By Benjamin Hall, Senior Copywriter
Social Proof is one of the many Human Behavior Triggers (HBTs) we use here at Wilde Agency. It’s a powerful tool when used correctly, one that can dramatically increase response in virtually any kind of marketing.
Basically, social proof says that people are more inclined to do something if other people have done it first. It’s that group mentality (aka the lemming principle) that’s hardwired into our brains and can be used to prompt decision-making by clever advertising agencies.
Some recent examples we’ve successfully used for our own clients include statements like,
“We can help reduce no-show rates by 86%.”
“365,000 members like you have already registered for this website.”
“3 out of 4 dentists use our solution to increase their bottom line.”
Most of the time, social proof is a simple, benign tactic we marketers can use to influence behavior. But what happens when social proof is taken to extremes? One great example of this is Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” Originally appearing in The New Yorker in June 1948, “The Lottery” is arguably Jackson’s most famous work and for decades was a staple of high school English classes. Indeed, I had read the piece a few times in my teens, and largely forgotten it until recently, when I heard A. M. Holmes—no stranger to chilling fiction herself—read it on a podcast from The New Yorker.
SPOILER ALERT:
In “The Lottery,” Jackson describes in marvelous detail the ritual a country village goes through every year to pick the winner of a lottery. What you don’t know until the very end is that this lottery isn’t about winning money or anything good—it’s about who’s going to get stoned to death by the rest of the people in the village.
Nobody tries to stop this deadly ceremony or even thinks it’s strange. Stoning people to death on June 27 every year is what the villagers do, and what they have done for generations. Everyone participates—even children—and everyone seems to enjoy it. It’s the ultimate example of Social Proof.
And it’s made me start thinking about how we’re going to get a really good response rate on our next piece of direct mail. Watch out for stones…
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