As the web moves more and more towards a social tool with social media sites popping up like zits on a teenager I thought it might be a good opportunity to take a look at how the principle of social proof is being applied online.
First let’s revisit the concept of social proof
Social proof, is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations when people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior to take. Basically we all just really want to fit in, we’re hard wired that way. Most people will follow what the crowd is doing just to be considered part of the group. When in a group situation we make the assumption that the surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation, than we do and we deem the behavior of others as appropriate or better informed, so we follow them and do what they do. If you don’t believe me just look at the stock market.
Social influence in general can lead to conformity of large groups of individuals in either good or bad choices. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as herd behavior.
Social proof works offline because we are around other people and their behavior influences us, but online we are acting mostly alone without the pressures of a crowd to guide us or tell us where to click, yet the power of social proof online is as clear as in the real world.
When you are offline and among other people, hey you’ve got to step away from the Internet at some point right, unconsciously you are assessing subtle clues and instinctively processing information about the exerting behavioral force of others around you. i.e. the person next to you or the group itself.
But come on, you’re smarter than that. Right? Could we really be subconsciously assessing how credible or how much we trust in the guy to the left while deciding if his decision was right and if we should follow it or not? Years of Social Psychology studies say we do.
The Principle Of Social Proof
The principle of social proof is activated by similarity: it operates most effectively when we are observing the behavior of people just like us. This explains why testimonials by “ordinary” people online are so powerful vs. the paragraph of marketing about the product written by the company. People use the actions of others to decide on what is proper behavior for them-selves, especially when we view those other people as similar to ourselves.
Offline you’re subconsciously assessing how close the crowd or the guy to your left is to your beliefs before assessing if you should follow the crowds actions. You do this by assessing their outward appearance. Are they summarily dressed to you? Do they belong to a group that best represents you or a belief you identify yourself with? In short do you trust them? The same questions are asked in the mind of your prospect when they arrive on your website.
According to the Social Psychology Quarterly in an article titled Leading the heard astray: An Experimental Study of Self-fulfilling Prophecies in an Artificial Cultural Market by Matthew J. Salganik, of Princeton University says:
Consumers’ decisions about cultural products can be influenced by popularity (Hanson and Putler 1996; Senecal and Nantel 2004; Huang and Chen 2006; Salganik, Dodds, and Watts 2006), in part because people use the popularity of products as a signal of quality—a phenomenon that is sometimes referred to as “social” or “observational learning” (Hedström 1998)—and in part because people may benefit from coordinating their choices such as listening to, reading, and watching the same things as others (Adler 1985).
Online social proof supports a persuasive approach to web design and focuses on your prospects. Not everyone is at the same point when they are visiting your site. We would all love it if each visitor was ready to make the purchase or eager to enter their email address or what ever conversion goal your site may have. Social proof is just one element persuasive designers can use to make your prospect feel comfortable before clicking that buy button. The key is putting the prospect at ease.
Visitors can be influenced online with social proof by clearly showing what other people have done before them. We’ve seen some examples of this In the image at the top of this post. Just by showing the actual number of people that have taken action social proof is being exerted online. The best way to use this online is to align the social proof action you want your prospect to take with the action of what others have taken before him. In this way previous online visitors are influencing new prospects.
