Use Numbers to Gain Clients and Referral Partners

In addition to similarity, another powerful means of social proof is numbers. We trust numbers. We believe that “numbers don’t lie.” We figure that if many people feel a certain way or do a certain thing, there must be validity in that. If we look on Amazon and see 100 five-star ratings for a book, we assume that it’s a great book. If we see 5,000 people following someone on Twitter, we assume that the person writes great tweets. If we see 10,000 fans of a business on Facebook, we assume that business offers valuable products, services, or information. One of my clients was lining up joint ventures for his book launch. In his introductory e-mail, we included a few key numbers that show the magnitude of his audience and how people would benefit from the exposure. He had a 100-percent success rate in which everyone with whom he requested a joint venture said yes.

Quantity versus quality

I tend to prefer a focus on quality versus quantity in marketing materials, but you cannot neglect quantity. For example, a mailing list of 500 loyal subscribers who read everything you write and refer to you is more valuable than a mailing list of 50,000 people who get your e-mails in their spam boxes and never look at them. At the same time, you need to have enough people in your audience because the majority of your subscribers or followers or fans will not be online at any point in time. Those who are may not be ready to buy at that time.

We cannot help but be influenced by numbers. If someone sends an invitation for you to join a social network and you see that only two people are members, you will probably be uninterested. If, on the other hand, people see that you have 1,000 Facebook fans, they will consciously or unconsciously wonder what value people are getting and want to experience it for themselves. A great example of this is how McDonald’s restaurants often feature signs that say “Billions and Billions Served,” or some such. “Wow,” we think to ourselves. “If billions of people like this, it must be good.”

What number is a good number?

We are often faced with the decision of whether to show numbers or not. How do you know if your numbers are enough to activate social proof? In many cases, you do not have a choice. For example, people can see how many Twitter followers or LinkedIn connections you have. I would not make numbers for blog post viewers visible if they are very low (such as under 10 or 20 views per post, assuming you post often), and I would not include numbers in an initial partnership request if they were not compelling. One strategy is to combine your different platforms and say, for example, that your social media and e-mail list followings comprise over 10,000 people. Another strategy is to include the platforms of others who have already agreed to partner with you and say, for example, that the combined platforms reach over 100,000.