August 12, 2019

Psychology of Bandwagon Effect and How to Make a Corporate Culture Based on Trust

What psychologists call the bandwagon effect or conformity, when people start doing what others are doing, in marketing is called social proof. The herd behavior is used a lot in marketing by making any choice other than using your brand abnormal. There are several inside clues with a scientific basis but there are also seven described under which are aimed at getting specifically your audience inside the bandwagon territory. In this article you will find some tips to rise your conversion level.

1. Recommendations and Reviews

Everything that your shopper can say can be used in social proof. Therefore, feedback and recommendations matter. They are more objective giving an independent opinion and less perfect than a marketing text you have on your website. That’s why, posting testimonials and reviews, one on each page, complementing your goods or services.

What you should avoid doing is a page of testimonials. The influence of consumers’ comments rises when they are separated from each other. It is statistically proved that a regular page with reviews has quite a low rating.

2. Influencers support

Besides the recommendations and reviews there is also expert and celebrity support and approval. The more familiar and powerful is the influencer, the stronger is the social proof. If the company has ever gotten a flattering comment from a famous person who is well-known and loved by your audience, find it and post it on the home page of a website.

For a stronger effect add a photo of the celebrity who gave a compliment. It is a wide-spread opinion that pictures combined with text can rise the trustworthiness of the words written. This rule can be applied to any recommendation or review.

3. Number of Subscribers in an Email

Newsletter subscription requires a lot of trust, therefore, you need to focus on a signup form. There briefly tell your future audience about the content and frequency but also demonstrate some social proof content.

If you have a huge number of subscribers, tell the website guests how many people have already joint you (with other 6,000 people you will receive…). If the number is not that impressive, use a recommendation quote by somebody who is valued and appreciated by your blog and newsletter audience. Such comments can be found in the comment section.
Improving the email signup form has a great impact on subscriber conversion rate up to 1500%.

4. Sharing Buttons

It is quite useful to add the buttons which show the amount of reposts, tweets and likes under each of the posts on the blog. The more likes you have the more reliable your content is.
However, social proof works both ways. That’s why, it is always better to have no proof than low proof.

5. Twitter and Facebook Widgets

Twitter and Facebook widgets can be useful to you in several ways. First, they can show the size of the number of your followers. Secondly, profile pictures of the concrete followers needed. If the widget demonstrates the face of a user familiar to him or her, it is much more effective. Finally, widgets depict new posts and tweets.

But do not use the widgets on social networks if your company is not active there at all. Dead accounts are not a perfect deal.

6. Media Mentions

If your company has ever been on the media, you can easily improve conversion level. On your homepage show the media and websites which mentioned you and you will get more points to your reputation.

This tip works successfully for the businesses dealing with PR. However, bloggers can also use for this purpose. If your blog has been mentioned somewhere online, add it to your homepage and bio.

7. Trust Box of a Social Proof

Another useful tip is creating a trust box of social proof icons and logos on the main page having inside the association memberships, BBB ratings, Yelp ratings, security certifications and awards which your company has. All of this can contribute to boosting the social proof effect.

With following these simple rules you can raise the credibility of your company and get as much from the bandwagon effect as possible.

 

Alice works on the Renewals and Account Management team at Collect Reviews. She is always happy to grab a spot of coffee and chat about current art events, fashion or mountain hiking.