Social Proof: What Is It and Why You Need It for Apartment Marketing

Let’s imagine that it’s the weekend, and you’re browsing stand mixer machines on Amazon for the cake recipe you found on YouTube. There are two different mixers with the same features, price, and star-rating, however, mixer A has 3,000 reviews, and mixer B has only 5. Which one would you purchase?

If you put mixer A in your shopping cart  – congratulations! You just experienced how social proof works.

Consumer Purchase Decision Report shows 92% of online consumers look at reviews before making a purchase.

That is to say, the psychology behind social proof is compelling. 

The importance of presenting your apartment as a highly desirable community among other people can increase the confidence of your prospective renters choosing your apartment community.

We’ll show you how to use social proof to increase the marketing results for your apartment community!

What is social proof?

“A psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in an attempt to undertake behavior in a given situation.”  —Wikipedia

Let’s make it simple! 

Social proof is when people make their decisions based on what most other people do. It allows people to not only evaluate but also make assumptions about what is better.

The use of social proof can be offline and online. For apartment marketing, we will focus on online social proof.

6 Types of Social Proof

According to Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini, there are 6 types of social proof.

Now you know all the types of social proof, let’s get started on how to practically develop social proof to boost your apartment marketing strategy. 

How to use Social Proof in Apartment Marketing

Let’s keep it straight – reviews are everything. 

According to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. 

What can you do as an apartment community to boost your reviews? First, provide great service, management, and living environment that fulfill your residents’ needs. Give your residents positive things to write about your apartment community.

Second, don’t be afraid to ask for reviews when there are positive interactions. 

According to the Local Customer Review Survey , 68% of customers are willing to provide feedback after being asked. 

Your residents are more than happy to help promote their amazing community, so take that chance and ask for it.

Want to learn more about positive reviews? Check out our blog on How to Get More Positive Apartment Reviews.

Keep in mind that the number of social media followers shouldn’t be the measurement of success, but it can definitely boost your power of social proof. 

The number of social followers showcases the engagement of the residents, the establishment of the overall community, sociability, and responsibility of the management team. 

Want more social posts ideas on increasing your apartment social followers and boosting social proof? Check out our blog on 15 Apartment Social Media Ideas that Work. 

User-generated content – authentic content created by real users from their real experiences – is a powerful tool in apartment marketing and when it comes to establishing social proof. 

According to Minter ’s report,  70% of Americans seek out opinions from review sites before making purchases. 

User-generated content boosts the trust of your potential renters. When they see many positive reviews from Google, those reviews ensure their decision of choosing your apartment.

Reviews don’t just stop there – add positive reviews to your apartment website home page, email page, and social media posts. In addition, social proof is a way to empower real residents to share and allow future residents to learn about your apartment community.  

Micro-influencer marketing has become more popular over the past few years; therefore, promoting your apartment property through micro-influencers will have positive effects on social proof.

According to iMPACT , micro-influencers are considered to be individuals that have between 1,000 to 1 million followers/audience members and are considered experts in their area.

Micro-influencers are able to reach audiences who are similar in age and interests. If they are living in your apartment, their audiences might also be interested in becoming your next residents.

If there are micro-influencers in your community, reach out to them! In this case, providing incentives such as rent specials, gifts, or money payments for them to post about their experience living in your apartment community. 

Awards or recognition from any third party authority can be a strong social proof for your apartment. In renters’ minds, it safeguards their decision on choosing your apartment. 

As an apartment community, how can you get awards or recognitions?

If your apartment receives any awards or recognitions, display them! Such as showing off on the website, mentioning it in your description, posting it on social media, and sharing it with your residents through email. 

Examples like apartment community Decorum displays their apartment award on their homepage.

At this point, I believe you’re now an expert with social proof. Now, it’s your turn to try out the tactics above to use social proof to help your apartment marketing effort. Get ready to see the results!

Don’t forget – we’re always here to help. For more information or questions, please contact us here. We’d love to schedule a time to talk with you!