Social Engineering Blogs

An Aggregator for Blogs About Social Engineering and Related Fields

Social Proof in Social Media

Not long ago, as I scanned through my social media sites one morning, I came across a blog post where someone shared six reasons why they decided to give up alcohol. Curiosity got the best of me so I clicked on the link to find out why the author made that choice.
All of his reasons were valid and probably the best choice for him. What caught my attention more than his reasons were the comments that ensued. At the time I read the post, all 15 comments were from people who had also given up alcohol. There wasn’t one person who took the opposing view.
I decided to post a comment about why I choose to drink alcohol. To every point he shared I could make the opposite case as long as the drinking was in moderation. Despite the fact that according to a 2012 Gallup Poll 64% of Americans drink alcohol on occasion, I felt odd posting my comment because I was definitely in the minority.
It shouldn’t have surprised me that despite the fact that two out of three Americans drink, all the readers said they didn’t drink. As I thought about it two reasons came to mind.
The first reason was social proof (aka consensus or peer pressure). This principle of influence tells us the more people do something the more inclined others are to join in. In other words, we get our cues for socially acceptable behavior by looking at how others are behaving in the same situation.
This was a classic case of social proof in action because the more people posted about their experience, the more others felt free to do the same thing.

How to Influence People

A couple of weeks ago I shared a practical example of a retailer and their signage in an effort to provide you with a refined approached on how to influence people.  Many of you asked for more practical examples, so this week I thought I would share another photo and an opportunity to discuss how to influence people.

Once you have learned the science of influence you become hyper-vigilant to it; i.e. you see it everywhere.  Just like when you decide to buy a new car.  Up until the point you decide to buy the new car you haven’t really seen it anywhere.  But once you make the decision on the make, model, colour, etc, you see it everywhere!  The car was always there you were just too busy to notice it.  So once you have the car in the forefront of your mind – you are now hyper-vigilant to its presence.  Just like Dr Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion.  Once you know about them you become hyper-vigilant to their presence.

So by way of example, last week I was delivering a corporate workshop in Brisbane and I walked past the below signage on the front of one of the big four banks in Australia.

What elements of persuasion have they used in the signage?
How to influence people

This sign is a simple example of how you influence people!

What do you see?

There are multiple elements so I look forward to your input.

I have given my answers below.  Do you agree?