Social Proof Software FAQ: All your Questions Answered (2020 update)

What should I look for in a Social Proof Software?

Here is a list of what you should look for in a Social Proof Software:

• Features
• Design
• Data Analytics
• Integrations
• Pricing
• Multi-lingual
• AI and Machine Learning

Features

Determine what the software will be used for. 

Here are some scenarios where you would convert prospects: 

1. gather leads (email, phone call, etc.)
2. sell a service or a product (e.g., eCommerce, courses, eBooks, online community)
3. a mix of the above

The type of widgets you may be looking for to achieve higher conversions are:

1. Should I use a Social Proof notifications pop-ups?

The short answer is: YES. 

If you sell a product or a service, Social Proof Software will help you boost your conversions and your sales. 

Even agencies can sell Social Proof Software for agencies as part of their offering. 

Using Social Proof pop-ups is an easy way to grow your business or your blog. 

Social Proof is particularly helpful in the following cases:

1. eCommerce store to sell stuff
2. Blogs to gather email addresses, engage audiences, grow followers
3. Website to do affiliates marketing, sell services, teach people skills, promote products
4. Agencies to promote the agency services or resell to its clients

So as long as you do business online, Social Proof widgets are a great marketing strategy.

It does not matter if you manage a website, a niche site, a blog, an eCommerce store, Shopify, Woocommerce or Magento store, Social Proof will be useful to you. 

Social proof is excellent is you sell:

The setup is fast and hassle-free, and you can be up and running within a few minutes. 

There are plenty of cheap Social Proof Software on the market as well. 

In the end, the decision is yours, but we believe that using social proof is a proven marketing tool.

2. I don’t sell anything, can Social Proof still help me?

Yes absolutely.

If you gather emails, contacts, leads… then YES. 

If you want to engage your audience and promote content, freebies, posts, videos, a podcast… Then YES again. 

Social Proof notifications can also help you grow your audience and increase engagement on your blog and your website. 

If you do not sell anything, do not gather email addresses, do not build an audience…. and do not plan to in the future, then in this rare and specific case, Social Proof may not be for you. 

For some corporate conglomerates, for example, a company selling shipping ships or wind turbines, it may not be recommended as Social Proof may not be a good fit. But we assume that this scenario does not apply to you. 

3. Does using Social Proof really work?

Yes absolutely.

Using Social Proof widgets on your blog, website, or eCommerce store works. 

Many studies have been done that prove Social Proof is effective. 

You already see Social Proof on a daily basis on the websites you visit:

• testimonials
• star ratings
• reviews
• “left in stock”
• etc.

Passive vs. Active

Putting a testimonials on a website is the passive approach to Social Proof. 

The dynamic approach is to use up-to-date data generated from the action of other customers and use the data to display relevant information that fits the context of other prospects. 

Using a Social Proof Software means that you take a pro-active approach to using this marketing strategy. 

Instead of displaying static testimonials, you display dynamic testimonials that are taken directly from the actions of other users.

Furthermore, if you display data that is contextually relevant, your chances of closing a sale or pushing the prospect to take action are higher. 

A prime example of this would be to display information like “Alicia from Chicago bought this handbag 12 min ago” to a prospect that is looking the exact same handbag. It engages the prospect emotionally and helps the person remove friction, barriers, and uncertainty to purchase.  

4. Can I use it for non-eCommerce websites?

Technically speaking, the notifications pop-ups software work on the vast majority of platforms on the market. 

Social Proof Software can be used on all types of platforms:

The software can be used pretty much anywhere.

Plenty of custom-made integrations are available with most software.

5. Do I need to know how to code?

No!

No need to know how to code. 

If you are using standard platforms like WordPress, Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, etc. you can do it by yourself. It takes a few minutes.

In some cases, if you do not have access to the backend of your website, you may need help to add the Social Prof Software code snippet in the backend. 

6. Can I try the Social Proof Software trial for free?

The good news is that most Social Proof Software offers a free trial for free, without requiring a credit card, the standard being 7 or 14 days.  

Some companies do ask for a credit card upfront. Some also only have credit card payments. 

7. Aren’t the pop-ups salesy and annoying?

Well, it depends on how you set the pop-ups.

If you annoy your prospects, it will be counter-productive, and it may even up your bounce rate (people leaving the website without visiting another webpage).

The four main things to look at in terms of behavior are:

• frequency of display
• duration of display
• color 
• ability for the user to stop and close the pop-up

Frequency of Display

If you display a new pop-up every 2 seconds, yes indeed, it may be annoying to some people as the pop-ups will constantly nag people to get their attention.

Some Social Proof Software like FOMO uses Machine Learning algorithms to display the pop-up at the right frequency. FOMO uses tons of data and displays the pop-ups based on your industry’s click-through standards.

Duration of Display

The pop-ups can stay up 3-4 seconds to allow the user to see and read the content. 

If the pop-ups are only displayed for 1-2 seconds, this becomes counter-productive. 

Color

Take time to customize your pop-ups so that they are in harmony with the color palette of your website. 

Also, avoid flashy colors (e.g., red background) and text that is hard to read (e.g., white on yellow background.)

Ability for users to stop and close the pop-ups

Visitors should have the option to stop and close the pop-ups. 

An “X” usually appears on the pop-up, and once the user pressed it, the pop-ups disappear. 

It is quintessential to respect your users’ tolerance for things moving on the screen. 

Each user is different, so make sure you can satisfy their preferences. 

The lesson is: use common-sense and best internet practices. 

8. How can I (really) convert with Social Proof?

You need to identify the critical areas on your platform and display the right pop-ups. 

Also, make sure you do not annoy your users with notifications that are always popping-up like they are on steroids. The frequency and duration of the display are extremely important. 

Remember that some social proof pop-ups use data from your database to display information to other prospects. 

Let’s have a look at a case study. 

Here we have Judy, a fictitious name, who operates a website specialized in organic make-up. 

So let’s say that Judy’s website is split into 3 sections:

1. eCommerce section where she sell make-up
2. blog where Judy talks about the latest make-up trends and products
3. sales page where Judy promotes her online course, “Becoming a pro-make-up artist.”

We show you some examples below.

See that some info is in parenthesis or brackets? Well, this dynamic information is basically taken from Judy’s website database and is continuously being updated. 

The eCommerce section of the platform has one goal: sell products. 

So the type of widgets used should reflect the goal.

In the eCommerce section Judy displays the following widgets, shown randomly in a loop:

1. there are [12] people on this webpage now; it appears 5 seconds after the prospect landed on the webpage
2. [Natasha] from (Seattle) bought {organic Red Passion lipstick} <32 minutes> ago, this appears exactly 8 seconds after the first pop-up
3. only [2] left in stock
4. {This lipstick changed my life! 5 stars. Cherry} Verified by Social Proof Company

On the blog’s page, Judy’s goal is to grow her audience by:

1. getting more email addresses
2. get people to download the eBook “12 secrets tips for better make-up that only pros know” to get their email (this is called a Lead Magnet)
3. display Instagram posts to engage the audience emotionally

To meet the following 3 goals, Judy can use the following Social Proof widgets:

• when prospects open a blog post with the tad “Makeup tips,” they see a bar at the bottom of the screen that says “Download free eBook 2 secrets tips for better make-up that only pros know,” there are a name and email address field

On all blog posts, the following 2 types of pop-up appear: 

• an email opt-in that says “Be a fashionista get the latest beauty trends delivered to your email” (it includes a field for name and email address) The opt-in appears on the right side of the screen when visitors reach 50% of the page
• when users reach the end of the blog post, they see a pop-up with 4 thumbnails aggregated directly from Judy’s Instagram. It says “Follow us on Instagram for inspiration.”

For the sales page, the goals are to:

• get feedback, to know what prospects who may be interested in buying the course are looking for (so that Judy can reply with a personalized answer and reply to the questions people have)
• display testimonials of people who purchased the course, to remove uncertainty
• show her face and her style via video, so that prospects have a visual idea of how the course looks like

Following the above logic, Judy decided to use the below social proof widgets:

• engage her audience by leaving feedback, and they can leave comments and even leave their phone number, and this pop-up appears when prospects reached the bottom of the page
• a widget that displays testimonials aggregated from Capterra and Reviews (similarly to the pop-up in the eCommerce section), it appears on the bottom-left and loops
• when users are about the middle of the webpage, there is a pop-up that appears on the lower-left side of the webpage; the pop-up is a video of Judy giving a preview of the course and inviting prospects to join.

As you can see, there are multiple ways to use social proof pop-ups. 

9. Is Social Proof complicated to install and use?

Social Proof Software is easy to setup. 

The setup can be done in a few minutes by pretty much anyone. 

You simply copy a code snippet and install it in your website’s code. 

If you are using WordPress, you can either add the snippet in your Theme or install the Social Proof Software’s plugin (if available.) Just follow the instructions; it is easy peasy.

If you have your own website, no matter what the technology is, you simply need to add the snippet in the code, for example, in the <head> part. 

If you want to integrate with eCommerce platforms like WooCommerce, Shopify, etc., the installation is also quick and hassle-free. You paste the code snippet in the backend, and you are ready to go?

Simply follow the instructions provided by the Social Proof Software. 

If needed, you can also send the instructions to a developer.

Some Social Proof Software even has a button “Send to Developer” to automatically send the instructions to your developer.

After the installation, visit your website in “Private Mode,” go back to the Social Proof Software, and see if the tracking snippet is activated. You should see a notice that says, “Active.”

10. Do I need to hire a developer or a designer?

You can use Social Proof Software out-of-the-box. 

To use the Social Proof Software and create pop-up notifications, you do not need to hire a developer or a designer.

The creation of Social proof pop-ups is done via a step-by-step process.

You select the Social proof widgets you want to use.

You customize them, for example, the design, the message, the language, the behavior, etc. 

You set where to display the Social Proof widgets by typing in the URLs. If you have an opt-in form, you add the URLs to the list.

Then you can launch it. 

You can spend a few minutes doing this, and the rest is completely automated. 

The design part is done via a social Proof widget builder.

The Builder allows you to customize the appearance of the widgets. 

For example: 

• the color of the CTA (Call-to-Action)
• the color of the description text
• the size of the fonts
• the shape of the pop-up
• the shadow
• the thickness of the outline 
• and so on. 

The tech part, the settings, is also done via the Builder. For example, you can type in the number of seconds before the first pop-up appears when visitors land on the page. 

Some Social Proof Software has an extra area where you can customize if you desire, the appearance of the social proof notification widget by using CSS. In a case like this, if you do not know how to code, a web developer will indeed be necessary. 

11. Can I use Social Proof for my industry?

Social Proof works for a vast array of industries. 

Name it, and you got it.

The sky is the limit, really. 

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different use cases of Social Proof Software.

Social Proof widgets are diversified and fit the needs of plenty of different industries out there. 

Plenty of different widgets are available for your needs:

• gamification 
• email opt-ins 
• hot streaks 
• scarcity 
• testimonials 
• videos 
• emoticon feedback  

Social Proof Software for eCommerce is the first thing that comes to mind. 

However, there are plenty of other industries that can leverage the power of social proof:

If you sell something, capture personal information, or want to engage with your audience, social proof widgets are for you! 

12. Do Social Proof pop-ups work on mobile phones and tablets?

Social Proof notifications work on desktop, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets. 

Most Social Proof Software allows you to customize where to display the pop-up:

• right/left
• top/bottom
• center

It depends on the type of widget, but generally speaking, the widget will appear on the lower-left side of desktop and laptops. Some widgets like "Feedback" tend to appear on the right or the left, message bars at the bottom or the top, notification are the lower-left or lower-right side, etc. 

On mobile phones, the pop-up will either appear at the top of at the bottom of the screen. You can customize where the pop-up appears. 

In some cases, some pop-up types like written feedback and emoticon feedback can appear on the right of the left side. 

Some widgets are designed to be displayed at specific locations within the webpage.

13. Can I use a Software pop-up on Multiple different websites?

In some cases, yes. Some software offer plans that allow you to use the tool on multiple websites; some plans even include unlimited websites, which is great for agencies or people who own many affiliates and niche websites. 

14. Are there any Social Proof agency plans?

15. What information is displayed on the social proof notifications?

There are 4 types of information that can be displayed on notifications:

1. custom-made information, “hand-typed”
2. taken from the website’s database
3. aggregated from 3rd party platforms
4. a mix of the above

Custom-made information, “hand-typed”

You can type in the information, for example, an important announcement, a welcome message, or something that you want to promote “I invite you to download our 20 Keto Recipes Cookbook here.”

Taken from the website’s database

This information is taken directly from your website’s database, after people did a specific action like purchasing something, downloading a PDF, subscribing to a newsletter, etc. For example, “Alicia from Moscow purchased the Supremelicious Keto Diet Recipes“ cookbook 24 minutes ago.”

Aggregated from 3rd party platforms

Content aggregated from 3rd party platforms is most of the time taken from review websites. It can take the form of a testimonial, with stars, a review text, an image, and the name of the person. You will usually find where the testimonials come from (e.g., Capterra, Reviews, etc.) Very common to see the mention “Verified by” as well. 

It is also possible to mix the above types of information. Most of the time, you can fully customize all datasets that you capture and display. 

Keep in mind that you cannot handpick the data you display via the notifications. The Social Proof Software will pick reviews that are 4 or 5 stars by default, but you cannot manually make any selection. 

16. Are you sure I can boost sales with Social Proof?

Social Proof has been proven to work; otherwise, website owners and marketers would not be using it. 

Social Proof is an extra tool that you can use to boost sales.

We are pretty sure that Social proof can help you grow. 

In the end, it depends on what the product is and how sensitive your prospects are.

If you sell wind turbines, it may be hard to sell if the feedback displayed on social proof widgets is: ”The wind turbines look cool.” A better message would be about quality, efficiency, durability, after-sales service, warranty, performance, or maintenance.

17. Is Verified by Proof, Provesource, Provely, FOMO… legit or fake?

18. What data can I capture with Social Proof?

When you use Social Proof Software, you can capture data from prospects who:

1. purchase a product or a service
2. submit their name and email address via a form

In the former case, it is pretty straightforward, and the prospects bought something.

 In the latter, it means that the prospects submitted their info to subscribe to a newsletter, download something, send an inquiry or have access to content (e.g., PDF, newsletter, eBook, video, podcast, etc.)

The data that someone using Social proof can collect is the following:

This type of data is used as input to display dynamic information on the notifications. 

Of course, the data can also be used to gain marketing insights as to where your prospects are located. 

In some cases, the location information and the name may not be available.

19. How are Social Proof plans and pricing are calculated?

Most Social Proof Software offer monthly and yearly plans.

The way to calculate the real cost is to divide the monthly fee with the number of visitors you get for each plan.

We analyzed with an Excel sheet and were astounded by the results. 

Some Social Proof Software that looked cheaper than others were actually more expensive!

We do not think pricing should be your primary concern, but we analyzed out of curiosity. We will eventually publish the findings in a separate post.

So to answer the question, there are 2 types of pricing:

1. Pricing per Unique Visitors (95% of Social Proof Software use this method)
2. Pricing per Impressions (FOMO uses this pricing method, you can still find out pricing per Unique Visitor though)

The main element used to calculate the pricing is Unique Visitors. A Unique Visitor is a visitor that comes from a specific computer, tablet, or mobile. In some cases, it includes visitors who switch devices, as long as we can identify the user.

A great example of this would be someone logging in Google and visiting the website using social proof from a desktop while at work and then, from a mobile device while commuting back home. 

A small minority of Social Proof Software use Impressions. Impressions are the number of times a pop-up is displayed. 

We believe that pricing per Impressions makes the most sense, but for reasons of practicality, most Social Proof Software use the Pricing per Unique Visitors model.

Why? Because people know how many Unique Visitors they get, and do not know how many Impressions the visitors will generate. 

Makes sense, right?

20. Can I pay with PayPal and/or Credit Card?

All Social Proof Software accepts credit card payments. 

Most, but not all, accept PayPal as well, even for monthly billings!

21. Is the backend of Social Proof Software multilingual?

We need to consider the language of the backend itself, which is where you log in to create and manage your pop-ups. There are usually 2 case scenarios: 

1. English Only 
2. Translated in other languages

Most Social Proof Software only has English backends, even if they offer language localization for pop-ups. Some are available in other languages like German, Russian, French, etc. But the vast majority are only available in English.

22. Can we localize Social Proof notifications in other languages?

There are 2 types of degree of customizations for the notifications pop-ups:

1. Professionally “human” translated content 
2. Automated translation (e.g., using Google Translate or any 3rd party translation service)

In the case of professionally translated Social Proof widgets, you can expect to have full language localization. Few Social Proof Software offers fully translated widgets, but some do. 

The conclusion is that most software use automated translation, which means that the translation will not be 100% accurate. 

On top of that, we need to consider that some notifications’ content can be customized by yourself (e.g., Check out my new course “How to raise an obedient Greyhound dog.”) 

So even if the content is translated professionally for most of the notifications, if you write content by yourself within the pop-ups, you will have to get the customized content translated professionally to ensure 100% accuracy. 

23. What integrations to look for?

Integrations are fantastic. 

It is now possible to seamlessly integrate different services with a few clicks, without spending hours testing and debugging the configuration. 

We suggest that you integrate Social Proof Software with other tools based on:

1. your data needs and wants
2. the consumer journey flow
3. eCommerce for the ones who sell online

As all cases are different, we cannot provide you with one specific set of guidelines. 

There are so many combinations of tools out there that it is impossible to cover all scenarios. 

We can give you general guidance, however.

Data

there are a few types of data that are a must:

• Traffic data: the like of Google Analytics to gain insights into your audience
• Sales data: to keep track of your sales on the website
• Email marketing: to save time, instead of having to manually add the new subscribers to your email marketing list like MailChimp

Consumer Journey Flow

Autoresponders: autoresponders like ActiveCampaign send automated emails to your users after they take specific actions like purchasing something, subscribing to a newsletter, giving you their email address to download an eBook, or access a video, etc. 

eCommerce

If you do eCommerce, there are plenty of other options available to you where you can even display information like “only 4 in stock,” “44 pairs of running shoes have been sold in the last 48 hours,” etc.  

You should not integrate just because you can integrate. 

We suggest that you only integrate with tools that are necessary to reach your objectives. 

Having too much information flowing here and there can be counter-productive sometimes. 

If you integrate with Slack and you do not like to get notifications continually, then do not integrate with it!

24. Can I pay with PayPal and/or Credit Card?

All Social Proof Software accepts credit card payments. 

Most, but not all, accept PayPal as well, even for monthly billings!

25. Can I integrate Social Proof with WordPress?

Yes absolutely. Integration with WordPress takes a few minutes and is super easy. 

After registering, you can follow the easy step-by-step process. 

The Social Proof Software company provides you with a tracking snippet that you install in the <head> of your WordPress theme. 

Some companies also have their own homemade WordPress plugin. In this instance, you download the plugin and copy-paste the API Key, which is a series of letters and numbers. 

We tested most of the Social Proof Software on the market, and it never took us more than 5 minutes to set up on WordPress

26. Can I integrate Social Proof with Shopify?

27. Can I integrate Social Proof with WooCommerce?

28. Can I integrate Social Proof with my Landing Page software?

29. Can I integrate Social Proof with MailChimp?

As MailChimp is one of the most popular email marketing software, it can be integrated within a few clicks with most software. Some companies even have advanced integration with MailChimp.

30. Can I integrate Social Proof with Zapier?

Yes and Yes. Zapier comes in handy when the company does not offer a custom-made API integration. In such a case, you can use Zapier as a solution to integrate with software that is not covered. Very useful!

31. Can I integrate Social Proof with my email marketing?

32. Can I integrate Social Proof with my autoresponder?

Conclusion

As you can see, Social Proof Software is an essential tool in your marketing stack. If you have any questions, comments, or if you believe we forgot some critical elements, feel free to let us know in the comments below.