What Is Social Proof? Practical Applications in Marketing

Since ancient times, humans have had to adapt in order to survive. And social proof is evidence that people readily adapt to whatever happens around them. In this article, The7 will walk you through social proof (known in Vietnamese as the “viral spread effect”) in marketing.

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The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “Man is by nature a social animal.” And today’s social media is the clearest proof of his words.

We humans like to conform. We look at others to decide how to behave. We compare constantly. And we are influenced by the majority.

We follow a celebrity on Facebook because they make “shocking” statements. We follow new trends on TikTok every day. We act on a lot of our colleagues’ advice because it fits the trend.

And we feel disappointed when our achievements don’t measure up to everyone else’s. That pushes us to keep up with the crowd, sometimes for no reason at all.

A big restaurant with lots of staff – oh, that looks reputable. A company with plenty of praise – what a great company. A T-shirt tagged “Best Seller” – buy it now, what are you waiting for?

And all of these phenomena are called social proof.

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What Is Social Proof?

Social proof is a psychological principle that explains how an individual looks at the actions of the crowd to decide how to behave appropriately.

according to Blog.Crobox.com

From this concept, we can draw three points:

• the actions of the crowd: Social proof occurs when many people perform the same action or behavior
• an individual: The person affected by social proof is overwhelmed by sheer numbers
• decide how to behave appropriately: When influenced by the crowd effect, people tend to change their own behavior.

As you can see, social proof is the foundation of how we behave in a crowd. So how does this psychological principle work in marketing? And how can you apply it in practice? As marketers, The7 will answer these questions with you, along with real-world examples.

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The Main Types of Social Proof

Before we get to real-world examples, let’s look at the main forms of social proof. Understanding how each one works will make it easier to picture how to apply it in practice.

The Bandwagon Effect

Concept

In the 16th century, theaters and playhouses hired groups of people just to applaud their performances. They would clap and get the people around them to follow along. This made everyone think the show was being praised and loved.

So when people gather in crowds and groups, the crowd effect becomes more and more visible. The example above illustrates one type of social proof – the bandwagon effect. Basically, we can define it as follows:

“The bandwagon effect is a psychological phenomenon in which people do something because many others are doing it. They even set aside their own beliefs about the matter.“

Classic examples

Applause is only a small behavior. So what if you could spread a whole movement through social proof? Think of campaigns for free healthcare, animal rights, or toppling a dictator. Of course it’s possible.

Take, for example, an absurd appeal from the organization PETA:

Mice ravage Australian crops, PETA urges ‘have compassion for animals’

Yet plenty of people still support this view. Why? Simply because many others do.

There are many more real-world examples you can refer to:

• The time when everyone thought BlackBerry would be the future of smart devices. Until Apple came along.
• People turning a blind eye to illegal acts simply because no one dares to speak up
• People often vote for the candidate with the most campaign activity, even though they don’t know who that person is
• Young people taking part in challenges involving alcohol and addictive substances
• Following trends on TikTok

The Social Default Effect

In addition, once you have put an idea into practice that attracts enough people, changing it becomes unlikely. Most of us prefer to keep things as they are. We have a habit of repeating familiar behaviors without putting in any effort.

“The social default effect means that an individual follows the preset trend (when the crowd is following it) with no inclination to change.“

Here’s an example: How many times have you customized your cookie settings on Google?

We don’t know about you, but most people will click “I Agree,” because otherwise we’d have to read another long page of terms. And our brains are too lazy for that.

Real-world examples:

• Amazon’s delivery option is preset to Standard Shipping (which helps them reduce delivery costs)
• Printers default to double-sided printing (which helps reduce paper consumption)

The Herd Effect

Here we turn to yet another type. The herd effect is different in that we tend to make decisions as a group.

According to a Columbia University survey, more than 70% of Facebook users read only the headline before commenting on an article. And more than 60% share article links without even reading the content. This shows that most users engage emotionally. They don’t really care about the substance of the issue. Instead, they tend to argue and share information along with the crowd.

“The herd effect refers to the psychology of individuals being influenced by the community around them through certain behaviors, without thinking the matter through themselves.”

But in sharing this, we want you to avoid being swayed by the herd effect rather than apply it. Today, all it takes is a smartphone with an Internet connection for anyone to voice their opinion. As a result, businesses can easily be called out or labeled based on inaccurate information, or even smeared, giving users the chance to “pile on” and create negative public opinion about the business.

Unlike the two types above, this one always leads to negative consequences. For example:

Hundreds of Indians attend ritual to ward off Covid

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Three Ways to Apply Social Proof in Marketing

The three types above show that social proof is always present in our lives. In marketing psychology, that is exactly what makes social proof so effective. Let’s look at how to apply it in practice.

Use Ratings and Reviews

In general, the more positive comments you have, the more persuasive your product becomes.

On e-commerce platforms, product reviews and ratings give both the product and the seller a stronger voice.

When buying something, most of us want to look through the reviews and ratings first. Reading good reviews is a great motivation to move faster toward checkout. The more positive reviews there are, the more the brain senses safety before deciding whether or not to buy.

Create a Sense of Similarity

This is another way to apply social proof in marketing. It shows customers that people like them have been here before. Shopee and other e-commerce platforms already do this, helping online stores increase sales by 30-40%.

Lots of People Are…

When people come across a restaurant with a long line out front, they feel more trusting and assume the food served there must be good. As we showed above, the bigger the crowd, the better social proof works. Oops… But wait. We’re not recommending that you gather big crowds during a pandemic like the one we’re in now.

There are many ways to create a crowd effect. The image above is one way to use the crowd to make your product stand out. Displaying large numbers of views or purchases will drive sales even more.

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Conclusion

This article has shown why social proof is so effective:

• It is part of human evolution
• It is a behavior that helps us fit into society
• The more likes and reviews we have, the stronger our voice

With this article, The7 hopes you now have good, promising ideas for applying social proof in practice. Find the most suitable way to use this psychological principle to promote your brand.

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For full details about our services, connect with us today via hotline: 082 246 7979 – 028 3899 7377 or visit https://the7digital.com/ for a consultation!

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