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Persuasion and Influence Part 4: Social Proof Principle
Rick Henkin
Social Proof- we will do what others have done or are doing in a given situation. The more people taking a specific action, the more likely it is to be seen as the correct action to take, especially when we're not sure what to do. Consider a party where chicken is served. If everyone
else is using a knife and fork to cut their chicken from the bone,
we're more likely to do that than pick it up in our hands and eat it.
We're also more likely to exceed the speed limit in our cars if
everyone else is doing it also. Social Proof principle definedAs defined by Robert Cialdini, in his book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins Business Essentials) 
,
"...one means we use to determine what is correct is to find
out what other people think is correct. The principle applies
especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We
view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that
we see others performing it." Whether or not what others have done is
actually "correct" or not is less likely to be a factor in the decision
as long as enough other people have made a similar choice.Examples of social proof in actionA very simple example is the tip jar at a bar, where the bartender will put in a couple of dollars to get the ball rolling. Patrons see that and believe that they should tip because others have. Another example is canned laughter on television shows. We know it's not real, the producers know it's not real, but they do it anyway. Why? Because laugh tracks stimulate us to laugh when we listen to them. And if we're laughing, we must be enjoying ourselves, so we're likely to tune in again. How about when we're thinking of seeing a certain movie. What do we do? Ask our friends if they've seen it and liked it. I know when I'm planning to purchase something on Amazon, I'll always read the other customer reviews of the product first. If the majority liked the product, I figure I will too. At the other end of the spectrum, are those situations where something terrible is taking place (perhaps an accident or an assault) and those witnessing it, do nothing. It's not that they don't care, it's that they suffer from what is termed "pluralistic ignorance." They're waiting for someone else to do something first because they're not sure what they should do. And if no one else is doing anything, the assumption is that it isn't really an emergency. The lesson for us is if we're ever the victim of such an occurrence, point to one person in the crowd and tell them what to do. Applying this principle to your businessThis can be a very powerful marketing tool. If you can persuade your audience to buy your product or service because everyone else is, you're more likely to make your sale. Here are several ways to use social proof in your online marketing:
If you're a new business and don't have satisfied customers yet, you can still create social proof by sharing how many people opted in to your list or received your free report. Give free samples to create case studies if you don't have customers yet. Whatever you do, however you promote yourself, do it ethically. Don't make things up, don't create numbers out of thin air. If you do, eventually it will be found out and you know how quickly news spreads on the Internet. Give your customers real value for their time and money. If your case studies don't pan out to be a positive for you, that's a good thing. Now you know that you need to improve your product or service. Ask those participating in the case studies, what didn't work for them and how you can improve things. Use these persuasion tools ethically. Treat your customers the way you would like to be treated.
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