{"id":1023,"date":"2025-04-03T13:48:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bellmarketingsolutions.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/social-proof-backfire-the-marketing-mistake-costing-you-conversions\/"},"modified":"2025-04-03T13:48:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:48:44","slug":"social-proof-backfire-the-marketing-mistake-costing-you-conversions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bellmarketingsolutions.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/social-proof-backfire-the-marketing-mistake-costing-you-conversions\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Proof Backfire: The Marketing Mistake Costing You Conversions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \"Phil <\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Welcome to\u00a0Creator Columns<\/strong>, where we bring expert\u00a0<\/span>HubSpot Creator<\/a>\u00a0voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Welcome to Creator Columns<\/strong>, where we bring expert <\/span>HubSpot Creator<\/a> voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the early 2000s, communications professor Bob Hornik wanted to see if anti-drug ads worked<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the time, most ads used shock and fear tactics to persuade kids.<\/p>\n

Bob gathered data on thousands of teenagers. He tracked their exposure to anti-drug ads and their marijuana use over time.<\/p>\n

The results?<\/p>\n

The ads didn\u2019t reduce drug use. They increased it. Teenagers who saw the ads were more likely to smoke marijuana.<\/p>\n

Let’s discuss why this happened, and how you might be making a similar mistake.<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

The Mistake Most Marketers Make<\/h2>\n

These anti-drug ads backfired because the ads unintentionally reinforced the idea that drug use was common. <\/strong>Rather than making the unwanted behavior seem scarce, the ads made drug-taking seem popular.<\/p>\n

This is called negative<\/em><\/span> social proof.<\/p>\n

People look to others to determine what\u2019s normal. The more they hear about something, the more they assume it\u2019s widespread. <\/p>\n

We follow the actions of others. For example, simply reframing a menu item as \u201cmost popular\u201d can make it 20% more popular<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"social<\/p>\n

The anti-drug campaigns meant to deter use were hindered by the same effect. They showed that drug use was a big enough problem to require national ads.<\/p>\n

And by making the behavior seem commonplace, they made kids more likely to try.<\/p>\n

Most marketers make the exact same mistake. They popularize a problem \u2014 but only make the problem worse. <\/p>\n

All of us have seen these messages before. Wikipedia repeatedly publicizes how \u201cfewer than 2% give\u201d. This message is doomed to backfire. And we have the evidence to prove it.<\/p>\n

Negative Social Proof Evidence <\/h2>\n

1. To change behavior, highlight what people should<\/em> do.<\/h3>\n

Don’t highlight that negative behavior is commonplace.<\/p>\n

For instance, at Arizona\u2019s Petrified Forest<\/span><\/a>, a sign stating that many stole wood backfired \u2014 rather than reducing theft, the sign doubled the amount of theft.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A new sign urging preservation was far more effective, more than halving the theft.<\/p>\n

\"negative<\/p>\n

2. The UK’s largest retail bank made the same mistake.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To encourage saving, Nationwide, the UK’s largest retail bank, advertised how <\/em>“11.5 million Brits have less than \u00a3100 saved”.<\/p>\n

Rather than persuading Britsh people to save more, this advertisement encouraged them to save less<\/span>. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Nationwide would have been more successful by highlighting how \u201c15 million British adults save enough for retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"nationwide<\/p>\n

3. In the UK, the NHS faces a recurring issue: missed medical appointments.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To tackle missed medical appointments, some NHS managers displayed stats on no-shows. For example: \u201cEvery week, 4,520 appointments are missed.\u201d <\/p>\n

This message seems rational, surely aiming to persuade patients to come in on time. <\/p>\n

But research found this backfires. Seeing high numbers normalizes behavior.<\/p>\n

A simple shift solved it. New signs emphasized that \u201cmost patients arrive on time\u201d. No-shows dropped significantly.<\/p>\n

\"negative<\/p>\n

To persuade someone, don\u2019t make the opposite action seem commonplace. To encourage a customer to buy, don\u2019t say that most haven\u2019t bought yet. To persuade an event attendee to show up, don\u2019t say, \u201cmany of you haven\u2019t registered.\u201d To motivate a YouTube viewer to subscribe, never say only 2% of viewers subscribe. <\/p>\n

And, to make you share this blog with a friend, I shouldn\u2019t tell you that only 1 in 1,000 readers share my blogs.<\/p>\n

Instead, I\u2019ll finish by letting you know that more readers than ever before are posting my work on socials, and I\u2019m extremely grateful to all of them.<\/p>\n

This blog is part of <\/span>Phill Agnew<\/a>\u2019s Marketing Cheat Sheet series where he reveals scientifically proven tips to help you improve your marketing. To learn more, listen to his podcast, <\/span>Nudge<\/a>, a proud HubSpot Podcast Network member.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Creator Columns, where we bring expert\u00a0HubSpot Creator\u00a0voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. In the early 2000s, communications professor Bob Hornik wanted to see if anti-drug ads worked. At the time, most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSocial Proof Backfire: The Marketing Mistake Costing You Conversions - Bell Marketing Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bellmarketingsolutions.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/03\/social-proof-backfire-the-marketing-mistake-costing-you-conversions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Social Proof Backfire: The Marketing Mistake Costing You Conversions - Bell Marketing Solutions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Welcome to\u00a0Creator Columns, where we bring expert\u00a0HubSpot Creator\u00a0voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better. 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