Ever walked past a restaurant with a long queue outside, and joined the queue because you figured that the food was probably pretty good? Even when the restaurant next door was empty?

Well, you might have thought,  If everyone is buying it, it can’t possibly be all bad, right?

The reason you’re tempted to visit one of the restaurants with people in it instead of an empty one is that you assume the empty restaurants aren’t as good. After all, if they served good food, people would be in them, right?

That’s social proof in action. Even if the empty restaurants actually have better food and service, since more people are in the other ones, the assumption is they’re better.

What is Social Proof?

Social proof is the concept that people will follow the actions of the masses. The idea is that since so many other people behave in a certain way, it must be the correct behavior for a given situation.

How to use Social Proof in your product

Here are the 7 types of social proof that you can use in your product. However please don't use them all.

1. User Reviews

Customer reviews are the most common yet immensely powerful. We all make most of our purchase decisions based upon that, despite the reviews coming from strangers we still value their opinion.

2. Certification

Adding certifications from an authoritative organization is a popular approach to establishing credibility.

3. Influencer endorsements

“What people buy is hugely influenced by what other people around them are buying.” - Ema Linaker

We are more likely to buy a product when endorsed by a celebrity we like because some of us might aspire to be like them.

4. Real-time stats

Showing the real-time stats of how many people are currently viewing the page, or how many customers are currently purchasing is not only a great form of social proof but it adds to the fear of missing out on the mix as well.

Netflix uses it well by showcasing what are the top shows streamed by people in a certain geographic location. So the user is tempted to continue streaming after they are done with their movie or series.

5. Friends & Family

This type of social proof is when people see their friends and family approving or liking a product you are looking at.

Facebook suggests pages and articles to users based on what their friends are interacting with on their social media platform.

6. Customer Base

By showing users your existing customer base, you’re essentially telling them that your product offering is good enough for these successful companies to use, it must be good enough for them, too!

Takeaways

You can use a combination of these methods to get more conversions out of your product. However, don't use all of them at once as it will make the whole page look very salesy and won't be really ethical.

What social proof strategies have worked on you? Share with us in the comments below.