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When you walk past a new restaurant and you see there is a long line waiting for a table, what comes into your mind? Most people, including me, will think that there is something different or something extraordinarily good with the restaurant. My next feeling will be curiosity. I will want to know what makes those entire people wait in a queue just to eat in that restaurant. Why it is that specific restaurant, instead of hundreds of others in my town.
For some other people, asking the question why is not even important. They will want to come and taste for themselves the things that make the people wait in line. They will trust the restaurant because many others seem to trust it, too. They will be led to think that it is a good restaurant, or, at least, worth to try.
This is what we call a social proof. Our behavior in perceiving a success of a certain business or product is determined by society or group’s attitude about it. To put it simply, we tend to follow where the crowd goes. No matter how original and authentic we believe ourselves to be, in the end, we are all social creatures who take one another as role models. We jump into bandwagons. That is why there are trends and fads changing all over the year. That is why we check reviews and testimonials or ask for a recommendation from the people we know before deciding to buy a product or use a service.
Social proof and Twitter
On Twitter, social proof also determines users’ behavior. Whenever we see a profile having a huge number of followers, we will be inclined to trust the profile. This is the reason why a lot of people buy Twitter followers. By purchasing fake or paid followers, they will be able to create the impression that their business or personality receives social acceptance. In the end, real people will start following these accounts because they believe the social proof they see.
