Imagine this…

You’re scrolling through your organization’s general email inbox. You stumble upon an incredible review from a new donor.

Their note is heartfelt, thanking you for the work you do.

You immediately reply to thank them and ask if you can share their note.

Your donor responds with a resounding yes!

You’ve seen how other businesses share reviews with their audience, and you want to do the same.

The problem is you need help with how to do it.

In this week’s edition of the Social Profit Stack, we’re zooming in on the concept of social proof.

I’ll share why it’s an ingredient for the consistent growth of your nonprofit, along with four simple ways to share reviews with your audience.

Let’s dig in.

What is social proof?

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that refers to people conforming to the actions and decisions of others that help determine what is correct or acceptable in a given situation.

Leveraging social proof allows you to showcase how other people support your organization when they believe in the mission or cause of the nonprofi.

Sharing the evidence through testimonials, endorsements, and content blocks can help deepen your prospective donors' trust when measuring your appeals performance.

Ingredient to Growth

Like it or not, we tend to conform to what works for others. Before we take action, we want (and need) to know what works.

When our organization publicly shares about donors' experiences, it can influence others.

Social proof serves as a shortcut for decision-making. As we observe the behaviour of others, we infer that they possess knowledge or information that we lack.

Sharing social proof can be done in many ways. All of these tactics help build trust, convey value and improve donor acquisition.

One of the simplest ways is showing how many people have already donated to persuade new supporters to give by collecting and sharing stories of people who have benefitted from your nonprofit's impact.

Research shows that people trust collective wisdom, so adding stories about donor experiences to your giving pages provides excellent social proof.

Another way to collect social proof is simply to ask. Yep! Add a call to action for your donors to share their stories. You can do this by embedding a link to a free Google form to collect information on your thank you page.

Create a dedicated testimonials section on your website that provides a way to read and connect with the reviews, such as one from a donor who describes their experiences when giving to your nonprofit.

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Collecting and leveraging social proof is not only a growth strategy; it’s a way to engage your community and widen the knowledge of your cause.

Don't hesitate to show off your community's love and support for your cause. When people see others helping, they're more likely to get involved.

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​Need help collecting and sharing social proof? Let's chat - hit reply or set up your first meeting using this link.

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Link 💜

Senja makes collecting, sharing, and managing social proof simple. You’ll enjoy having all your testimonials in one place. Senja.io shares the most generous free tier of any social proof tool.

​FundraiseUp is thrilled to announce they are now streaming Uncharitable online for free. Register to watch the film and join the conversation about the future of philanthropy. It is streaming now through 2023-12-31.

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Thanks for reading this far! See you in two weeks. ✌🏼

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