90 percent will click this post. Here's why

Below is a short read (3 minutes) about one powerful tactic of persuasion. Once you understand it, you'll have super powers.

While standing in line at a popular ice cream shop a few years ago, I witnessed an extraordinary example of persuasion. 

I was at the back of the line when another person got in line behind me. After a minute or two, they asked me: “Excuse me, but what’s this line for?” 

“Ice cream,” I said.

Surprised by this news, they exited the line and continued down the sidewalk. 

Why would a person jump into a random line without knowing its purpose? The answer is something called “social proof,” and it’s an essential concept in the science of persuasion. Once you understand it, you’ll notice it everywhere. 

The power of 'social proof'

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people look to the actions of others to determine appropriate behavior, especially in uncertain situations. 

“It states that one means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct,” social psychologist Robert Cialdini wrote in his best-selling book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. “The principle applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behavior. We view a behavior as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.”

People tend to copy what other people do. If something is popular, we tend to trust it more. When many other people buy a product or follow a trend, we tend to assume it’s good. Our brains are wired to look for clues from other people’s choices. It’s a basic human instinct to follow the crowd. "Monkey see, monkey do."

Examples: laugh tracks and social media 'likes'

Marketers, political consultants, and other professional persuaders know this. They cleverly use social proof to influence our behavior in myriad ways. In his book, Cialdini uses the example of laugh tracks in sitcoms. Why do so many TV shows insert canned, recorded laughter into their shows? It’s there to encourage you to laugh. Because when you hear others laughing, you’re more likely to laugh as well.

“Experiments have found that the use of canned merriment causes an audience to laugh longer and more often when humorous material is presented and to rate the material as funnier,” wrote Cialdini. “In addition, some evidence indicates that canned laughter is most effective for poor jokes.”

Here are some other ways social proof tends to show up in our daily lives:

• Ads tout the fact that a large percentage of consumers buy Product X instead of other products.
• Political campaigns release polls announcing that a majority of people will vote for their candidate or ballot measure.
• Social media platforms use “likes” and other visible metrics of popularity to encourage us to engage with content.
• User reviews on sites like Amazon, Tripadvisor, and Yelp feature customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials that point us to the most popular and well-liked items.
• Some businesses will rent crowds to attend their events and make them look more popular. There are even companies, like Rent-a-Crowd, that exist for this purpose!

The social proof effect is an example of how our brains are wired in specific ways that make us influenceable by people who know how brains work. The “wisdom of crowds” has a powerful subconscious influence. So, watch for this key persuasion tactic, lest you find yourself standing in a line without knowing why.

I use social proof in three different places in today's newsletter. The first person to find all three examples will receive a copy of The All New Don’t Think of An Elephant signed by Dr. Lakoff. Email me at gil@theframelab.org with the answers. To learn more about social proof and related techniques, read Dr. Robert Cialdini's Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

(Note: Reader Sarah J. won the contest within 15 minutes of this post)

This free newsletter is brought to you by paid subscribers. If you can, please join hundreds of your fellow FrameLab readers in becoming a paid subscriber today. Click here to join us!