When I was 18 I moved to Germany to work as an Au Pair for 12 months. It was hard, tough work. At night, after another exhausting day of cycling my charges all over town, hand milling their organic oats and washing their cloth nappies I’d curl up in bed and read the Lonely Planet.

(This, younger readers, was THE go-to travel guide — a must have for any backpacker.)

I based all of my travel decisions for my post-nannying adventure on that book. If it told me which hostel to book in Paris, that’s the one I booked. If it told me which restaurant to enjoy in Rome… yep, you’d find me dining there. From wine tours in Hungary to hiking trips in Ireland, I didn’t go anywhere without checking the Lonely Planet first.

Not so these days.

In fact, can you even imagine taking the word of a 12-month-old guide book? Nothing in real time? The opinion of one travel writer who was probably at the actual location over 2 years prior?

These days we make most of our significant purchasing decisions after ‘doing our homework’.

Whether you read an online comment, a FB review or had a friend refer you, you probably haven’t bought anything of significance without checking out the brand, the specific product or experience and what people had to say about it.

The term ‘social proof’ has a number of meanings and interpretations. For the sake of this article and supporting you with your business, I’m choosing a specific, narrow definition.

For us today, social proof refers to third party reviews and testimonials. It’s the things people who have experienced your services or products have to say about those services or products.

Unlike me in the mid-90s, people simply require it to make a buying decision.

· What do formal review sites recommend?

· What’s listed on Yelp?

· Which Influencer is tagging it?

· Are there any authorising bodies or organisations whose imprimatur you’re looking for?

But most importantly, what do people like you have to say about it?

Social Proof for Yoga Teachers

In Yoga-land — or similar holistic businesses — our social proof comes in these general forms:

· Written or video testimonials students create for us

· Comments on our social media posts

· Review functionality on our platforms (comments on blogs, reviews on Google etc)

· The number of followers, likes, shares etc you have on your platforms

· Word of mouth (the very best form, and the topic for a future article.)

So why is social proof so important?

Consider these two pieces of social proof:

‘This was the worst yoga class that I’ve ever been to, I’ll never go back, the teacher had smelly feet and all of the mats were dirty.’

And:

‘I felt so strong and empowered after this class! I can’t believe some of the poses the teacher instructed us into. I seriously impressed myself. Can’t wait to come back.

If you were choosing between two classes, same time, studio, price and description, which one would you book?

Most people make judgements, assessments, criticisms, positive or otherwise, based on social proof.

How to collect social proof

The first step in collecting social proof is to put away any squeamish feelings you might have about asking your students.

In 2021 it’s a common practice for businesses to ask for reviews, feedback or tags. Your students are not going to be shocked when you ask them… so ask them!

In my experience the biggest barrier students have in providing a testimonial about your services is the fear that they are going to get it wrong.

Many people have a fear of public speaking or a lack of confidence when it comes to writing. If a student has agreed to provide a review for you and is delaying sending it through, this is the most likely reason.

There is a very simple way to support your students here, and I’m going to loop back to it in a moment. We just need to cover what makes for a good testimonial over a crappy one.

The Makings of a Good Testimonial

The number one mistake Yoga teachers make when asking for social proof from clients is not giving enough guidance. This is especially true if the student LOVES your classes.

For example, if you ask, “Would you be able to write me a testimonial about coming to my Yoga class?” chances are you’re going to receive something along the lines of:

“Thank you so much for being an amazing Yoga teacher. Um, I feel really lucky to come to your classes and I think you’re just fabulous, I love you, and your energy. Thank you, thank you (emoji)”

Obviously the sentiment here is wonderful and very, very sweet.

But it’s what I call a ‘love note’ rather than a true marketing testimonial.

It’s the sort of thing that a grateful student will willingly and honestly write, without enough guidance.

And for a prospective student reviewing your website, it doesn’t give that much clarity. It may not actually provide the guidance she is looking for to make her purchasing decision.

In order to solicit an honest and meaningful testimonial that is going to be informative for a new customer (and not all high five emojis and ‘amazing amazing amazing’) you need to provide a framework or a container for your student to work to.

The Perfect Testimonial Framework

So here we are back at helping your student craft something they feel good about AND something that is going to be supportive to your marketing efforts.

Nice, eh?

Ok, so what is the framework?

Rather than ask your student what they think about you and your class, ask them to describe the benefits they gained as a result of experiencing your thing.

For example, if you offer reiki sessions, what was the benefit people experienced having had a session?

“After having a reiki session with Karen, I felt more relaxed, I slept better, and in the morning, I felt far more energized than I have in weeks”.

That’s compelling. And it’s not:

“Oh my God, Karen you’re such a sweetheart, I really feel like you’re a light worker and the world needs more people like you (heart, heart, star, star) Thanks and see you next week!”.

5 Tips for Great, Ethical Testimonials

We all know it’s too easy to con and scam online.

And as wellpreneurs we want to take all steps we can against inadvertently spreading misinformation or giving people a false sense of who we are and what we offer.

Make sure you’re adhering to these 5 tips so your social proof feels good to you AND your students.

1. If someone writes you positive feedback unsolicited, always ask first before you share it

2. Make it clear when you ask for feedback where and how the feedback will be used.

3. Gain consent to use the person’s name, photo and location (approx.) so people know they’re real.

4. If you need to edit for brevity, have the student review it before you share it

5. If you need to edit for content… don’t use it (and consider their comments in your personal contemplation practice!)