Professionals who emigrate to the world of marketing know in advance that Cialdini's principles have a prominent place in the integration course. Social proof is such a widely embraced principle. Marketers try to profit from our unconscious tendency to copy the behavior of others. All sorts of examples have already appeared in which the desired behavior is often displayed: from 'They went before you', 'bought x number of times' and 'So many others like this product' to 'Most chosen' and 'Popular now'. Then it must be good, right?
social proof
Misuse of social proof
The eagerness to embrace this influence technique sometimes results in misuse. In this way, the technique does have influence, but with a counterproductive effect: 'adverse evidentiary power', negative social proof. When do you use the technique incorrectly?
1. If you communicate that the unwanted behavior is displayed frequently
If you emphasize the undesirable behavior, instead of the desired behavior. You are communicating that many people exhibit the undesirable behavior. By doing so, you are more or less saying that it is normal.
Example Rabobank
Rabobank in Utrecht unintentionally became a textbook example of this years ago: “More than 95% of Dutch children do not eat enough fruit and vegetables”. The powerful principle of social malaysia phone number list proof has such a negative effect: according to this message, a large majority shows the undesirable behavior. That is apparently the norm, with the chance that more people will follow. “Norm communication: would Rabobank understand that this is counterproductive?”, was the rightful question from Fréderike Mensink (expert in behavioral change, Voedingscentrum).
2. When you communicate that the desired behavior is rarely displayed
Even if you do emphasize the desired behavior, you can still do it wrong. For example, if you communicate that the desired behavior is rarely displayed (and is therefore in conflict with the 'general norm').
Examples Wikipedia
Wikipedia excels in both scenarios. Humanity, seeking free knowledge, is digitally confronted with messages that emphasize the negative norm (1) and the unpopularity of the desired behavior (2), to the point of being almost hilarious. Some examples of applied texts.