Social Proof a Powerful Marketing Tool
by: Guna Deivendran
After all we are human beings and our target market is full of human beings. Why do we trust what our friends and relatives are doing and follow suit? Since all human beings have the tendency to act as those around them, why not use the same influence when it comes to internet marketing? Influencing others is a method that many of us utilize indirectly with marketing however only few of us takes it to the extra mile to leverage the most of this powerful tool. We are all vulnerable to this powerful influencing mechanism, termed “Social Proof”.
Everybody’s doing it then I can do it too. This is the mentality that many of us have when it comes to making a choice in our life. Why do we do this? We do this because we all like to make the right decision when it comes to spending or making a life long commitment. If ten other people make the decision to purchase purple kittens then you believe it is socially acceptable for you to purchase a purple kitten as well. This is social proof and it is a powerful marketing tool.
If you manage to convince a potential customer of yours that there are hundreds of people lined up to buy your product then it would be fairly easy for you to convince that potential customer to purchase your product. They believe you because they believe that many other people have either purchased your product or is about to purchase it. You just earned their trust by letting your potential customer know of what others think of your product.
Here are few ways that you can utilize this:
Have a traditional testimonial section for your product. In this section you may want to post few comments and feedbacks you have received for your product. This has been around for a long time but this does not really hit a home run when it comes to marketing. People are used to this so you will have to make that extra step.
Have some other site do a case study on your product. Give free samples to some people and have them do a case study. Take the case study and post it with your product. This tells your potential customer what experience others had with your product and what the recommend. This is good if you get a case study done by a credible source.
Create a sense of “hype” or “urgency” for your product before and after the launch. Limit the quantity of your product and work on influencing your audience that this product is so huge and it will be sold out within days of launch. Let them know how many people are waiting to take a peek at it and how many wants to buy it from you. This influences them to make a choice to purchase your product because everybody around them seems to like it too.
The more people you engage to believe in your particular product then more acceptable your product becomes. There are many ways in which you can utilize the power of social proof.
Have the right product and use social proof with the right motives, then this can be a powerful marketing tool for you. If you like to read further on social proof or human influences, I would recommend reading "Influence: The Psychology of Persuassion" by Robert Cialdini.
About The Author:
Article by Guna Deivendran
If you are interested in reading more of my articles then go to http://www.startuponlinebusiness (Startup Online Business). You can join my online course to learn more about online marketing and how to be successful.
Also you can also participate on my blog at optimization-tips.blogspot.com to read further about marketing ideas.
March 2006
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