Social proof is the psychological phenomenon that consumers follow other consumer behaviors. In a basic way, if consumers see good reviews, posts on social media, huge engagement numbers, high follower numbers, and good UGC content, consumers will be attracted to buy.
Social proof is significant in manipulation techniques. According to Nielsen’s survey of shopping attitudes, 92% of people believe and decide to buy with their friends and family members' comments. 70% of people care about reviews on social media platforms and trust check websites. This means asking someone to check reviews is important for purchasing.
There are many techniques to use social proof;
Testimonials and Reviews
Good comments and good review scores bring more customers, that’s why creating a Trustpilot account and dealing with customer problems is critical. On the other hand, following engagements on social media channels can give many ideas about the company.
PR strategy and touching customer reviews can improve a company's prestige. Many people also like to check Google Maps comments. If you have a bad comment, deleting it is almost impossible, because of this getting so many positive comments can raise the company’s score.
Earned Media and WOM
Earned media is the media that companies do not have or do not pay for getting comments, reviews, blog posts, or articles. For example, a company did not talk with a website and did not pay for a marketing plan, but still, this website posted blog posts and news about the company. Creating a strong PR strategy is the key to having earned media. Other key elements are product or service quality, a good marketing plan, and having many followers. After that, getting stronger earned media channels will be easier.
WOM is another important term for social proof. WOM means word of mouth. Another explanation is that people talk; those talking, reviews, and comments can create a snowball effect and can easily change thoughts about a brand, product, or service.
Influencer and UGC Marketing
Influencer marketing is still a new term for the digital marketing area and it is getting more popular every year. For example, one company wants to sell a product and they find a social fame or social influencer for social media content. This influencer can create posts and stories on social media and it can easily raise the company’s and product’s engagement. If the influencer is strong, people will believe this product more. At the same time, influencers have huge engagement potential, so they can reach millions of people in a short time with just one story. Besides, all the influencers have data about their followers. Usage of these data makes influencer marketing more powerful.
UGC is user-generated content. It means that somebody on social media uses this product and suggests it to other consumers too. This method is more popular on YouTube, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. The difference between influencer marketing is that creators are not famous like influencers. Also, consumer behavior science says that if you see that this person is real or has a similar lifestyle to consumers, they believe more in their suggestions. UGC creators need to feel like they are one of us. They want to see that normal people also use this product and service, and comments are good. These UGC creators are not like influencers but still reaching many people in a short time is possible, even with one UGC content.
In summary, brands need to use all parts of the social proof. Social proof is a good way to show that you are in a good way, this business is trustful and successful, and all big and successful brands use this ethical manipulation method almost every time. So it’s safe to use for brand identity and reliability.
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