With the average person spending almost two hours per day on social media, it’s perhaps not surprising that so many ecommerce stores incorporate social media advertising into their marketing practices.
As an eCommerce store owner, you might even see advertising on Facebook, Twitter or Google as a compulsory item in your budget.
But what about customer review software?
As mentioned in the excerpt of this post, many business owners frequently spend $50 or $100 on a single social media advertisement, yet remain reluctant to spend $10 per month on a review system. But here’s the thing, without customer reviews your ad spend could all be in vain. Here’s why.
Consumers expect to see reviews when they arrive at your site.
There’s no denying that social media ads have the potential to drive traffic to eCommerce stores. But what happens when the visitor arrives at your site?
With 97% of consumers saying they read reviews, and 88% saying they trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, it’s pretty clear that having those reviews on show is essential to move visitors along the buyer journey.
Furthermore, not having your reviews on show could result in visitors (driven by your social media advert) leaving your site prematurely – most importantly, without making a purchase. 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews.
Put simply, the hard work done by your social media ad spend could be undone without social proof and visible customer reviews on your site.
Customer reviews last forever, unlike social media adverts.
While social media adverts are time sensitive (depending on platform, type of post and level of budget), customer reviews last forever.
Once acquired, customer reviews can be displayed across your eCommerce site and can be recycled on social media platforms and in marketing materials to attract more potential customers. The product page for UGG shown below, highlights how reviews can compliment the sales process.
Customers trust reviews more than marketing advertisements.
While your bright and branded social media advert might look awesome, why should anyone believe the marketing claims you make about your products? The truth is, 43% of people think marketing and advertising is not at all trustworthy.
Today’s savvy buyers aren’t swayed by marketing fluff and boastful claims, particularly when it comes directly from the business itself. They prefer to read the experiences and opinions of people just like them. For this reason, it pays to list real customer reviews that visitors can relate to.
Customer reviews provide an uplift in sales.
Social media advertising isn’t cheap. In most cases, you’re charged simply for a click, regardless of whether the visitor has gone on to make a purchase or not. Even the smallest of social ad campaigns can rack up a hefty cost, leaving a question about your return on such an investment.
With customer review software such as HelpfulCrowd, a small monthly investment returns a collection of reviews that are shown to have an effect on site conversions.
On average, reviews produce an 18% uplift in sales, with consumers saying they have more confidence in their purchasing decisions when reviews are shown.
Customer review software vs paid advertising
It’s clear that paid advertisements do offer benefits when it comes to driving traffic to a site. But, without reviews visible on your eCommerce store, this traffic increase could be a pointless exercise.
For this reason, it surely makes sense to make a small monthly investment in customer review software to acquire as much user-generated content as you can.
That way, any traffic (paid or organic) arriving at your site, will be more likely to place trust in your brand and ultimately convert.
As with any marketing strategy, it makes sense to take a multi-channel approach and to support any paid activity with organic efforts – such as user generated content and customer reviews. Before you go and spend another $100 on social media adverts, consider your customer reviews strategy first.
