The stats don’t lie: 97% of shoppers use online media when researching products.

They scour social channels, run searches on Google, and devour blog posts to find the perfect product for them. 

With so many platforms and channels to choose from, there’s a good chance your audience is spread out in various places.

Reaching them often means being present on multiple channels at once and serving messages that suit those channels. 

But even if you’re juggling multiple platforms at once, it’s still important to keep things cohesive wherever you are.

According to BRP Consulting’s Real-Time Retail consumer study, 87% of customers want a consistent experience across channels, whether it’s email, social media, or on your website. 

Why You Need Reviews in Your Multi-Channel Digital Marketing Strategy

Your multi-channel digital marketing strategy will likely cover a range of platforms and target people at different stages of the sales cycle.

The goal is to push people from whatever platform they find you on to your website and, ultimately, make a purchase. 

Wherever you’re talking to your consumers, it’s important to build trust and showcase social validation to move them through the buying journey.

This part is where reviews come into play: they form a crucial part of the shopping experience and should be incorporated into every channel. 

Here’s how you can leverage testimonials throughout your digital marketing strategy. 

1. Reviews in Your Social Ads

On average, Facebook ads with reviews have a 300% higher click-through rate (CTR), a 50% lower cost per click (CPC), and a 50% lower cost per acquisition (CPA). Including the words of your customers is a no-brainer.

It’s not just Facebook where reviews get great results, either; one Instagram case study shows that ads with UGC (like reviews) have a 13.9% lower CPC. 

Add customer reviews to your social media ads to drive click-throughs and instill shopper trust. You can include them in the header, main text, or within a visual to create an eye-catching graphic. 

2. Reviews in Your Marketing Emails

84% of people trust online reviews just as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family.

Sliding into customer inboxes with powerful social proof can improve CTR and engagement on your email campaigns.

Try including them alongside product recommendations, in abandoned cart emails, showcase them on product launches, and spotlight them in your newsletters for built-in trust. 

Nimble Activewear understands the importance of brand loyalty and does exactly this by incorporating star ratings into their abandoned cart emails. 

3. Reviews in Your Google Ads

Star ratings increase Google ad click-through rates by up to 17%. Such a simple addition can make  a big difference, but it can also drive more qualified traffic to your product pages and, ultimately, increase sales. 

Muir Way adds star ratings to their ads, which ensures they immediately stand out against the competition. Not only do the colored stars draw attention to their ads, but the promise of 50+ reviews per item adds to the brand’s credibility. 

4. Reviews to Boost SEO 

Websites with reviews can enjoy a 45% increase in traffic compared to those that don’t since reviews account for 9.8% of total search engine ranking factors.

On top of this, improving star ratings from three to five stars can increase click-through rates in the SERPs by up to 25%. It’s also affected by the backlinks, that you can gain through free link-building tools.

Create a dedicated reviews page on your site, like Dreamland Baby, and populate your product pages and other key touchpoints throughout the buying cycle with reviews to increase your search rankings.  

Target Consumers At Different Stages of the Sales Cycle

Reviews play an integral role in the buying cycle and improve the customer experience, so it makes sense to leverage them across your different digital marketing channels — especially when consumers are spread out across a range of platforms. 

Start by incorporating reviews and star ratings into your social ads, email marketing campaigns, Google ads, and on your website to increase your search engine rankings, drive more click-throughs, and build brand loyalty.

Use a customer review software like Okendo to capture reviews and display them throughout the sales cycle.