Use THIS On Your Website Today | Bathroom Break #62

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Marketing Millennials – "Use THIS On Your Website Today | Bathroom Break #62"

Episode Details:

• Title: Use THIS On Your Website Today | Bathroom Break #62
• Release Date: June 30, 2025
• Hosts: Daniel Murray (The Marketing Millennials) and Jay Schwedelson (Do This, Not That Podcast & SubjectLine.com)

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1. Introduction to the Bathroom Break Series

In this episode of The Marketing Millennials, Daniel Murray teams up with Jay Schwedelson for a special collaboration within the Bathroom Break series. This segment is designed to deliver quick, actionable marketing tips that listeners can consume during their short breaks.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [00:02]: “Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes you either have to listen to marking tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.”

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2. The Role of Honesty in Professional Interactions

Before diving into the main topic, Daniel and Jay engage in a brief discussion about maintaining honesty during meetings. They explore the concept of "hard stops"—predefined times to end meetings—and the ethical considerations of using them, especially when meetings become unproductive.

Key Insights:

• Setting Expectations: Establishing hard stops can help manage meeting durations effectively.
• Ethical Boundaries: Using legitimate reasons (e.g., other commitments) to exit meetings is generally acceptable, but fabricating excuses should be approached with caution.

Key Quote:

• Jay Schwedelson [01:25]: “Do you ever kind of lie when you're dealing with people?... Or are you just always, you know, being honest?”

Daniel Murray [01:02]: “I always say, like, just letting you know I have a hard stop at three, just so they set expectation in front.”

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3. The Importance of Testimonials and Social Proof

The main focus of the episode centers on leveraging testimonials and social proof to enhance website effectiveness and increase conversions. Daniel emphasizes that social proof taps into fundamental psychological principles that influence purchasing decisions.

Key Insights:

• Psychological Foundation: Social proof builds trust by showcasing that others, similar to the potential customer, have had positive experiences.
• Essential Element: Incorporating social proof is now a basic requirement (“table stakes”) for effective landing pages.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [02:11]: “Social proof is psychology. So like people trust people who are like them. So like if you have people who are similar to you, it'll push them through the line in a purchase choice.”

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4. Quantifiable Social Proof: Enhancing Credibility

Jay and Daniel discuss the significance of quantifiable social proof—testimonials that include specific, measurable outcomes rather than vague praise. This approach makes testimonials more credible and relatable.

Key Insights:

• Specific Metrics: Including data points (e.g., “cut onboarding time by 43%”) makes testimonials more persuasive.
• Relatability: When potential customers see measurable benefits that they can envision for themselves, they are more likely to convert.

Key Quote:

• Jay Schwedelson [03:31]: “For example, instead of saying this is a great application, it would say, you know, in just 60 days we cut our onboarding time by 43% using blah blah blah.”

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5. Leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC)

Daniel introduces the concept of incorporating user-generated content to further enhance authenticity. By showcasing real customers using the product, businesses can create a more personal and trustworthy connection with potential clients.

Key Insights:

• Visual Authenticity: Displaying customers actively using the product (e.g., applying makeup, using supplements) provides tangible evidence of its effectiveness.
• Personal Connection: Especially in B2B contexts, featuring testimonials from individuals with relevant titles can resonate more deeply with prospects.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [04:39]: “If you're looking at the consumer side, it's someone actually using your product... But in the B2B side you could show like you can have someone talking and when someone sees like this person with this title talking, it's more of a personal connection.”

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6. Utilizing Logos as Social Proof

The conversation shifts to the strategic use of logos from well-known clients or publications to bolster social proof. Displaying recognizable logos can significantly enhance credibility and trustworthiness.

Key Insights:

• Strategic Placement: Placing logos near submission buttons or call-to-actions can effectively boost conversion rates.
• Customization: Tailoring the displayed logos to match the target audience or specific marketing campaigns can increase relevance and impact.

Key Quote:

• Jay Schwedelson [05:33]: “Putting these logos maybe in a little bit of a grayed outlook near the conversion area, near that submission button on that final CTA is a game changer.”

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7. Tailoring Social Proof to Your Audience

Daniel emphasizes the importance of aligning social proof elements with the specific audience targeted by marketing efforts. This ensures that the testimonials and logos resonate more deeply with potential customers.

Key Insights:

• Audience Segmentation: Customize testimonials and logos based on different customer tiers (e.g., small business, medium business, enterprise).
• Relevance: Ensure that the social proof displayed is pertinent to the visitor's segment to maximize effectiveness.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [06:32]: “Make sure it like matches your client... Don't always think about the logos and what that client would care about or that potential client would care about when they're landing on your landing page.”

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8. Additional Social Proof Strategies

Jay shares an innovative approach to social proof by featuring logos of event attendees. Highlighting the presence of reputable companies within your community or events can serve as powerful endorsements.

Key Insights:

• Community Endorsement: Showcasing companies that attend your events implies a level of trust and industry recognition.
• Beyond Reviews: Not all businesses can accumulate thousands of reviews, but leveraging different forms of social proof can achieve similar trust-building benefits.

Key Quote:

• Jay Schwedelson [06:32]: “We have a bunch of registrants from really cool companies, and we're like, you know what we put up on the site, you'll be there joining other people that also be there from these companies. And it crushed it.”

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9. Authentic Communication in Marketing

Towards the end of the episode, Daniel and Jay briefly touch upon maintaining authenticity in communication, such as responding genuinely to messages rather than using empty affirmations.

Key Insights:

• Genuine Engagement: Authentic interactions help build stronger relationships and trust with your audience.
• Feedback Mechanism: Understanding the level of engagement or reaction can provide insights into audience sentiment.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [07:31]: “If I generally don't think it's funny, I'll, like, say, like, what is this? But I'll give somebody, like, something.”

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10. Conclusion and Call to Action

Daniel and Jay wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with their respective podcasts and communities, emphasizing the value of continuous learning and application of marketing strategies.

Key Quote:

• Daniel Murray [08:39]: “...it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear.”

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Final Thoughts: This episode provides a comprehensive guide on effectively utilizing testimonials and social proof to enhance website performance and drive conversions. By focusing on specific, quantifiable testimonials, leveraging user-generated content, and strategically using logos, marketers can create a trustworthy and persuasive online presence. Additionally, tailoring social proof elements to align with the target audience ensures maximum relevance and impact.

Listeners are encouraged to implement these strategies immediately to observe tangible improvements in their marketing efforts.

Transcript

[Daniel Murray]

Welcome to a new special series called the Bathroom break. That extra 10 minutes you either have to listen to marking tips or use the bathroom. Or both. But I don't recommend both. But that's your choice.

[Jay Schwedelson]

This collab is going to be super fun. We have Daniel Murray from the Marketing Millennials and me, Jay Schwedelson from the do this, not that podcast and subjectline.com. each episode in the series, we are going to go over quick tips about different marketing topics. And if you want to be in the bathroom, fine, just don't tell us about it. Thanks for checking it out. We are back for another bathroom break. I'm here with the Daniel Murray from the Market Millennials. And I'm Jay Schwedelson from the do this, not that podcast. And we're going to be talking about how to do testimonials and social proof in a different way. But before we do that, Daniel, I got a question for you. Do you ever kind of lie when you're dealing with people? Do you ever be like, oh, I got a hard stop. I got to go and do something? Or are you just always, you know, ab thinking, always honest?

[Daniel Murray]

No, I definitely say I have hard stops if I want to get up for a meeting. I think if a meeting ends at a certain time, that is a hard stop to me. Like, so if a meeting ends up. Yeah, but so many people, like, try to drag it an extra 5, 10 minutes. I always say, like, just letting you know I have a hard stop at three, just so they sets expectation in front. I don't think it's lying because it is a hard stop because I committed to the meeting.

[Jay Schwedelson]

But, like, if. If the meeting is horrible, be like, oh, actually, I have a hard stop. Like now.

[Daniel Murray]

Oh, yeah, I have emergency in slack. I have emergency and slack have to go rarely. But I've done it in terrible meetings.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah, I do it. Oh, I bail in the middle. Oh, my God, I got a roll. I just got this call.

[Daniel Murray]

Oh, yeah, someone's calling me. Hold on. My kid's calling me from school.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Oh. Anytime I'm in a bad session at an event, I just pick my phone, puts in my ear, and I walk out. That's my. That's my move. All right, well, speaking of things that are not bad is when you get a testimonial. But I think in general, marketers and business owners and whatever business consumer, they're doing testimonials, they're doing all of it kind of wrong. So, Daniel, what is your take on the first of all the value and how to do it. Right.

[Daniel Murray]

Well first of all like we'll go into like the why just for people who are on the fence about it. Like, like social proof is psychology. So like people trust people who are like them. So like if you have people who are similar to you, it'll push them through the line in a purchase choice. And I think like it's kind of like table stakes now for marketers to have it on landing page where there's a form that's can convert people. And I think Jay, if you want to go into your first one and I'll give a couple but I just want to set it up that like it you need to have this like it's a must if you want to increase conversions on your landing page.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah, no, it is a hundred percent table stakes. It's more important than anything else on your site is some version of social proof. But the thing that people mess up is that well let's say you have testimonials and you only need like one, you don't need like a thousand, you need like one or two. But what you don't want to do is have generic testimonials whether you're a consumer, product or business. So you don't want a testimonial on your site that says this is great or I loved it, it doesn't mean anything. The secret sauce actually increases conversions is quantifiable social proof. So if it was on the business side, how does that look? So instead of saying this is great application it would say, you know, in just 60 days we cut our onboarding time by 43% using blah blah blah.

[Daniel Murray]

Right.

[Jay Schwedelson]

On the consumer side it might say, you know, we saved $146 a month by using blah blah blah. When somebody can see themselves in the social proof, that's when they say you know what I'm going to buy. It's that last vote of confidence. So what do you think about all that?

[Daniel Murray]

Yeah, I think I'll add on to that. And if you want to take it like one step further is having iPhone style user generated content or UGC on the page where an actual customer is talking about this outcome they got. I think if you're looking at the consumer side, it's someone actually using your product. So like if you're in beauty industry, someone trying on your the makeup. If you're on, if you're taking a supplement like showing your morning routine with the supplement. But in the B2B side you could show like you can have someone talking and when someone sees like this person with this title talking, it's more of a personal connection and it will help drive that person that extra inch to get you through the purchase.

[Jay Schwedelson]

And that's what it's all about. It's that last validation. They're on the fence. Are they going to buy? They're not going to buy. And another one that some people do, but we don't do it enough is using logos. Hopefully everybody has some clients, okay. Consumer products, business products, doesn't matter. And if you're a consumer product and you don't have business logos upon your site, maybe you, maybe you leverage things like featured in and you put some publications that you've been mentioned in but logos of other known entities, right. If it is on the business side you want to use those business logos. But putting these logos maybe in a little bit of a grayed outlook near the conversion area, near that submission button on that final CTA is, is a game changer. It will lift your conversions. If you do an A B test on your site and you say oh Jay's full of it, whatever. Do an A B test on your site where you have logos and where you don't you want to do anything you can to get people over the hump.

[Daniel Murray]

I would also say that if you're doing like ads to a landing page and it's a certain customer you're targeting, like don't keep the generic logos on every single page. Make sure it like matches your client. Like I see one thing you could do too is it give you a pricing page in different tiers, have like the different customers like of different tiers. So well known SM like small business customers, well known like medium business, well known enterprise customers. People want to like relate to people in their same space. So don't just if you're going to do this in a more spread out way and you're running like ads to landing page, don't always think about the logos and what that client would care about or that potential client would care about when they're landing on your landing page. So that's just a step further if you want to like but if you just starting add something there but the next level is adding something specific specific companies for each tier you're on.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Yeah, and I would throw in one last one which we do with our events, which is we use logos of people who are attending our events which when we first started, got started with our events, we didn't have like the craziest speakers or the biggest sponsors. Like how can we get some social proof. But we had a bunch of registrants, and they were from really cool companies, and we're like, you know what we put up on the site, you'll be there joining other people that also be there from these companies. And it crushed it. It helps so much when we put that up. So just kind of game the system a little bit and think about how you can have social proof beyond just reviews. Not everybody has 5,000 reviews, and you don't need 5,000 reviews if you play it a little different. All right, Daniel, let me go back to the original question about, you know, lying to people, whatever. So if you're texting with somebody and someone sends you something that they think is funny, but it's not funny, do you do the massage? Just reply back like, lol or ahaha? Or if it's not funny, you just won't even. You're like, no, that's not funny.

[Daniel Murray]

If I generally don't think it's funny, I'll, like, say, like, what is this? But I'll give somebody, like, something. Like, I think you can give, like, gauge reaction to someone. If someone goes just haha vs like, like caps haha vs like, million laughing emojis, you could see, like, the level of funny. So Ari's actually really good. It's like, when I notice I didn't send her something funny, she'll just be like, ha. And then, like, when it's really funny, she'll be like, dying. Like, so I know. I know when something's funny. So I appreciate when people tell me the level of funny when I'm texting.

[Jay Schwedelson]

This is very important. You should come out with a level of funny. I'll tell you what's not funny. Us. So this is awesome. Listen, leave the market Millennials a review. Follow their show, and if you're really bored, do that for do this, not that, and we'll see at the next one. Daniel, come on, man. I gotta get back to work. Get out of there. All right, while he's still in there. This is Jay. Check out my podcast, do this, not that, for marketers. Each week we share really quick tips on stuff that can improve your marketing and hope you give it a try. Oh, here's Daniel. He's finally out.

[Daniel Murray]

Back from my bathroom break. This is Daniel. Go follow the Market Millennials podcast, but also tune into this series. It's once a week, the Bathroom Break. We talk about marketing tips that we just spew out. And it could be anything from email subject line to any marketing tips in the world. We'll talk about it. Just give us a. A shout on LinkedIn and tell us what you want to hear.

[Jay Schwedelson]

Peace out later.