I’ve been in e-commerce since 2012 – before Shopify really took off.
Most online stores come and go.
But the ones who stick around each have something unique that draws in their customers.
Say hi to the Ohm Store. A case study in social proof for a long time to come.
Let me explain…
Frank Mocerino and his sister Nikki have been dealing with physical and mental health problems for years, from autoimmune issues to Lyme disease. After trying everything else they dove into mindfulness as a cure – *head-*first. (Sorry I had to.)
And it worked to solve a lot of their health concerns.
In 2015 they partnered with local artisans in Nepal and founded a mindfulness company called the Ohm Store (get it? “Ohmmm…” 🧘♀️) centered around the Nepalese tradition of singing bowls and chants.
I couldn’t find any revenue numbers from the Ohm Store, but something tells me they’re crushing it. Even Oprah approves.
But it wasn’t even Oprah’s endorsement that sent their business into hyperdrive. It was this…
Across the Ohm Store’s social media and website, The Ohm Store features hardly any professionally done photos or videos.
Instead, they’ve accumulated a camera roll of their own customers’ content:
All this content on a single page or social profile is the perfect recipe for social proof that actually resonates. As someone who has spent thousands of dollars on perfectly curated photo shoots, I know for certain that nothing converts a visitor into a customer better than real customer photos.
It’s not just a statistic. It’s more than ratings and reviews. It goes beyond traditional social proof.
The Ohm Store’s video content is a powerful medium for show-and-tell.
Better than any other format, their customer videos show:
What other format can accomplish so much? None.
Another masterful marketing tactic the Ohm Store has used is creating challenges for its customers and anyone who wants to participate.
Introducing their mindfulness and meditation challenges:
They specifically design these campaigns to get their customers to post singing bowl meditations and increase their social media reach.
Another example: If you’ve ever seen Ship30for30 participants posting “atomic essays” on Twitter and Linkedin, Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole use a similar tactic.
With each new participant, their reach grows exponentially.
How a viral challenge works:
That’s an awesome cycle – if you can capitalize on it. And the Ohm Store has.
A few years ago at BestSelf, we did a similar challenge with the Self Journal.
Our goal with the challenge was to get people into a habit of using the product every day. Why? If they did this they’d be more likely to find success with the product and come back and buy another.
(You see – It only works if you use it 😉)
The rules were simple: Post a daily photo completing the journal either on social media or in our private Facebook Group. Do it for 30 days in a row and we give you a $10 gift card.
Our customers loved it. A whole community of people grew from it and shared their goals and daily actions in the group.
The best part?
We got a TON of user-generated content we could use for promotion (with permission). This organic customer-generated content worked so much better than our expensive photo shoots ever did.
And that’s not just our inclination. Ariyh says science backs up the fact that we want to see others like us using a product that we’d potentially buy.
Social proof of the win!
So if you’re in e-commerce and selling a product, how do you incentivize your customers to use and share your product?
How do you make success inevitable so they either return for more or tell all their friends?
That’s why I love the Ohm Store. They’ve leveraged their actual customers to create a super genuine marketing strategy.
Pretty neat when you think about their story.
Get your own singing bowl from the Ohm Store here (not an affiliate link).
Who should I tear down next?
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