What’s the big deal about “social proof?”

I am NOT a marketer! Never was, but when I had a great idea back in 2005, to create pre-loaded, cordless headphones for surgery patients, I quickly began to learn some of the nuts and bolts of marketing. I had to get my message out and email marketing was just really getting started.

Prior to that, marketing was done by snail mail, or TV/Radio ads and that was all really super expensive. Luckily, I have had many kind and knowledgeable people along the way who have taught me the benefits of “social proof.” Here’s a simple definition of social proof:

“Social proof is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people base their actions on the actions of others in an attempt to appear to be behaving correctly in a given situation. It’s the idea that if others are doing something, then one should do it too.”

Recently I talked with a new acquaintance on LinkedIn who is a successful marketer, helping others to build their visibility. He told me that after looking through my website, articles, videos, research and social media posts, it was clear that one thing I have in spades is:

“Social Proof! ✨”

I guess that when you have Social Proof, word gets around faster and your product goes viral? Just this week, I got two inquiries, then purchase from the same hospital in Southern California. Two different staff members, unbeknownst to each other, ordered our headphones for two purposes: one for the original purposes of surgery, both adult and child, and the other for ketamine transfusions. Awesome!!

Here are some of my most recent examples of social proof

Just yesterday I had this response from a physician who had just watched my recent podcast:

“This is one of the very best discussions of scientific studies that have demonstrated how music via headphone or earbuds can be used to reduce anxiety and stress during a wide variety of surgical, medical and dental situations. At the same time, it often reduces the dosage of medications necessary for anesthetic purposes. Especially interesting is that studies of Alzheimer patients have demonstrated that music can be used to stimulate memory.