When More than a Million People are Doing Something, It’s Worth Considering

Last weekend college football conference championships took place. On Sunday, fans and alumni watched the college bowl selection show with eager anticipation to see which bowl games their favorite teams would go to. It’s an exciting time if your team is one that makes the cut for the playoffs or one of the premier bowl games.

When I think of college football bowl games, it always brings to mind one of the most persuasive television commercials I’ve ever seen.

About 15 years ago, Allstate Insurance ran a television ad the week of the Rose Bowl. Their spokesperson, Dennis Haysbert, stood in the middle of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, and told viewers, “This Saturday 110,000 people will fill this stadium to watch a football game. Last year Allstate filled this stadium 10 times with the number of people who made the switch.” 

Wow!! Most people don’t know much about insurance, but I can tell you from 30+ years in the industry, just about everyone thinks they pay too much for home and auto insurance. I’ve no doubt many viewers called an Allstate agent, or reached out online, as a result of that persuasive commercial.

When more than a million people are doing something, it’s worth looking into. After all, everyone can’t be wrong…at least the vast majority of the time. 

Social Proof

That’s the power of social proof. This principle of influence highlights the reality that we are heavily impacted by other people. What are they saying? What are they doing? How are they feeling? Others impact what we say, what we do, and how we feel because we’re social creatures. You could say we’re wired for connection. Humans learned long ago, there’s safety in numbers so following the crowd usually works out well.

Social proof is everywhere and impacts us all the time, even when we’re not fully conscious of it. For example:

• The more people who saw the Barbie movie, the more it enticed others to see it. My daughter made me, and my wife, see the movie and it was better than I anticipated.
• When you see hundreds or thousands of positive reviews on Amazon, that makes you more likely to purchase whatever item you’re looking at.
• People who move to a new location are more likely to dress, act, and talk like the people in their new hometown. This begins to happen almost without notice.

Most of the influence that impacts you happens without your critical thinking. That’s because the vast majority of your thinking and behavior is driven by your subconscious. This “thinking without thinking” is an efficient shortcut that saves you time and energy. 

Using Social Proof

If you take a moment to read my bio below, you’ll see how I use social proof with every LinkedIn article and blog post:

• My book Persuasive Selling was an Amazon new release best-seller.
• More than 700,000 people around the world have viewed my LinkedIn courses.
• My TEDx Talk has been seen by over a million people.

When social proof is available, make sure you bring it into your communication because it makes it easier for people to take similar action. Everyone else is doing it so why not you too? 

Brian Ahearn

Brian Ahearn is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE and a faculty member at the Cialdini Institute. 

An author, TEDx speaker, international trainer, coach, and consultant, Brian helps clients apply influence in everyday situations to boost results.

As one of only a dozen Cialdini Method Certified Trainers in the world, Brian was personally trained and endorsed by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s first book, Influence PEOPLE, was named one of the 100 Best Influence Books of All Time by Book Authority. His follow-up, Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents, was an Amazon new release bestseller. His latest book, The Influencer: Secrets to Success and Happiness, is a business parable designed to teach you how to use influence at home and the office.

Brian’s LinkedIn courses on persuasive selling and coaching have been viewed by more than 700,000 people around the world. His TEDx Talk on pre-suasion has more than a million views!