#2 Psychology in Marketing: SOCIAL PROOF
Hello Steemians! This is the second article of my new serie "Psychology in Marketing".
In the previous one we talked about the concept of Reciprocity and analyzed why if people do something for you, you genuinely will want to do something for them.
Today I'm going to talk about Social Proof.
What is the first thing you do before booking a vacation?
Once chosen the destination you definitely go on Google and search reviews previous customers have left about their journey in that particular hotel, resort or restaurant.
Is that not correct? By now, this practise is consolidated almost entirely: from the purchase of a new technology device to the choice of the movie to watch with your partner or friends.
Think about going to a restaurant for dinner: You peer into an empty one and quickly conclude the food must suck. The one next door has a waiting list and gads of people out front anxiously waiting to be summoned by their little buzzer. Must be the tastier of the two.
Well this dynamic is called Social Proof.
5 Types of Social Proof
Expert Social Proof
This is the most veritable and credible testimony, as it comes from a true expert in the subject matter. For example it is used by beauty, health or food brands to ensure the effectiveness or authenticity of a product.
Celebrity/Influencer Social Proof
Perhaps the most popular kind of social proof is linked to influencer marketing as it requires the presence of a testimonial to sponsor a particular product or service.
According to a study back in 2011, an endorsement by Jessica Simpson and aesthetician Nerida Joy helped Beautymint attract 500,000 visitors on day one of its launch.
User Social Proof
Digital marketers are wise to share user success stories. In addition to traditional case studies, a huge number of companies invite users to create videos about their use of products and services.
Crowd Social Proof
The consumer relies on hundreds of reviews left on the most popular eCommerce sites such as Amazon and Ebay
Friends Social Proof
Social media has sparked dozens of different ways to provide this kind of social proof. Facebook widgets that show other Facebook friends that “like” a brand, Twitter’s display of people you follow that also follow another person, and the various ways that company offer rewards for referring others to the brand are all examples of this.
Conclusions
Social proof is much powerfull when we are uncertain on what to do. As a great guy calle Robert Cialdini says: social proof is “the tendency to see an action as more appropriate when others are doing it .
We live in the digital era and informations are accessible to anyone. To your reaserch before jumping in to quickly!
I really enjoyed writing this article and I like how this serie is turning out. If you guys liked reading this please upvote and resteem if you think someone else could take advantage of it.
Untill next article, stay awesome!
~ Steven