The Science of Persuasion Principle: “Social Proof”
People will do things they see other people doing—especially if those people seem similar to them.
You arrive in a new city that you’re not familiar with and you go out looking for a restaurant. You get downtown and there are two very similar restaurants. However, there’s one fundamental difference: one is almost full and the other is completely empty. Which one would you choose?
When we feel uncertain about making a decision, we observe what others are doing to get “evidence” or social “proof” to see if something is OK or not.
We act in the same way that our society does (or social sub-groups) in order to be accepted by it. Even when society is wrong! The famous economist Keynes said: “It’s easier to do wrong with the masses than to turn around and face the masses and tell the truth.”
We tend to follow trends. And you can harness the power of social proof to dramatically increase the conversion rates of your website. Messages like: “9 out of 10 people recommend ….” are good examples of the principle of social proof being applied to marketing. In this example, the sales pitch is based on the rate of collective approval.
Solomon Asch line experiment:
Asch used a lab experiment to study conformity, whereby 50 male students from Swarthmore College in the USA participated in a ‘vision test.’
Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naive participant in a room with seven confederates/stooges. The confederates had agreed in advance what their responses would be when presented with the line task.
The real participant did not know this and was led to believe that the other seven confederates/stooges were also real participants like themselves.
After the line task was presented each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison line (A, B or C) was most like the target line. The answer was always obvious. The real participant sat at the end of the row and gave his or her answer last.
It was obvious that line 1 is similar to line B, however, confederates were instructed to give the wrong answer. When all seven confederates said Line 1 is similar to Line A, the real participants also agree with them.
Why did the real participants conform so readily? When they were interviewed after the experiment, most of them said that they did not really believe their conforming answers, but had gone along with the group for fear of being ridiculed or thought “peculiar.
A few of them said that they really did believe the group’s answers were correct.
Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with the group (normative influence) and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (informational influence).
Monkey and the Cap Seller:
a cap seller was traveling by walk by way of a forest to a village. It was a very warm day and so he chose to lay down under a tree and take sleep for some time till the sun sets down. As he was extremely tired he slept quickly.
When he was sleeping several monkeys came down the tree and pulled the cap seller’s bag. They opened the bag and found the colorful caps inside. The monkeys picked up the caps and climbed back up the trees. The cap seller woke up after some time and was surprised to find his opened bag and the monkeys all using his caps.
The cap seller became very upset, he shouted at the monkeys in the tree. The monkeys yelled back at him. This made the cap seller much more irritated. He picked up a few stones from the ground and threw them at the monkeys. This time the monkeys threw the fruits they had in their hands at the cap seller.
The cap seller was shocked at this actions of the monkeys. He thought for a while. This time, he took off the cap, he was wearing and threw it on the ground. The monkeys that were seeing him also did exactly the same. They threw all the caps on the ground.
The clever cap seller collected all the caps, filled them back in his travelling bag and moved away from that location.
Why Imitation Is at the Heart of Being Human: mirroring in Communication:
Yawning. A perfect example of the action we can’t resist. Some scientists point out that only sociopaths are immune to contagious yawning.
Sadness. When people around us, even strangers, are sad, we become moody too.
Laugh. Even if we hear some lame joke and see that everyone else is laughing, it makes us giggle too. The laugh is contagious, even without any reason. Make an experiment and listen to someone laughing for a minute on Youtube, eventually, you’ll be the last to stop.
Disgust. The anterior brain fraction gets activated even when we notice the expression of disgust on someone else’s face.
Mirror neurons give us the ability to understand each other better, show the significance of our relationships, and share emotions with other people, building a foundation for empathy.
The chameleon effect is an unknowing mimic of other people’s behaviors, and it’s perfectly normal.
1. Expert’s Stamp of Approval
Expert social proof is when an industry thought leader or influencer approves of your product. This could take the form of them blogging, posting on social media, or being quoted or photographed as a product user.
2. Celebrity Endorsement
Celebrity social proof typically takes the form of a celebrity using a product and promoting it on social media or in public. This form of social proof is especially meaningful if the endorsement is unpaid.
3. User Testimonials
There’s a reason businesses create case studies about the successes their customers have had using their product: It’s a vote of confidence in the product’s value. All kinds of testimonials can have the same impact. Whether it’s a customer review on the business’s website, a review on a third-party website, a star-based rating, or a full-blown case study, this content creates positive feedback from actual users.
4. Business Credentials
While user testimonials can add value to a product, business credentials can add trust to the product. Businesses can promote credentials like how many customers it has, what well-known businesses are their customers, or the awards and certifications it has received. Sole proprietorships might even use their education or degree as a credential their customers should care about.
5. Earned Media
If the press has published any positive reporting about your brand, this earned media is a great way to build brand awareness, backlinks to your website, and social proof that your business is worth paying attention to.
6. Social Media Shares
The importance of website traffic from social media can vary greatly from company to company, but one thing no business should undervalue is the influence social media posts about your brand can have on potential customers. Enough positive shares of your content on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram can be all the proof one needs to invest in your product or service.
7. “Wisdom of the Crowds”
“Wisdom of the Crowds” social proof appeals to our sense of Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): When lots of people are using or buying a product, others want to follow suit.
8. “Wisdom of your Friends”
“Wisdom of your Friends” social proof refers to the phenomenon I described previously: The recommendations from people we know and trust carry far more weight than other types of promotions or advertising.
Which Types of Social Proof Work Best?
The (social) proof is in the pudding: Social proof in your marketing and advertising can have a huge impact. But what type of social proof works best?
While this will likely depend on the product or service you are marketing, our friends at Sprout Social curated some helpful research by BrightLocal to help shed some light on the situation.
Below you’ll find some noteworthy statistics about the types of social proof that perform best, and what you need to know about convincing your prospective customers:
- 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Placing the logos of business customers on a company website can increase conversions by as much as 400%, according to Voices.com.
- Influencer marketing has been considered the fastest-growing consumer-acquisition channel.
- The average consumer reads 10 online reviews before making a purchase decision.
- 57% of consumers will only buy or use a business service if it has at least a 4-star rating.
- For 50% of all consumers, their very next step after reading a positive review about a company is to visit their website.
Now that we’ve reviewed what social proof is, and the impact it can have, let’s dive into some real-world examples which you have experienced in your real life. Kindly share in the comment box.