Social Proof: A Powerful Concept

Hi everyone,

You may recall last week in the discussion questions, Alex and I asked you the following: 

We're almost halfway through our class term. Before we move on, we're very interested in your feedback. Do you have any suggestions for how we can make this course even better for you? 

There is a reason we asked this of you publicly. In social media, we find ourselves in very public spaces with others in our networks who can see everything we're saying. Not only that, but friends of friends in other networks can often see what we're saying. So, the question becomes, does your feedback change when you know other people are watching? And, whether it changes or not, do you feel differently while writing your comments when you know they are not anonymous? Are others impacted by what you are saying?

 

Before social media, feedback was mostly given in a private way, whether it was over the phone, a letter, or email. The exceptions to this are when people are physically gathered together or if you cc or bcc others in an email. However, with social media, what you say is seen by many others--many of whom you don't specifically choose. Does this impact what you say or how you say it? How does it impact them?

In the case of your responses to our question, it was just our class who saw the comments. But imagine if we were asking you via the social media platforms and all of our friends and associates saw your comments? What if all the students at Marylhurst University saw your positive comments. Do you think that would help enrollment in future classes? 


Social proof is a very powerful concept. When you are looking to make an online purchase, how often has another person's comments persuaded you to buy or not to buy? Companies such as Yelp understand this very well. What if you have a bad customer service experience with a particular company or brand. Would you post about it? And how do you think others would react to that? How would the company react?

I know that for me, I like to know what my friends think. For example, when I was selecting a smart phone, I simply tweeted: iphone or blackberry? I got a lot of feedback, and I was much more inclined to listen to what my friends had to say than some glossy brochure put together by a company's marketing department. 

Social proof. Powerful. Can you think of a situation in which you were influenced via social proof? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Joanne