Social proof "is the name given to the principle that we often do what has been "socially proven". This natural instinct helps us in many situations to quickly and intuitively differentiate which behaviour is appropriate for the situation.

Stand on a busy pavement and look up at an empty space in the sky. You will see that nobody will pay any attention to you. The next day you come back with 4 friends and all 4 of them are all staring at the same empty spot in the sky. Within a short time, a lot of passers-by will have joined you, also looking at the empty spot and desperately wondering what interesting thing there is to see.

It works similarly with social media. It's also no secret that social media has become more and more important lately.

"Social media is the internet version of social proof!"

For a festive occasion, you need a gift and visit a web shop for branded watches. You see above that only 12 people like the web shop. Regardless of the quality and brand of the watches, you will get a negative impression of the shop because the principle of social proof suggests to you that this offer is not socially proven.

At some point you go to an online shop for ties. At the top you see a box that says "1,275 people like this" and subconsciously, whether you like it or not, social proof is suggested to you because many people think positively about this online shop.

Why is it so important to buy likes with the right target group.

The principle of likability explains that we are more likely to be attracted to a product that is consumed by people who are similar to us. Therefore, we advise that if you sell women's fashion, for example, you should buy mostly female fans.


As you can see, the principle of social proof has a very big influence on the buying behaviour of your users and can be transferred very well to social media in particular.