As you may have seen from a previous post, I recently went sea fishing for the first time.
We had a try for Sea bass but because I used the word try you already know I didn’t catch any so I ended up going for Mackerel which are much easier catch.
I think had a touch of beginner’s luck because I landed the most out of the four of us but what I found interesting was that I did not catch them in isolation; they came in twos and threes. It’s almost as if the first one attracted others.
Social proof is a "weapon of influence" identified in Influence Science and Practice written by Robert B. Cialdini. At the beginning of the chapter on Social Proof he uses a quote "where we all think alike, no one thinks very much" by Walter Lippman.
Social Proof is one of the things we use to short cut decisions. In the book Cialdini starts off talking about canned laughter which is used to trick you that the show is funnier that it actually is. Listen out for it and understand you’re being manipulated!
Cialdini explains that we view our behaviour as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it. So, you could argue that people are like sheep. This is supported by research from Professor Krause at University of Leeds. He found that it takes just 5% of people to influence the crowd’s direction - 95% of people will follow without even realising!
My first job was working on a fruit and vegetable stand on a market. One day I was told to stand out the front of the stall and “knock-out” the Oranges. That means sell them quick! I was given the scoop and placed the best looking Oranges in it and waived it about shouting for all I was worth.
It didn’t take long, people started coming over but the stall owner told me to keep shouting and ignore them. Within a few minutes I had a small crowd around me which started to grow. The owner started taking the money, someone else was bagging up and we sold out in three hours.
I had just had one of my many marketing lessons!
Social proof it is a common marketing tactic. Examples include testimonials, case studies and endorsements. It has been used in many successful slogans -“Whiskas, 8 out of 10 cat owners say their cat prefers it” and “Pedigree, top breeders recommend it”.
Social Proof works best when people are uncertain. So, one strategy some may use is to confuse the prospect and then use social proof to support a recommended solution. It is possible to induce a state of uncertainly in someone and anchor it –later that anchor can be fired off and then the solution presented supported with lots of social proof.
Yes, this is highly manipulative and ethical if you are doing the right thing for the prospect. And, you can now become much more aware of Social Proof being used on you. This is an interesting topic of I have discussed with some of the 200 plus firms I have worked with!