What is Social Proof?

When others are behaving accordingly, people assume the best and follow suit.

The concept of social proof is most prominent when a person is unsure and they make assumptions about someone else knowing more than them.

“Social proof” is a phenomenon where decision making becomes credible and validated through the behaviour of others. Many people often refer to that as “herd mentality” or simply conformism.

In online marketing, it means that people are more likely to read your content if they see others have already shared or commented on it.

How is Social proof used online?

Ecommerce brands are becoming increasingly transparent about customer behaviour, prominently displaying the number of views or orders placed as a way to instil an imparted sense of urgency in potential customers. Moreover, if you inform customers that 500 others have bought the same product they were surveying in the past 24 hours, they are more likely to buy.

Customers find comfort knowing that other people have already bought the item, so retailers create an impression of popularity by implying that everyone is buying the product.