We understand the immense power of social proof in building brand credibility and driving customer engagement. There’s nowhere this is more true than in small businesses in places like Nova Scotia with an ever-expanding economy and many new businesses.
In 2024, we invested heavily in research and planning to drive better results with our bespoke social media services. We partnered with several clients—Action Laser Tag, Rage Room Halifax, and Atlantic Shark Expeditions—along with our own social media channels (check us out on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Threads), to design customized Canva templates aimed at showcasing client reviews. These templates were carefully crafted to align with each brand’s identity, incorporating unique graphical elements and various layouts that could be easily adapted for ongoing use.
What is social proof?
Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people look to the actions and opinions of others to guide their own behaviour. In the context of marketing, social proof leverages customer reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content to build trust and credibility with potential customers.
By showcasing positive experiences and feedback from real users, businesses can influence new customers’ decisions, making them more likely to engage with the brand, try its products, or services, and ultimately convert. It’s a powerful tool for driving engagement and fostering brand loyalty, especially in a digital landscape where trust is paramount.
Objective: Leveraging social proof in marketing
The primary goal of this project was to harness the power of social proof to enhance our clients’ digital marketing efforts. By featuring real customer reviews in visually appealing formats, these templates were designed to build trust with potential customers and encourage conversions. Whether it was the thrill of Rage Room Halifax or the beauty of the harbour shared by Halifax Harbour Tours, each template reflected the brand’s core message and visual identity.
Secondary objectives: Evergreen content and resource efficiency
There were also a few side benefits of this project that we set out to achieve as well. Our secondary objectives were to ensure that these posts and stories were evergreen (Evergreen content is content that remains relevant over time and can be used more than once) thus reducing the resources required to produce social content while still ensuring it was easy to create additional content in the series. By providing these ready-to-use templates, we enabled our clients to maintain a consistent presence on their social platforms with minimal effort, all while keeping their content fresh and engaging.
Execution: On-brand design with versatile layouts
Each template was custom-designed in Canva to reflect the unique branding of our clients. For Action Laser Tag, we incorporated digital camo, their brand colours, and dynamic graphics that captured the excitement of their laser tag experience. Rage Room Halifax’s templates used bold, intense visuals to resonate with their target audience (65% of Rage Room customers are middle-aged women). Atlantic Shark Expeditions’ templates were infused with a sense of adventure and the awe of ocean exploration, while Picture Perfect Tours featured serene and breathtaking imagery of their tour destinations.
To cater to different content needs, we created a variety of layouts within each brand’s template set. These included single-review highlights as both stories and feed posts for Instagram. This versatility ensured that our clients could keep their audience engaged with fresh and varied content, all while staying on brand.
Results: Enhanced engagement and brand perception
The impact of these Canva templates was significant. Across the board, our clients saw an increase in social media engagement, with greater reach and more likes and comments on posts featuring the review templates. The consistent use of these branded templates also led to improved brand recall and sentiment, as audiences became more familiar with the visual identity and positive experiences associated with each brand.
For example, Atlantic Shark Expeditions saw a noticeable uptick in bookings connected to the consistent use of reviews in social media content. This can be attributed to the trust and credibility built through the social proof showcased in their templates. Similarly, Rage Room Halifax saw heightened interaction on Facebook and Instagram, particularly with posts that highlighted customer testimonials in a visually compelling way.
Conclusion: Trust by design
This project underscores the value of well-crafted visual content in social media and digital marketing. By leveraging Canva’s flexibility and ease of use, we were able to deliver a solution that not only met our clients’ immediate needs but also provided them with a sustainable, long-term strategy for showcasing social proof. The results speak for themselves: higher engagement, stronger brand awareness, and a more positive brand sentiment.
At Boom12, we’re proud to have helped our clients achieve these outcomes and look forward to continuing to empower brands with creative solutions that drive real results.