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Social proof is the new marketing, but what is it and how is it used? Learn how it enhances your property’s online reputation. By
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LAUREN VENTURA, LeaseLabs
Image © Alekosa | Dreamstime.com
Proof Positive
42
ABODE
March 2018
t’s not uncommon during an apartment hunt, you’ve most likely checked Yelp, or other reviewing platforms, to see if the property you’re interested in has positive or negative reviews. And guess what: Your potential residents are doing the same exact thing. According to research by eMarketer, consumer reviews are significantly more trusted (nearly 12 times more) than descriptions that come from manufacturers, according to a survey of U.S. internet users. This sentiment was echoed by industry experts at Multifamilyfinsiders.com when they write, “If an investor or renter were to look at one of your company’s properties online – what would he or she see? Does your reputation online accurately represent your communities and the hard work that goes into maintaining, improving, and managing them?” These are important questions all property managers should be asking themselves. Maintaining your relationships online, or reputation management, is often coined “social proof.” Much like the moniker implies, it’s the power of social platforms to offer proof to consumers that a product or entity is, in layman’s terms, legit. Throughout this post, we’ll delve into the psychology of social proof, how to utilize it properly to power your property’s success and the top ways you can use it to improve your property’s online presence and attract residents through the power of positivity. The Psychology of Social Proof To put it in simpler terms, Wikipedia offers a pretty good definition of social proof: “Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation. This effect is prominent in ambiguous social situations where people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior, and is driven by the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation.” In other words, we tend to be sheep that follows the herd. We intrinsically, as humans, trust mass behavior as the norm and assume that if everyone else is in approval of something then by all means, we might as well trust it, too. Think about it like this. Your best friend since childhood tries out a hot new local restaurant; she/he raves about how wonderful the service was and how delicious the meals were. Next weekend, you find yourself saying, “Hey, I should try that place out…” And so you do. Same goes for those five-star ratings on Yelp and Better Business Bureau’s “A” ratings. We trust these ratings because they fall under the psychological phenomenon of social proof. It’s honestly quite fascinating. Three Reputation Management Best Practices 1. Encourage Residents to Share Positive Experiences Using Storytelling According to a large-scale study in 2012, social proof is www.haaonline.org