Is your website getting the traffic it needs? Worry less because social proof and FOMO exist so that your website can significantly impact your customers’ behavior. When your potential customers see how famous your brand or products are, your business will most likely drive these customers. Also, if someone is surrounded by people who patronize your product, it will eventually push them to do the same. The question is, which will work best for your company. Having the close comparison between fomo vs. proof will help you determine the strategy for your business.
One good example is, suppose you heard your friends talk about how great this cloth shop is just down the street. Then the following day, you decided to see for yourself. That’s social proof in action. But why do we people do that? It’s simple. Because we all have our human nature, at some point, every one of us falls into FOMO (fear of missing out). Social Proof and FOMO play a significant role in your everyday decision. Not just in your purchasing decisions but also in your daily lives in general. And because of the power that these two concepts hold, it is used by marketers.
Here you will understand how FOMO vs proof differ from one another and how they work as marketing techniques.
What is FOMO?
FOMO stands for the “fear of missing out”. It is anxiety or social motivation where individuals long to feel that they belong in a specific group or event. This concept is very prevalent with the presence of social media. Because people in social media tend to display only the right sides of their lives, people who see these posts will eventually feel pity for themselves and push themselves to do the same.
We all experience FOMO at some point in our lives. Your friends are going out to a party, and you cannot join them. When a new phone model is released, and all of your colleagues ordered one, and you want to order as well. When your favorite brand releases a new product, only a few stocks are left available for sale. FOMO, in general, when improperly managed by an individual, can cause serious mental health problems. But why do marketers use this as a marketing technique?
FOMO in business concept is mighty and effective in attracting customers to buy your products. But how does it work? Simple, when a person scrolls on social media and bumps across posts of beautiful celebrities using your product, it will create a psychological effect on the buyer to want to buy the product. This is because the public would typically want to feel the sense of belongingness of a specific class of people. They will want to be as beautiful and as classy as their celebrity idols. And that feeling is specifically called fear of missing out.
Another instance where fear of missing out is present is when a brand offers a sale for a specific period or a limited supply only. You can incorporate it into your online store by showing a countdown or the number of items left on stocks. It will create a feeling of urgency for an individual to respond to your offer immediately. It happens because it is natural for human beings to take risks rather than feel the guilt of letting the opportunity slip out of their hands.
What is Social Proof?
Social Proof is a psychological phenomenon wherein people copy or follow the previous decisions of others. This is caused by the feeling that people want to have a validation of their decision from others. And because of the effects social proofs can give to your audience, companies use it for marketing their brands and products.
For instance, when someone is looking for the best brand and choosing between you and your competitor. They will naturally look for reasons to choose one over the other. And this is how social proof works. It will serve as a tiebreaker of the competition. Giving your audience different social evidence of your company’s legitimacy and product effectiveness will persuade them to choose your brand over your competitor. Also, because of human beings’ natural inclination to look for validation, they will always tend to select the product that the majority has availed.
There are three major points you need to consider to maximize the benefits of social proof. The three factors are the type of social proof, content, and the placement of it.
Types of Social Proof
The types of Social Proof must suit your landing page and must not interfere with the visitor experience. It can be in the form of notification, a tag on the side of the product information, or pop-ups.
Content of Social Proof
There are different types of content for social proof available in every company. Deciding what social proof content is the most effective for your brand is critical to maximizing its benefits. For instance, businesses in the beauty and health industry will use testimonials with before and after photos as social proof because it will be more convincing for their target market. On the other hand, for businesses in the food and beverage industry, simple customer ratings and reviews will be sufficient to attract more customers.
Placement of Social Proof
Knowing when, where and to whom to show your social proof is no doubt very important to maximize its effects. As a marketer, you must be familiar with your audience’s diverse characteristics to know to whom to show specific social proof. Mismatching your social proof and audience will just waste your time and their time. You must know which among your audience will most likely respond to your advertising techniques. In addition, the time when to show the social proof is also vital. A good social proof is most effective when the customer is about to make a decision. So considering showing social proof during check out is a no brainer for your online stores.
FOMO vs. Proof
Marketers interchangeably use FOMO and proof. Although they have the same ultimate effect of boosting your sales, the difference between the two marketing concepts (fomo vs. proof) is the customer’s motive to decide.
In social proof, the source of motivation is the “feeling of validation” that it will give to a customer after making a decision. Social proof is based on the theory that people will avoid making bad decisions, and in order to prevent it, they will follow others’ footsteps. This will include showing the audience that others already buy the product and they made the right decision. By giving them these proofs, company trust will be built.
Moreover, there are numerous social proof marketing techniques that you can use for your company. It can be through industry experts’ opinions, customer reviews, testimonials, awards, and trusted organizations’ recognition. As long as the proof supports the company’s legitimacy and product claims and delivered to the right audience at a perfect time, it will work as a marketing tactic.
On the other hand, the source of FOMO motivation is the fear of missing out on an amazing experience or losing a chance to experience something. Let’s admit it; no one wants to feel that they are left out by the people around them. FOMO triggers human beings’ innate fear to be left out. This will include creating offers with a specific period and showing them that others already respond to your sale. An excellent example of FOMO is by showing the page visitors that there are a group of people.
Fomo has a broader scope than social proof, and it is more complicated than proof. Social proof is one of the effective ways to trigger FOMO. Aside from creating offers with a sense of urgency, you must also be able to show your website visitors that people are actually buying your products. When FOMO vs proof are used properly hand-in-hand, they will expand valuable leads, increase demands, and shoot up profitability.
Achieve Business Goals using FOMO and Proof with SocialPop
FOMO and proof are proven to effectively increase online store social conversion. However, without proper research on how and when to use it, efforts will only go to waste. SocialPop has a special feature, where it assesses to whom to deliver the notifications and when to show them your social proof based on the demographics of your audience. With that you can ensure that your investment with SocialPop will not go to waste and will benefit you with increased sales and more loyal customers. No need to choose between fomo vs proof, because we can help you maximize both.
Be one step ahead of your competitors without spending too much. Use your company’s social proof to create FOMO on your customers. Because social proof is the most powerful way to give your customers an impression of your brand’s quality, you have to be careful choosing the service. Don’t let yourself get stressed, and contact SocialPop today. We are a company that will help you breakdown more lists if you can’t decide what service is the best for you. Check out our website and change the way you market your product.
