How Does Social Influence Work?

 Change managers can use social proof to influence and make the changes sustain. 

Social proof is a social phenomenon in which people copy the behavior of others. This behavior is rooted in our natural desire to be consistent with the majority (Bandwagon effect). Especially when we are unsure of our course of action, we tend to look around more to find guidance for our decision-making and behavior. The following experiment shows that the tester will follow most actors and change their standing in the elevator:
The Asch conformity test shows that we may even give up our own judgment simply because we don't want to be excluded by the group:
​The compelling message using social proof is like, "Many have already done ..... What will be your choice? " The message created an impression that the majority has adopted the choice so the individuals can easily follow to stay confirmative. When starting something new, we can create a small group called a change coalition to establish the social effects. Then we can pass the impression of the existing social acceptance for adoption. The trick is that this works even you fake it at the beginning.

To sustain the change, we can use the power of social proof by creating the social norm or culture. ​​​