Testimonials tend to provide a believability factor that dramatically improves the effectiveness of content marketing strategies. This is mainly because consumers are less likely to believe salespeople and marketers. They would rather believe in the word of other consumers who are just like them.

They understand that testimonials don’t come from someone who is being paid or benefiting from talking about the products or services. Hence, they hold more truth. And so, these testimonials can be pretty powerful in the eyes of your potential customers. 

OptinMonster is a company that improves the effectiveness of email marketing. Their co-founder, Syed Balkhi, who happens to be an influential web marketer, states, "Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions of others under the assumption that those actions are reflective of the correct behavior."

Testimonials carry large amounts of power because they come from regular people, just like potential customers. But besides that, it also serves a social purpose of grouping that encourages potential consumers to purchase the product or service. When so many people are talking about a product or service, individuals are tempted to buy it so that they feel part of the group.

However, this can be pretty risky because this fact can also negatively impact your business. If your product or service receives tons of negative reviews and comments, then other people who end up buying it will also share the same negative reviews. Many studies show that this tends to happen a lot.

Hence, this just shows that marketers should put all their efforts into creating as many testimonials as they can to shed a positive light on their products or service.

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People Tend to Believe Other People’s Word

How many times have you visited a restaurant that your friend was raving about? Or bought a product that people had been talking about?

This is a very common occurrence. Word of mouth holds a lot of power to boost sales. When you learn about other people's positive experiences, you are more likely to get that product or service.

When you finally visit the restaurant or try the product, you already have a subconscious tendency to say the same positive things about it that your friends had been saying. This just goes to show that people tend to believe what others are saying, consciously or unconsciously.

Hence, if your product or service is not doing that well, you should do everything in your power to seek out positive testimonials for it. Try to figure out your regular customers and ask them to provide a testimonial. If they have frequently been buying your product or service, it means that they definitely like something about it.

Use their testimonials as a marketing tool for your overall content marketing plan and watch your sales grow! 

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