People are guided by other people’s behavior, so we can represent the actions, beliefs, and advice of the crowd in a design to influence users.
<aside> ℹ️ Social proof is a convenient shortcut that users take to determine how to behave. When they are unsure or when the situation is ambiguous, they are most likely to look and accept the actions of others as correct. The greater the number of people, the more appropriate the action seems.
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Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people reference the behavior of others to guide their own behavior. This tendency is driven by our natural desire to behave “correctly” under most circumstances—whether making a purchase, deciding where to dine, determining where we should go, what we say, who we say it to, and so on.
One of the best examples of social proof, in real life, is the long line in front of an Apple Store on the day a new iPhone is released. The fact that a group of people find the new phone so desirable as to invest considerable time standing (or sleeping!) in line impacts our perception of the phone value (and makes us covet one, too).
If all these other people want it, it must be good. That’s why McDonald’s put up a sign saying “over 100 million hamburgers sold” in 1958.
Increasing credibility: Users do consider how others perceive content, services, and products that they find online. Adding an indication that other people, or even better, familiar people, like the content or product can remove decision-making uncertainty.
Encouraging adoption and acceptance: If you’re trying to get people to subscribe to a newsletter or follow a Twitter account, communicating that you already have a large number of subscribers can increase subscriptions because it indicates that others like your content.
Social Proof in the User Experience
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion