Social Proof: A Key Element of Influence and Persuasion

There are plenty of techniques you can try to boost your business, and social proof is by far one of the best. One of the popular six principles of Dr. Robert Cialdini, social proof is a powerful tool that can really boost sales and help you attract new customers.

What Is Social Proof?

Social proof relates to people trusting the opinions and experiences of others. They follow what others are saying and doing, especially when faced with the unknown.

This term was created by Robert Cialdini, mentioned above, who states that we view a behavior as correct if we see other people doing it. There have been many studies carried out to support the powerful effect social proof can have in terms of business. So, how exactly does social proof work in business terms?

How Does It Work?

There are a lot of great examples of how social proof works in business. The most common way is through consumer reviews.

When consumers are searching for a product or service, they are more likely to look for reviews before making a purchase. They look to see what experiences others have had when buying from the company they are looking at. They trust these reviews and ultimately base their own shopping decisions on them.

You’ll also see social proof at work in physical stores and restaurants. If you walk past a restaurant and it’s packed with diners, you’ll automatically think it must be a great place to eat. This increases the chances you’ll want to try it out yourself.

These are just a couple of examples of how social proof works in business. If others are raving about your company, you’re going to find that a lot more new customers are attracted to you.

How Can You Utilize Social Proof in Business?

Knowing the benefits social proof can deliver to your business, the question is how you can use it to your advantage.

Firstly, you’ll want to focus on any positive reviews you’ve received. Take the most positive reviews and highlight them anywhere you can. That means adding them to your website’s home page, your social media channels, and in your email responses. This will show consumers that you can be trusted, and that other people recommend you.

You can also use blogging as a way to generate more social proof. It sets you up as an authority figure in the industry, while also helping you to attract a large following. The more people who follow your blog, the more trusted you’ll be.

Be sure to add social share buttons onto your content to enhance the effect of social proof.

There are many elements that are important in business and social proof is just one of them. The more people who like and follow your business online, the more customers you’re going to ultimately attract.

Which Types of Social Proof Work Best?

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, Sprout Social curated some helpful research by BrightLocal to help shed some light on the situation.

Here are some 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.

Here are some real-world Social Proof examples of each type…

1. Expert’s Stamp of Approval
2. Celebrity Endorsement
3. User Testimonials
4. “Wisdom of the Crowd”
5. “Wisdom of your Friends”

For more on Social Proof, you can check out this article published by Hubspot.