Self-praise is something that should not be practiced, and truth be told, the modern consumer is tired of hearing companies yell at each other about how awesome they are. Surprisingly, modern consumers are much more interested in hearing what they love about other businesses.
This article will take you through the psychology of social proof and why word of mouth marketing is the new standard!
What is social proof?
This term was coined by Robert Cialdini back in 1984 in his book Influence. Basically it is copying the actions of others to imitate their behavior. In the context of digital marketing, it refers to the reviews and testimonials collected by a business. So when you go to a website and they have a lot of 5* reviews on their home page; that is an example of it. Just like when you do a Google search to find a local business, and their GMP map listing at the top of Google has a lot of reviews; that is also an example.
What it does is clearly demonstrate that a potential business you’re interested in working with (whether it’s hiring their services or buying their products) is in fact legitimate. The more “social proof”, the more evidence that they are doing a good job. Also popularly known as the bandwagon effect, it plays an important role in building the trust factor.
What is the Psychology of Social Proof?
It’s actually quite simple: it’s not that dissimilar to “keeping up with the Joneses.” When you come into contact with a brand that has overwhelming social proof and all of their customers only have positive things to say about them, a little spark in your mind makes us feel more compelled to work with them. It’s like a fear of missing out (also known as FOMO). In simple terms, if two million people bought a book and enjoyed reading it, chances are the majority of the crowd will jump on the bandwagon and read it.
Take for example, “200 customers bought these black cargo pants in the last 24 hours”, “20,000+ copies sold” and “100,000+ downloads”, this creates a sense of urgency in the buyer’s mind, that they are missing something important. Seeing these slogans, customers usually opt for crowd buying as they go along with this herd mentality.
Take this PPC agency in Dubai as a great example – on their website, they call attention to the fact that they have 500+ 5* reviews. Not only that, but they go above and beyond to include over 100 real-life case studies from their current and past clients.
What this does is automatically overcome some of the biggest objections digital marketing agencies face:
- How do I know you’re legit?
- How can I be sure that you will get good results?
When there are so many positive reviews (not to mention genuine case studies), it’s very hard to resist.
There are a number of ways to incorporate this into your marketing strategies, such as case studies, testimonials, customer and existing customer reviews, and Influencer marketing, but the most popular is word of mouth marketing.
Why is word of mouth marketing the new standard?
Of course, there are many different ways to market your business online and you need to be open to all of them. However, there is something truly remarkable about word of mouth marketing because the main driving force behind your results is your audience.
Think of an amazing dinner you had at any restaurant or some cutting-edge cosmetic product you’ve tried lately and love. The next thing to do is share your experience and maybe post it on your Instagram. However, behind all this free branding is the positive impact that the service created, the trust that the customer generated by trying their services. In this case, the hospitality, food and atmosphere of the restaurant left a lasting impression.
In other words, the greater the value you offer your customers, and in fact, the more positive the experience you provide, the more likely they are to recommend you to their friends, family, and colleagues.
When you create a culture of customer support and encourage your customers to leave feedback for the world to see, you get tongues wagging and ultimately lead to even more conversions!
Word of mouth is getting more attention because the recommendation comes from your close friend, colleague, family member, or someone within your close circle. You are much more likely to buy a product that your cousin or friend has tried, rather than experiment with new products.
According to a 2019 Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising survey, of 28,000 internet respondents from 56 countries, 91% of customers trust recommendations from their inner circle.
final thoughts
Let’s put it this way: if you go to a bar and randomly run into an author you’ve never heard of and they insist that he’s the new Shakespeare and that you should read his books; How inclined will he be to go online and spend his money? Not much.
On the other hand, if you go to a bar and during the night talk to several different people, each of whom recommended this up-and-coming author who just happened to drop a new book that’s a must-read… you’ll likely feel much more compelled to check them out!
Word of mouth, and social proof, carries much more weight than “self-praise.” So please change your messages, beef up your customer support, encourage everyone to leave feedback, and respond to all reviews in a courteous and constructive manner.
Categories: Technology
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
