Social proof: The key to success
The only way to succeed with Web 2.0 marketing is by focusing all your efforts to just one clear and precise goal. And this is where most social marketers “get it wrongâ€.
The goal of social marketing is not to generate sales directly from Squidoo, Facebook or YouTube; the goal is to generate something far more valuable for your business: social proof.
Ironically, “social proof†has become a buzz-word in the web marketing arena. It has been twisted around so much that most people understand it as a synonym of “testimonialsâ€. But it is much more than that. Testimonials are just one of the many ways to generate social proof… and there are many others. Let’s dig a little deeper.
So what exactly is social proof?
Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations when people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and take cues from the actions of others in the crowd to make a decision.
Sometimes social proof becomes such a powerful force that it can stimulate or alter the group behavior totally out of character. It can make individual members of the crowd act completely different than they would normally do when operating alone and under their own judgment.
Can you imagine being able to influence the perception of your entire niche to shine a positive light over you, your products or your business? It can be done, and even when we rarely notice it anymore, we see social proof in action every single day. In fact, due to the social nature of web 2.0, it has quickly become the best place in the world for this type of marketing to bloom and prosper.
And how exactly is “social proof†used in Web 2.0?
It is mostly being done by building “buzz†around whatever you’re trying to promote. For clarity’s sake, I’ll define buzz as the seemingly random, but accelerated growth in popularity of a particular topic or theme in a niche’s collective conversation.
Buzz hits our psyche at the very core. It plays with one of our most basic instincts: The desire to belong (to a pack, a group or a larger social unit. So when suddenly other people in our niche all start talking about the same thing, we feel a natural desire to belong and join the conversation. It’s all pure and unadulterated human nature.
Think about it. What’s the first thing you do when deciding which movie to watch? Or what about when you are wanting buy a digital camera? My guess is that you look at what others are saying about it (including what the experts in your niche are currently recommending).
And finally, when you’ve done enough research and know what “the crowd†is doing… how often do you go against their recommendations? Let me guess…. rarely.
So how is buzz built?
There are literally hundreds of different ways in which you can build buzz for your business. And creativity plays a big role in determining the level of success that any given buzz marketing campaign will have. So let me wrap it up with 3 quick examples:
Implied celebrity endorsement:
This is different from when Michael Jordan pushes Nike in a TV ad. It has to be done carefully and with finesse. For example… what if during a web 2.0 conversation (maybe in a blog post) I casually mention that ThirdSphere is the web hosting service that master affiliate Andrew Fox uses to run all his websites?
Andrew has said nothing about it… but in the mind of a regular reader who is shopping for hosting, that statement may become an influencing factor: “after all, if it’s good enough for Andrew then it’s certainly good for me as wellâ€.
Building buzz by talking about buzz:
Frank Kern’s e-mails can be a perfect example of this. In one of his latest marketing campaigns, Frank wrote in an e-mail to his list: “In the past 20 days, 46,024 new people have joined this waiting list to buy the Mass Control program… without a launch and without affiliatesâ€.
In reality, the 46 thousand people who joined the list wanted to know more about mass control. And certainly not ALL of them were in line to buy the product. But by sharing those numbers, Frank was able to establish social proof and get people buzzing in forums and blogs weeks in advance… and growing his mailing lists even larger.
Testimonials and case studies:
Without a doubt, one of the easiest ways to prove something to a prospect is by sharing with him specific cases when people who are VERY similar to him have already experienced the same results that he is after.
The guys at StomperNet have given us a PERFECT example for this. Just click here to watch their latest video and you’ll see the raw power of testimonials and case studies in action.
Note.- I strongly recommend that you opt-in to their list and take the time to watch all the videos they have released for this launch (they are re-opening on May 22nd for a limited time). Their videos have built a huge amount of buzz for their business… Study them carefully and try to apply those techniques to build buzz for your own products.
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Topic: Featured, Social Marketing · 
Tags: buzz, social proof, viral marketing, web 2.0 · 
16 Comments
Hello Miguel,
Great Article! I picked up your link at my facebook friend feed. I love the Stompernet videos and the concept about moving the free line.
It seems that one piece of the buzz formula is giving away something incredible.
I am here associating with your “pack”.
Like Frank Kern says “guilt by association” can be a good thing.
Clay
Awesome post Miguel. This post sort of reminds me a lot of the types of things in which Mark Joyner has written about. How people, “through instinct” will follow the herd, much like animals. It’s a very interesting phenomenon. Once again, love your site, it’s great!
Take care Miguel
Cheers
Davin
Fantastic information Miguel. Social proof is the way to go. I think this was mentioned by John Reese a few years ago in his Traffic Secrets sales page where he has the word PROOF as his headline.
Social proofing in Web 2.0 is definitely the way to go and since it requires hard work, not many people will do it. I guess that’s good news for us
Thanks for a great article.
Alan Cheng.
Davin:
I totally agree with the flock thing. All it takes is the right blog post on the right day for it to scream into the stratosphere on Digg or StumbleUpon. You get a couple checking it out and before you know it you’re exceeding your bandwidth on you hosting account!
I decided to open my mind after i watched those videos from stompernet . by the way , your blog motivates me to join in
thanks again !
Social proof is very powerful, but it is not a trick. Sometimes when I am marketed to I feel I’m missing the biggest social proof of all… personal results. There is no way some of these marketers are using all the products they are recommending. Maybe 50,000 people do use it, but if the marketer isn’t one of them, they shouldn’t be marketing the product.
The first place you should start with social proof is with yourself. Show how you use a product. Show the results of using the product. After all, that is what people want to see.
Keep the great articles coming.
Social proof is often the whole thing. I’ll buy from people who have provided value to even one other person. Case in point, when I pick up a DVD at the library, if there is no review at all on printed on the cover, I set it down. Even Joe Sch-moe from the weekly whimper is better than nothing. If ONE person has something positive to say about a product, I’ll consider it. Other times, I’ve been very happy with waiting till the reviews of a car come in for dependability 5 years down the road.
As many times as “Brand New” has kicked me in the rear, I tend to not be one of those “First Adopters”. Sometimes yes…..but rare.
Miguel,
I, personally, would love to see ‘more’ folks get on the social networking wagon. One of my favorite music band was (is) the Grateful Dead. They created some of the earlier off-line examples of social media. They were (and to this day) one of the very first to ‘allow’ recording equipment by anyone who attended their shows. They realized (in the 70’s no less) that by having folks record their shows, a new wave of “boot-leg” tapes emerged as a great exposure medium for their music. As such, they became the largest stadium groups of all times… primarily through social media.
best always,
Ron,
http://www.musicdials.wordpress.com
You are correct. Many people misunderstand the use of Web 2.0. The best way is to try to get to know people — don’t try to sell all the time.
I can tell you that my position in Google and the other search engines has improved immensely since I started working with Web 2.0 type promotion.
It works
Miguel,
This is the absolute gospel truth in Web 2.0 success. So many are missing the mark and the opportunity to truly leverage the power of social media, web 2.0, and new media marketing. Great post!
Maria Reyes-McDavis
That is a more nuanced version of social proof than the I.M. version usually served up and a more understandable version too.
I was reading about Viral marketing just now and this seems to have several elements in common.
Miguel, is viral marketing just the application of social proof?
Alex
Harnessing the power of social marketing takes creativity. It’s going to attract spammers and the lot but the true winners are those that stand back and look at the big picture and figure yhow it applies to their niche.
I had a great taste of social marketing long before social marketing was big. Before youtube I put up a video (That’s now on youtube). It was low quality but funny. We got a lot of negative attention for it but I didn’t care. The attention created a buzz even if they were making fun of the video, It went totally viral.
It’s hard to reproduce such things today but at least there’s a scinece to it now.
Phil
Social Proof… hmmm.. I guess that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do, and I never knew it. Another great article!
social media is the future and the future in now! excellent article my friend!