Welcome to another episode of the podcast that teaches you how to be a ridiculously good virtual assistant.
Today I want to talk about getting other people to say how great you are – it’s called social proof.
Today’s Quote: When you say it, it’s marketing. When your customers say it, it’s social proof. – Andy Crestodina
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Connect with Tracey D’Aviero, VA Coach and Trainer
Episode Notes:
A lot of the marketing for your business will occur when you aren’t even talking directly to someone – on social media or in other conversations.
But you still can control what is said, when you leverage social proof.
Social proof leverages the opinions and feedback of other people to talk about how great your product or service is.
For your Virtual Assistant business, being able to share social proof can really help build the know, like and trust with those people that haven’t worked with you before.
Types of Social Proof
What do I mean by social proof?
Wikipedia: Social proof (or informational social influence) is a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in choosing how to behave in a given situation. The term was coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: Science and Practice.
Social proof comes in many forms. Some you might have thought of before, and some you may not have. But all of them are effective ways to get the word out about your services.
Client testimonials, case studies, social media reach and followers, client referrals, awards or recognitions, and media mentions are a few means of collecting social proof.
Why does it work?
I’ve told you before that a lot of people trust the opinions of others. When we are going to spend our money on something, we want someone to tell us it’s a good decision.
92% of consumers trust recommendations from others, even people they don’t know.
Can people make a purchase without someone else telling them it’s a good idea?
Sure they can, but think about what you do when you are about to make a purchase.
I look it up – all the time. Almost all the time, anyway.
If there are testimonials, I read them. If there are reviews, I check them out. If they are referrals, I still ask questions.
And I bet you do too.
So if you are looking for it when you make a purchase, then you can bet your clients probably are too.
Get yours together and get it out there!
Why Social Proof Works
One of the reasons that social proof works is psychological.
Knowing that other people have tried whatever it is and been happy, or had a positive experience, makes a difference – even if we don’t know the person who is saying they liked it.
85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
It’s the reason that you will see in a webinar sales pitch, the testimonials or case studies about successful clients.
The reason that it’s important for you as a VA is a positive one for you too – in my experience, many VAs lack self confidence, and having the words or opinions of others reinforcing your abilities can help YOU believe that you can help others too.
Trust is built when people share their experiences – so be sure to ask your clients and former clients for their words.
Social proof also acts as a third party endorsement. So it takes away from you saying you are great – and your client wondering if you are great. When a third person jumps into the conversation, it’s like a quorum is achieved and that positive experience is solidified.
Online services like VA services come with a certain level of skepticism from some clients – especially if you insist that you don’t work out of their office. Of course we know that this is totally fine, but if a potential client is anxious about that aspect of it, then you will need to help them understand how they can feel better about it.
Using someone else to tell them that it works can be extremely helpful.
Creating Social Proof as a VA
How can you build social proof?
That’s the easy part. You have worked with people before. Ask them to write something for you. Current and past clients are the best source of testimonials.
If you don’t have a lot of clients yet, consider all the people you have worked with before – your old bosses or managers, colleagues, volunteer positions, anything that you have done that reflects the work you do for your clients.
If you were to ask anyone in my village about my organizational abilities, you would hear them say very positive things. I volunteer my time for a lot of local events, and often take the admin role because that’s one of my specialties.
I could get a testimonial from a lot of people about that – it doesn’t necessarily need to be from a client – but someone who has worked with you and can sing your praises and mention your special skills.
Interactions are also excellent ways to collect social proof – think about when you see a social media post that has one or a lot of people commenting below it how great someone is at XYZ.
That is just as effective – a tag in a Facebook group when someone asks for a specialist in a certain service – that’s what you want to achieve! That’s a direct referral.
In terms of clients, you most definitely want to ask them regularly how things are going, and collect testimonials from them. You can get words or video, whatever works best for you.
LinkedIn and Google Reviews are great places to collect your testimonials.
You can also collect them in a document like I do, to use as you see fit.
Case studies are also great forms of social proof – talk about situations where you have helped your clients or others with a problem and have solved it for them.
When you can talk about real situations where you have been able to use your services or skills, that lends a lot of credibility to your VA business.
Where possible, you want to use quantifiable results – did you help someone earn a certain amount of money? get a certain number of leads or clients? help them sell a certain number of tickets to a live event? Whatever you can put a number on works harder for you than a general testimonial of ‘she is organized and helps me get things done.’
What things? How did that help them?
Acquiring certifications in skills, and belonging to an industry association like CAVA can also go a long way to showing potential clients that you are levelling up your VA business.
How to Share Social Proof
Reviews influence the purchasing decisions of 93% of consumers.
We’ve already talked about LinkedIn and Google Reviews, but you can share your social proof everywhere – on your website, in blog posts, on your social media. Creating branded images with your social proof can make it easy to reuse them every so often too.
You should also be looking for the lesser known places – like your email signature and your proposals.
Consider where your potential clients are looking for a little more to back up the decision that they are taking, and integrate some social proof there.
What if you don’t have clients?
If you are a new VA, you may think you don’t have testimonials that will make sense. Like I said earlier, use whatever you can to showcase what you can do.
If you don’t have people that you can ask to create social proof for you, then create it yourself.
If you are providing graphics services, create some sample graphics, or a portfolio of graphics. If you create websites, yours better look great – and if you can, create a few samples for people to also compare to.
If you provide scheduling services, or admin services, or bookkeeping services, create blog posts and social media posts that showcase how you WOULD help a client – demos can be very effective.
There are lots of ways to create content that acts like social proof.
Keeping Social Proof Up to Date
Whatever you have out there, be sure to keep it up to date.
As I said, you can reuse it from time to time – social media is never one and done.
But you want to be focusing on getting new stuff all the time – and if your skill set changes, then be sure that the social proof that you are sharing also reflects those changes.
Don’t keep posting testimonial content about general admin if you have a new niche like social media.
And certainly if you have a client who you know has gone out of business, remove their testimonial from your content (unless they retired, then you can simply update it to reflect that!)
Just rotate what you have out there and keep new stuff coming in and you’ll make good use of your social proof.
How to approach clients for social proof
The best way to get social proof is to ask. Ask everyone I’ve mentioned in
Some people will feel shy to write anything – some may even ask you to write something and then they will approve it.
I used to have clients that did that and I can tell you without question – don’t do this.
Give them a simple template to fill out instead.
You can do something like: Before I worked with Tracey I was having difficultly with XYZ. When we started working together I was able to XYZ. I would highly recommend working with Tracey if you need help with XYZ.
When you give them a template it makes it easier for them to formulate some thoughts that will actually be helpful as a testimonial.
And you will get their words, which is really important.
My clients found it very helpful being able to use a template.
Some people you ask will put this task off because they don’t know what to write.
Be sure to make it as easy as possible for them, and don’t forget to follow up with them if you have asked – the idea is to get something from them, not to ask once and then figure ‘oh well’ if they don’t get it to you.
68% of consumers will leave a review if asked.
Create a system for thinking about feedback and collecting it, with every person you work with.
If you are asking people that are not clients, then try to get some words from more than one person – ie the volunteer committees you are on – and you can get different perspectives from the people that you have helped.
If you need help creating your social proof system, or implementing it, that’s where I can help.
I’d love to help you get there.
It’s time. I’m here to help. It’s the only reason I’m here at all, is to help you become a ridiculously good VA. But it’s you who has to take that first step.
Do You Need Help?
If you are looking to build the kind of business I’m talking about – a 50K and beyond VA business, that’s where I can help. I am here to help you become a ridiculously good VA.
I have helped hundreds of VAs who are stuck get moving through private coaching, my monthly mastermind group The Virtual Circle, my group coaching program 50K Bootcamp, and my self study trainings like my Getting Started program, my monthly email membership The Virtual Toolkit, and more. If you are ready to get my help, let’s connect on a Cut to the Chase call. You can book yours at YourVAMentor.com/chase
Thank you again for trusting me to teach you and to guide you. I truly love to be here for you every week.
If I could ask you a favour – to subscribe to the podcast or leave me a review if you haven’t already. That’s something I should say every week and I never really do. But it matters and it will make sure that I know you are finding value in what I create just for you every week.
What You Need to Do Next:
PRIVATE COACHING: Let’s work together privately to get you to your really big goal. It’s the fastest way to get results and we can start right away. Learn more about private coaching here.
GROUP COACHING MASTERMIND: The Virtual Circle is a group coaching mastermind option that costs less than private coaching, and can help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. . Check it out here: The Virtual Circle Group Coaching Mastermind for Virtual Assistants . We’d love to have you join us!
50K VA GROUP COACHING PROGRAM: If you have been struggling to build your VA business, get in on this live coaching program where we will help you create the framework for a business that can earn you 50K a year and beyond. LAUNCHING FALL 2024, stay tuned!
MONTHLY EMAIL MEMBERSHIP: I also have a brand new low-cost monthly membership program that will help you build your VA business – and it doesn’t require you to be on social media! It’s an email membership that I call The Virtual Toolkit! Every Monday morning you’ll receive a lesson and a downloadable resource in your inbox, that you can use to take a step further in your VA business. Get more details and sign up here now!
SELF STUDY PROGRAM: My self study program Getting Started as a VA can help you get your VA business started easily and quickly too. You can sign up right away and be on your way to getting clients by the end of the program, with all the right foundations in place. Check out the program here.
COMPLIMENTARY CONSULT: Reach out to me if you need to talk about where you are stuck and what the right option might be to get you moving. It’s literally all I’m here to do is help you get to where you want to go. Book a complimentary Cut to the Chase call with me here.