Digital Media
What Is Social Proof & Why It Is Your Strongest Asset As A Writer?
Building a strong digital presence has become an imperative
I just crossed 1K followers on Medium.
This is precisely how I have been feeling afterwards –
- Successful
- Motivated to improve and upskill
- Authorized to advice
It took me 12 long months to gain 1000 followers, nonetheless, it feels like a major achievement ✨
To be brutally honest, a huge following doesn’t guarantee a huge success.
- At 1K followers, the engagement on my posts is the same as it was when I had 500 or 700 followers.
- My views continue to be unimpressive.
- I am yet to enter the $100 club.
So yes, not much has changed. But I can proudly say that my social proof just got stronger.
What is social proof?
Going by its conventional use and definition, Wikipedia defines social proof as:
A psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation.
In other words, it is a concept used my marketers to sell a product or service using the power of persuasion from individuals who have high social authority. These include celebrities who have a large following.
As creators with a following, the concept of social proof applies to us as well, albeit slightly differently. Here is how we can understand it —
Digital writing is a business.
“I love writing”, now seems to be the most redundant reason to write online. It is true, we all don’t just write online because we love to write. There is more to it:
- Making money
- Scoring viral hits aka success, fandom
- Building a life of leisure, comfort
- Boredom with 9–5 aka doing something meaningful
And lastly,
- Digital content is the future
So yes, there are multiple reasons why you write and why you will continue to write more and more in the future. That is also why you must approach writing in an entrepreneurial spirit. Treat it very much like you are in a business.
That being said, let me address the main question –
We are in a business where we need people to listen to us, to hear what we have to say. The more people we touch, the more success we can claim. After all, it is about building a vast audience.
Social proof is your digital status.
In other words, social proof includes:
- Your digital credentials and a strong online presence.
- The reason as to WHY people will listen to you.
- Your place in the industry at large.
Social proof is inevitable to grow your business of writing. Building a rock solid social proof should be the aim of all creative entrepreneurs.
The following parameters indicate your social proof:
- Number of views/plays/reads
- Number of subscribers
- Number of followers
- Number of engagements – # of people commenting, liking, saving your content
- Number of leads, sales earned.
- Testimonials
Social proof is your strongest asset
Here’s why:
- It takes time to build. You are stupid if you think writing today will make you a star tomorrow. Building a strong social proof is a long term goal. I spent a year writing on Medium and despite all the successes that I did not see, that one year helped me strengthen both – my digital presence and my portfolio. Without any doubt, this will add more value to my words and worth to my business. All in all, when you think you are making the greatest investment of your time, always remember, you are building your asset.
- It opens a plethora of new opportunities for you. Do you remember that Aussie blogger Tim Denning who wrote and wrote until he became a millionaire? Or even Niharikaa Kaur Sodhi who started writing on LinkedIn, and quit her 9–5 in a year? She even went on a month’s holiday in Europe and works only four hours a day. There are so many examples of how digital writers have made it big only because they started off writing and kept writing. One thing led to another and they are now living a life most of us envy. In conclusion, when you focus on building a strong social proof, you will be surprised to see how many opportunities unfold before you.
Here is an example of their social proof:
- It increases your bargaining power and makes you a better seller. A strong social proof puts you in a much better position to negotiate in your or your client’s favour. Instead of going to your buyers, they will come to know after knowing where you stand in the digital space. For instance, Yana Bostongirl recently wrote about how she was invited at the opening ceremony of a new restaurant in her area, only after the restaurant owners learned about her success on Medium and as a writer. Be it an online book or a digital product, having a strong social proof just makes it easy for you to sell at a price that you deserve.
The content industry is brutal, in the sense that if you want to be heard, you don’t just speak – instead, you shout and shout until the noise calms down and you have their attention. It is perhaps your time to shout, to do everything in your power today to shine in the future.