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How To Use Psychology To Win On Social Media
The Psychology
Imagine you are walking down the high street looking for a place to go for a nice meal. You find that there are two almost identical Italian places open, both serving very similar food. How could you possibly choose? Maybe you would check the prices and see which one is cheaper? Or you might even see which one has your favourite wine in stock?
Unfortunately, these factors are less influential than they seem. What if you notice that one of them is almost full, while the other sits empty?
The psychology of social proof would suggest that you are more likely to pick the busy restaurant, even though there is nothing substantially different between the two options, not to mention that you would probably have a more enjoyable meal at the empty place.
So, why do we do this? Social proof dictates that the more people we see doing a certain action the more likely we are to do this action ourselves. This is because we are constantly trying to ensure our safety and reduce mistakes, so we look to wider society for cues on how to behave in certain, usually complex, situations. We assume that the actions of the majority are generally going to be the correct, therefore, to act against them is most likely a mistake.
