The six things
1. Popularity signals validity
There is no doubt about it – we are sheep. Our minds are hardwired to monitor the behavior of others in order to inform our judgement. Research shows that the greater the number of people who like something or behave in a certain way, the more we perceive it as valid (Cialdini, 2021, p. 143). We cannot help but feel a visceral drive to go along, resisting it requires cognitive effort.
Takeaway: not showing reviews and feedback on your website undercuts your sales by not activating an inherent mental shortcut that tells us: popular = good choice.
2. Positive reviews indirectly signal quality
A brain imaging study of shoppers on Amazon showed that uncertainty in the value of the products made them especially likely to move in the direction of others’ reviews as they saw more and more of them. The influence of reviews was registered in the area of the brain that perceives value – dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.
Takeaway: not using reviews alongside what you are offering, you miss out on leveraging the popular = quality cognitive shortcut.
3. Feedback signals feasibility
This one is especially important if you have a complex B2B product or service that involves many steps (i.e. building a website, establishing a marketing strategy) and if the potential customer is making judgements under uncertainty. Reviews signal to a potential customer that the complex solution you are offering is proven to work. When uncertain, we rely heavily on others’ reviews.
Reviews provide the user with a simple and fast source of credible information, that they can rely on. Research shows, that when in doubt, even highly cognitively alert (highly critical) people rely on credible communicators to guide their judgement.
Takeaway: use reviews to show a proven track record that signals reliability and make making judgments under uncertainty easier.
4. Popularity signals social acceptability
If others are doing it, it is normal. This again has to with our decision-making under uncertainty: when in doubt, look at others. As can be expected, this tendency in us has the power to evoke very positive but also horrid behaviors. For example, in regards to racial prejudice, it has been found that we form our opinions and behaviors about groups of people in accordance with others around us.
Takeaway: by showing that something is popular and widely used or engaged with, you signal to your audience that it is socially acceptable. This can be helpful when promoting a niche product or solution.
5. Using popularity to induce FOMO
We experience fear of missing out when presented with a chance that we could be left behind in regards to some rewarding experience, opportunity, or trend that others might be enjoying. Reviews and popularity of a product or a solution show that others are already using it and reeping the benefits, while your customers are not, yet.
Takeaway: by saying something along the lines like “winners are already playing the new game – why aren’t you”, you tap into a primordial human fear of being left behind and not included.
6. Using the similarity principle to your advantage
It is no secret – similarities attract. And they also persuade – people are more likely to be persuaded by or form relationships with those they perceive as similar. Additionally, research (see Cialdini’s “Influence” p. 164) suggests that when we see people similar to us (age, gender or other traits) engaging in some activity, we are not only persuaded to view it as normal, but also see it as feasible.
Takeaway: show your actual target audience using your product or solution to evoke a feeling of social acceptance, feasibility and also liking in your audience.
Now this is only my opinion, but I seem to automatically outright reject anything that looks like a stock image in marketing collateral, especially if it involves people. I have a hunch that it would be considerably more effective to show media of actual clients, even if the quality is not as good as (lifeless and fake!) stock images.
Bonus tips
Reviews work when reviewers are impartial!
If a reviewer seems suspicious, is obviously fake or can in any way be traced to benefit from giving a positive review, will have a negative impact on the business and product. Do not write fake reviews, its wrong and not cool.
Add something negative in the review
It has been shown that you can noticeably boost the effectiveness of reviews by asking your reviewers to add something negative in the review (source needed).
Couple with scarcity
“Many want it but we don’t have infinite stock!” – this message not only evokes the powerful feeling of loss aversion, but also indicates popularity.
Use Trend projection bias
Show that your product solution is getting more popular. Since our minds are terrible at predictions and statistics, when it comes to future projections, we think linearly. You can turn this feature of our minds in your favor by showing how many new clients your business has served or how many percent it has grown in a period of time. The first assumption our minds will make is that it will continue in the same fashion.
Cialdini writes that this is especially useful if you do not yet have had many clients (see “Influence” p.188). You can persuade people by using future social proof – saying that your solution will be popular in the future.
Use the StoryBrand framework to structure the reviews
One of the fastest and impactful ways humans can convey information is through stories. You can use this fact in your favor in reviews by incentivizing your reviewers to write their feedback in a structured way that loosely follows how a story is told in books and novels alike.
The author of the book “StoryBrand” suggests the following structuring questions to give reviewers:
- What was the problem you were having before you discovered our product?
- What did the frustration feel like as you tried to solve that problem?
- What was different about our product?
- Take us to the moment when you realized our product was actually working to solve your problem.
- Tell us what life looks like now that your problem is solved or being solved.
Some ideas how you can show social proof on your website
- Actually showing (ideally verified) testimonials and reviews on your website
- Displaying the number of clients who are working with you
- Showing how many clients you have worked with previously
- A classic – use a “most popular” label when giving users multiple choices
- Use icons of many people to signal popularity