What is Social Proof?

Why did you choose to read this article? There must have been hundreds of articles on the subject of social proof. Is it because the article claims to have taught social proof to 10,000 people? If you answered yes, this is exactly what social proof is.

Have you ever bought something merely because a lot of your friends did? That's what social proof is. It's the idea that if others are doing it, I should too. In more technical terms, it's a phenomenon in which people imitate the activities of others in an attempt to emulate proper behavior.

It usually occurs in instances where you are unfamiliar with the situation and you presume that others are more knowledgeable about it.

Let's say you're looking to buy a phone and come across an Instagram influencer who owns a particular phone. You now want that phone because he has it, and you trust him because he has a million Instagram followers.

That is an example of social proof. You assumed that the influencer is more knowledgeable about phones just because he has a massive following.

“Man is a social being; it’s not surprising we love social proofs, it sells brands fast” ― Bernard Kelvin Clive

Type of social proofs and examples :

Wisdom of crowds: Imagine you receive an email about how a yoga course has changed the lives of more than 400000 people. If it has changed the lives of so many people, it must be good right? In this type of social proof, you associate it with the sheer power of numbers.

Example: Copyblogger

Copyblogger is a terrific blog, and they use the CTA above to encourage readers to subscribe by inviting them to join a wider community of individuals who share similar interests. It must be excellent if 334,000 other people find value in the information, right?

Expert’s stamp of approval: You must have seen items that have certain “Expert-Approved” stamps on them. It may be some popular individual or organization. It does add a touch of trust? Doesn’t it?

Example: Fitbit

In the "Buzz" area of their website, Fitbit allows health and tech sector experts to comment on the quality of their goods. When many media outlets express the same great things about Fitbit, it gives a lot of weight to the claims of the company's success. Fitbit is frequently recognized as the best fitness tracker on the market for this reason.

User testimonials: Before I buy anything I read hundreds of reviews about the product. I’m sure you do too. It does feel like a personal reference. The word of a former customer who has actually purchased the product and has used it is very influential.

Example: IMDb

Before I watch a movie, I always read the reviews on IMDb. Isn't it better to know if a film is good before committing time?

This is an excellent example of user testimonials in action. As you would trust a film with tens of thousands of positive reviews.

Celebrity Endorsement: Come on, we'd all like to get our hands on the soap that our favorite celebrity uses. Isn't that so?

Example: Lux

Do you like Kareena Kapoor? I'm sure you want to use the soap she uses. Here it is Lux.

Your friend circle: It is kind of the same as Wisdom of crowds but here you have someone you know. And hence the trust is stronger. A good friend wouldn’t recommend a bad perfume, right?

Example: Facebook

Have you ever followed a Facebook page just because Facebook reminded you that a friend was doing so as well?

Facebook recommends Pages and articles to its users based on how their friends use the social media platform. This type of social proof is backed up by our natural trust in those we know:

Remember that we value our friends' recommendations above any other forms of promotion.

Social proof tools :

After talking about social proof for so long. I reckon I should also suggest some tools for using it, right? Here are a few,

TrustPulse :

TrustPulse is one of the best social proof tools for boosting visitor confidence and trust. This is true whether you run a blog, a SaaS company, an eCommerce store, or any other type of online revenue-generating venture.

You can use TrustPulse to make small clickable pop-ups that demonstrate how other people are interacting with your site in real-time.

OptinMonster :

OptinMonster is the most effective lead generation tool for converting visitors to your website into subscribers and customers.

It's one of the best tools for displaying social proof. To create your campaigns, you can use lightbox popups, banners, floating bars, slide-ins, and other elements.

OptinMonster has over 100 templates to help you create beautiful campaigns in minutes.

Constant Contact :

Constant Contact is one of the most effective tools for launching targeted email marketing campaigns.

You can increase site traffic and sales by sending personalized emails with social proof.

Its drag-and-drop builder makes it incredibly simple to create visually stunning, engaging emails with social proof updates, such as:

• Content created by users Best-selling items Favorites among customers

You can also easily manage your email list with Constant Contact and create segments to better target subscribers.

I hope I've covered everything there is to know about social proof. If you still have something you want to get rid of, you can Google yourself and become a victim of social proof :)

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