Do you already Chances are you’ve heard of the principle of social proof . This psychological phenomenon, made famous by social psychologist Robert Cialdini, means that we unconsciously copy the behavior and preferences of others. People are herd animals who don’t want to admit it to themselves. For this reason, it appears effective to integrate ‘social proof’ into your website or communication. For example, in the form of reviews, stars, bestseller labels and other indicators of popularity.
Social proof is by far the most used psychological influence technique these days ( see what I did there? ). And although its practical application seems obvious, there is a surprising amount of nuance behind it. Social proof comes in many shapes and sizes. By gaining insight into the mechanisms behind the technique, you will learn to apply it in the right context in ingenious ways and thus increase your persuasiveness.
In this article I list 4 lesser-known social proof techniques, which are currently only used by the most experienced consumer psychologists.
1. How to use social proof effectively, even when few people exhibit the desired behavior
Suppose you are working on a campaign to promote solar panels. At first glance, this does not seem to be an ideal candidate for the social proof technique. After all, the number of houses that have solar panels on their roofs is still a big minority. A message like “10% of households already have solar panels” will strike the wrong chord. It emphasizes that solar panels are the exception. Result: the chance that someone will take the step towards sustainability after seeing your campaign decreases.
However, with a small twist, the social proof principle can also be used effectively here. Focus the social proof not so much on the total number of people exhibiting the behavior, but simply on the growth. “Last year, the number of households with solar panels increased by 132% compared to the year before.”
By focusing on growth, you plant the idea that the desired behavior is on the rise. This way, even rare behaviors can benefit from social proof.
2. Dynamic social proof
Traditionally, social proof has often taken the form of information measured over a longer period of time. Think of sales figures, a percentage that recommends a product, a ‘bestseller’ badge and many other statistics.
But research shows that social proof adds urgency to scarce products when it reveals data about the here and now. Hotel booking websites make clever use of this by communicating how many people are currently looking at the hotel room you are considering. This not only emphasizes the popularity of the room, but also fuels a sense of competition: better book that room now, before someone else runs off with it.
Live information will not be equally suitable for every product. If pakistan email list 2.5 million contact leads you do not have the visitor volumes to proudly communicate the number of live views at all times of the day, you can use an alternative over a longer timeframe such as “13 people viewed this room in the past hour”.
Jealous look at another
Also read: A strong example of marketing using custom properties in psychology from Duckburg
3. ‘Bestseller’ or ‘Most Popular’: The Difference Between Behavior and Preferences
You can offer social proof in two broad forms:
Behavior: “Most purchased”, “1000 Views”, “100 people went america email list before you”
Preferences: “Most liked”, “1000 Likes”, “Rated 9.7”
Although both forms of social proof are effective in influencing behavior, one is more effective than the other in many situations. A large-scale study shows that we are generally more sensitive to preferences than to the behavior of others.
We are more sensitive to audience favorites than to bestsellers. We click more quickly on a video with relatively many likes than on one with many.