5 Different Ways Sites Are Using Social Proof

I've interviewed dozens of Fomo users about what social proof has done for their site, and this is what I learned...

Social proof encourages them to copy the behavior they witness and feel more assurance in their purchase decision.

There are endless ways to showcase to your customers what's going on with your store. Here at Fomo, we're only interested in what's real, so none of these notifications are fake or spammy.

Here are over five different ways brands and businesses are using Fomo to build relationships with their visitors.

#1. Using Fomo to display live email sign-ups

Email is king for many businesses. Email is how you build relationships with potential customers. Nowhere is this truer than in the digital courses space.

Jay Clouse is using Fomo to display recent email sign-ups. The newsletter really must be interesting if you can see others signing up to it, right?

In the course world, it may be difficult to convince a prospective student to commit on a first visit. By linking Fomo notifications to his email signup form, Jay gets invited to more email inboxes and gets a chance to establish a relationship with the prospect over time.

Here's what Jay had to say about using social proof on his site…

"My business stems first from email subscribers, so the higher my subscribe rates from website visitors, the better. And so I'm in relentless pursuit of driving that number upwards. I love to show and not tell. It's fine to tell someone you have subscribers or customers, but it's even better (and more compelling) to show those subscribers and customers coming to you in real-time."

What results did Jay have after installing Fomo?
"In a short time, I've seen an increase in cross-website traffic between my businesses and an uptick in email subscribers while using Fomo."

What advice did Jay give to store owners?
"You always want a potential client or customer to know there is already a party happening. You are inviting them to join your party, not begging them to come to your party! And Fomo lets you do that in a subtle way."

Read more of Jay's story here.

#2. Using Fomo to display recent purchases

In all of my interviews, I would have to say that most people stick to using Fomo to display recent orders, and there's good reason for it. A lot of magic happens when you allow visitors to see a 'virtual line' per se.

What if that coffee shop you visited was always empty? Why is that restaurant down the street always busy and packed with a line? What does this make you assume about each?

Fomo delivers that effect for e-commerce stores. Fomo uses actual store data and shows real notifications.

Since so many stores use use Fomo's sales notifications, let's check out how the big winners are using them.

The Moomins

The first store that is rocking Fomo is based on The Moomins. The Moomins are characters in books and a comic strip by Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson.

The Moomins' store uses Fomo to show what's currently getting ordered in real-time. Fomo's notification is invaluable to current visitors because they can see what's popular, especially since The Moomins' store stocks over 500 products.

What results have they had because of Fomo?
The Moomins tell us that their Google Analytics dashboard attributes 78.000 € in sales from the traffic that has come through Fomo.

That is $86,427.12 in USD.

Read The Moomins' full case study here.

One Loved Babe

The next store I'd like to cover is One Loved Babe, an online boutique that sells women and kid's clothing along with home furniture and accessories.

What results did One Loved Babe see by using Fomo?
"We've had $64k directly attributed to Fomo within seven months."

And what is happening each month One Loved Babe is using Fomo?
"In the last month, Fomo alone has generated $18,000 in sales!"

What advice did One Loved Babe have for potential Fomo users?
"Seeing how well it performs, I wish I could've had it up on my site four years ago! Install it now!"

Read One Loved Babe's entire case study here.

MAXPRO Fitness

The third business that's rocking and rolling with Fomo is MAXPRO Fitness. MAXPRO is a travel-friendly cable workout system running its store on Shopify.

MAXPRO saw $26k in Fomo sales in six months as a result of installing Fomo to display recent purchases.

"In August alone, we saw an extra $2,929 in sales come in because people really are afraid of missing out on what the people around them are buying!"

What advice did MAXPRO have for Fomo users?
"Create a sense of urgency - people really do have a fear of missing out. Tap into that fear and sell sell sell. ;)."

Read MAXPRO's full case study here.

#3. Using Fomo to display membership/subscription sign-ups

Membership sites and subscription box sites are all the rage, especially as many industries transition to a subscription business model. Fomo works well here too.

Some sites that come to mind are...

The Institute of Digital Dentistry

The Institute of Digital Dentistry (iDD) is New Zealand's first CAD/CAM and digital dentistry-specific training center and online training platform. iDD hosts virtual classes that members can pay monthly for access.

What results has iDD had since installing Fomo?
"We've 15% more click-through conversion rate since installing Fomo."

Read The Institute of Digital Dentistry's full case study here.

The Otaku Box

Another subscription site using Fomo is The Otaku Box. The Otaku Box is the only subscription anime crate where the subscribers get to vote on the anime titles that the founder, Liz, chooses the products from.

What results did Liz have with The Otaku Box after installing Fomo?
"I'm tracking conversions with Google Analytics and with VWO. I saw a ~38% lift in conversions when using Fomo!"

Why did Liz install Fomo?
"I love Fomo because of their funny branding, and they have lots of integrations, especially with Zapier! I haven't tried any competitors. You guys were and are clearly leading the pack in this space!"

Read The Otaku Box's full case study here.

The fact that people trust the recommendations of others is a crucial marketing principle. Aptly named 'word of mouth marketing,' this is a valuable principle to note since humans are continually going to listen to what their friends say to do or try.

The best way to harness this human phenomenon in an online environment is to create a way for your future customers to see what other customers are already doing on your site.

From being able to display the most recent purchases, to the most recent purchases, to the most recent newsletter subscriptions, GetSocked loved this idea and got on board early.

GetSocked

GetSocked is a sock subscription service that mails customers one pair of funky mind-bending patterned socks made of bamboo every month.

What results did GetSocked have after installing Fomo?
"Conversions increased from 2.4% to 4% the moment we ran the trial of Fomo."

What advice did GetSocked have for business owners?
"If you run an e-commerce site, then you need to consider using Fomo. Unless you are a competitor of ours, then don't use it!"

Read GetSocked's full case study here.

#4. Using Fomo to show event ticket sales

Another way I've seen companies use Fomo is to show when people are buying tickets in real-time.

Paintvine

Paintvine is New Zealand's fastest-growing paint & sip company. Paintvine runs weekly painting classes accompanied by wine in some of New Zealand's most iconic bars and restaurants.

What tangible results did Fomo bring to Paintvine's business?
"Fomo brought us $25,000 in extra sales in the last month and over $200,000 in total since we first started using Fomo. Fomo cut our cart abandonment rate in half."

Why did Paintvine install Fomo?
"We were experiencing a high amount of abandoned carts, so we picked up Fomo very early on in our business to help generate FOMO. I searched for social proof apps for Shopify stores and stumbled across Fomo, along with a few others, but Fomo won out as the best value across all of them. I was instantly impressed by the ease of setup of the tool, and then I fell in love with the authentic approach to marketing that they had from a company/brand point of view."

Read Paintvine's full case study here.

Tacotopia

Another company I saw using Fomo for live events was Tacotopia.

The Tacotopia Tour is a touring Instagram-friendly pop-up exhibit. The exhibit has over 20 colorful, interactive exhibits to experience and photograph. The best part? It's all about tacos.

What results did Tacotopia see by using Fomo?
"We've found using Fomo increased ticket sales by 10 - 12% monthly."

Why did Tacotopia install Fomo?
"We had high cart abandonment, so we made some changes to the ticket process, which increased conversions."

Read Tacotopia's full case study here.

#5 Using Fomo for freelancing businesses

Fomo doesn't only work for product sales. I've even seen Fomo used in service-related businesses too. Productized services can show notifications through the checkout with Fomo, or you can alert website visitors when you just delivered a project.

Moxie Copywriting

Anika is the founder of Moxie Copywriting, and she's using Fomo for her freelance business.

As a copywriting business, Moxie's own website is seen as an opportunity to create a first impression of what Moxie can do with brand and story. A poor display of a brand's story will not connect with customers as if there was a good story. Anika trusted Fomoto help tell Moxie's story and stay true to her motto of transparency.

What prompted Anika to move forward with Fomo?
"I heard great things about it and personally liked seeing it on other websites. It really does make you feel like you're missing out when you see those purchases pop up on a store and also see great verified reviews."

What advice did Anika have for other Fomo users?
"Just use it. It adds that special element of social proof to your site, and it really works in terms of getting potential customers to take action."

What stats did Anika share with us?
"Our monthly sales have more than tripled since March. And I'm sure Fomo has also helped us with that increase."

Read Moxie Copywriting's full case study here.

In Sum

All of these uses for Fomo only scratch the surface of the surface of the creative ways others are using Fomo. A couple other interesting uses I've seen businesses using Fomoto display when people signed up for a free lead magnet, to show when someone leaves a live Google review, and to show when someone signs up for a free webinar.

I've seen Fomo boost SEO, shoot monthly revenue up 50%, decrease a store's bounce rate by 50%, and more. I've seen Fomo be used for mobile app installs and boost add-to-carts and page views.

In my 4 years with Fomo, I would say I've seen it all, but you and your unique business might not have signed up yet and showed us that there are even more use cases, especially since we integrate with so many apps.

So, what are you waiting for? Try out our free trial today and let us know what happens.