviews can increase conversions.
• Based on reviews, features, and value, the five best social proof apps for Shopify and WordPress in 2024 are Fomo, Proof, TrustPulse, Stamped.io, the best social proof tool., and SocialPilot.
• These tools simplify showcasing notifications about recent sales, website activity, and social media engagement. This leverages the power of FOMO (fear of missing out) to motivate visitors.
• Core benefits of adequately implementing social proof include higher conversion rates, more social media followers, greater trust and credibility, and an enhancement in overall branding.

Top 11 Best Social Proof Apps Tools on the Market

Many great social proof tools and apps are now available to showcase positive signals around a brand seamlessly. The primary benefit is that they automate the display of dynamic social proof notifications.

Here are the top 11 best options for 2024 based on online reviews, feature sets, and overall value:

App	Best For
Fomo	All-in-one social proof platform
Proof	Social proof popups
TrustPulse	Reviews social proof
Stamped.io	Email and social proof widgets
SocialPilot	Instagram and Facebook proof are powerful forms of social proof on social media platforms.
Synup	Local SEO social proof
TrustSignals	Build social proof trust fast to increase sales.
Qualaroo	Nudge surveys for proof
Proofly	Social notification feed
DemoUp	Sales notifications as tools to boost social proof.
Opinion Stage	UGC Content and Social Proof

Next, explore the five best social-proof apps for Shopify and WordPress. Please pay attention to their unique value propositions for your use case.

Fomo

Fomo is one of the most well-rounded all-in-one social proof platforms available. They make it simple to increase on-site conversions, email sign-ups, and social media engagement through compelling dynamic notification displays.

Key Features

Fomo enables the creation of highly customized targeted social proof campaigns with advanced options. You get fine-tuned control across:

• Many validation triggers – New sales, email subs, exits, page views, etc.
• Real-time feed – Live recent social proof activity.
• Multiple formats – Modals, slide-ins, bars, widgets.
• Styling and templates – Tailor colors, fonts, and themes.
• Conditional logic – Vary what visitors see based on behaviors.
• Analytics – Conversions driven and ROI reporting.

Use Cases

Fomo is versatile enough to help most businesses showcase social proof smarter. It works for:

• E-commerce stores – Highlight recent purchases and exit popups.
• Blogs / News – Comments, shares, reactions.
• Business / SaaS sites – Trial signups and demos scheduled.
• Apps – New users, ratings and reviews.

Fomo is a perfect fit for high-value products and services where social validation is very influential.

Why It’s One of the Best

Fomo ticks all the boxes for an advanced automated social proof platform:

✔️ Easy drag-and-drop editor
✔️ Shopify and WordPress native integration 

✔️ Great looking modern templates
✔️ Excellent customer support
✔️ 14-day free trial

It simplifies optimizing on-site social proof to boost conversions across devices. It’s well worth exploring further!

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Proof

Proof focuses on leveraging social proof popups to boost sales and grow email lists. They offer a range of options to tempt visitors into conversions before exiting.

Key Features

Proof enables you to create targeted popups that display dynamic social proof, including:

• Sales notifications – Recent purchases with details and images.
• ** Scarcity countdowns – Limited stock warnings.
• Reviews – Positive customer feedback ).
• Giveaways – Free shipping or gift offers.

These can be triggered through exit intent, scrolling depth, timing delays, and page targeting.

Use Cases

The proof is fantastic for e-commerce stores selling all types of products, particularly higher-priced items. Showcasing community activity engages visitors and motivates purchasing.

It also works well for:

• Events and ticketing sites – highlight limited seats left.
• Financial services – display client testimonials.
• Charities and non-profits – positive impact messaging.

Any business where social proof can create urgency for time-sensitive offers will see great results from Proof.

Why It’s One of the Best

The proof makes it effortless to create beautiful social proof messaging without coding. Their templates look fantastic out of the box.

It’s one of the best social proof apps due to:

✔️ Intuitive drag-and-drop creation
✔️ Mobile and exit popups
✔️ Shopify app and WordPress integrations

✔️ A/B testing built-in
✔️ 14-day free trial

For the best mix of social proof popups and overlays, Proof is a top choice!

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TrustPulse

TrustPulse specializes in leveraging reviews and testimonials for social proof, an essential marketing tool. Their widgets make showcasing UGC (user-generated content) easy to build credibility.

Key Features

With TrustPulse, you can:

• Curate reviews – Select the best ones to showcase.
• Create widgets – Embed anywhere with flexible templates.
• Add rich snippets markup for Google Stars in search results.
• Enable visitors to write new reviews.
• Moderate UGC – Approve/reject new submissions.

Furthermore, they provide helpful review generation and management features. This includes review emails, response templates, and more.

Use Cases

TrustPulse shines for product sites and stores where authenticity is essential. Displaying credible third-party opinions offers tremendous value.

It works great for:

• Consumer goods – Apparel, electronics, toys, etc.
• B2B software and tech.
• Books, movies, and entertainment.
• Mobile apps and SaaS platforms.
• Courses and online education sites.

Why It’s One of the Best

There are many reasons TrustPulse stands out as a top social proof app:

✔️ Focused purely on optimizing UGC
✔️ Review moderation features
✔️ SEO markup for better search visibility and to use social proof for higher rankings.
✔️ Easy WordPress integration

✔️ 30-day free trial

For showcasing authentic user reviews, TrustPulse can’t be beaten!

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Stamped.io

Stamped.io concentrates on email, review, and social proof, all through simple embeddable widgets. They offer potent solutions to build credibility.

Key Features

Core capabilities of Stamped.io include:

• Email and SMS collection popups.
• Recent user activity notifications.
• Social network follow buttons.
• User-generated photo displays.
• Testimonials, reviews, and referrals.

These elements can be combined in many ways through their widgets to add social proof to your site. For example, request an email signup before showing reviews.

Use Cases

Stamped.io is highly versatile for both marketing and customer engagement use cases like:

• Email list building popups.
• Social proof on landing pages.
• Reviews on e-commerce product pages.
• Case studies on SaaS/tech sites.
• Crowdsourced imagery from users.

Why It’s One of the Best

There are many reasons Stamped.io stands out for social proof:

✔️ Huge range of tools and widgets.
✔️ Intuitive setup and customization.
✔️ Shopify app integration.
✔️ 30-day free trial, a social proof marketing tool to showcase trust.

For the ultimate flexibility to embed social proof anywhere, Stamped.io excels!

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SocialPilot

SocialPilot specializes in leveraging social media content for social proof notifications. Their automated flows simplify display across sites.

Key Features

With SocialPilot, you can:

• Collect social posts – Aggregate user-generated social content around brands, products, or hashtags.
• Curate UGC – Use filters to select the most appealing posts to display.
• Showcase content – Instantly embed dynamic UGC into sites with live updating feeds filtered by source, text, images, video, etc.
• Analytics – Track impressions and engagement.

Use Cases

For businesses invested heavily in social media, SocialPilot offers a perfect way to showcase this user-generated content further:

• Display Instagram photos/videos on e-commerce stores.
• Embed Instagram or Tweets feeds to humanize an About page.
• Show Facebook comments as social proof on landing pages.
• Leverage geotagged posts on real estate/hospitality sites.

Why It’s One of the Best

Reasons SocialPilot excels at social proof:

✔️ Automates surfacing compelling social content.

✔️ Shopify integration plus WordPress plugin.
✔️ Modern dynamic UGC feed templates.

✔️ 30-day free trial.

For fresh user-generated social content across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter that updates in real-time, SocialPilot is a top choice!

FAQ 

Here are answers to some common questions people have about leveraging social proof:

1. What are some examples of social proof I can showcase?

Great options include recent sales notifications, customer ratings and reviews, social shares and engagement, press mentions, celebrity endorsements, case studies from business users and any metrics suggesting popularity or market leadership.

2. What is the best type of social proof for increasing conversions?

Showcasing recent shopping activity like purchases and product views works incredibly well, triggering the psychological effects of consensus, bandwagon and FOMO biases where people follow the crowd.

3. What’s a good benchmark for social proof effect on conversions?

Properly displaying strong social proof cues can reliably increase conversion rates between 5-15%, and upwards of 25%+ in many cases for ecommerce stores. If you aren’t seeing lifts, try using different mixes of notifications.

4. Where should I place social proof content on my site for optimal impact?

Great locations are above the fold wherever possible, on landing pages, on product description pages near the add to cart buttons, in slide-ins and overlays during exits or scroll pauses, and in targeted modal popups. Test different placements using tools like Fomo or Proof.

5. How much does social proof software cost? Many offer a free plan to start.

Pricing varies based on features, but expect an average starting cost of $15+ per month for basic plans. Enterprise social proof software packages then range up into the $150+ per month territory. Luckily there are also very capable freemium options to get started with as well.

6. What social proof tools work with WordPress and Shopify?

The five covered in this guide – Fomo, Proof, TrustPulse, Stamped.io and SocialPilot – all offer deep integration with WordPress sites and Shopify stores. There are also free social proof plugins like Shopify Proof and TrustPulse available. Most tools support webhooks making universal integration easy.

7. How often should my social proof displays update?

Social proof works best when it feels current and relevant. For notifications, aim for every few minutes. For customer images and reviews, you can likely get away with less frequent rotations, but still update daily or weekly.

8. How do I source great social proof content?

Ask for reviews in your email newsletters and transactional messages. Run occasional review campaigns offering incentives. Encourage UGC sharing in your social media channels. Curate and aggregate any positive brand mentions online as a way to boost your form of social proof. Export analytics data around traffic and conversions. And leverage integrations with your ecommerce platform’s notification capabilities.

Disclaimer

The author provides the information above for informational and educational purposes only. Use of this information is at reader’s own judgement and risk. Remember, adding social proof can significantly increase trust. The author assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, losses or damages arising from the use of the information in this article. All product names used herein are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated, affiliated or endorsed this article.