Definition

The psychological phenomenon where people do things because other people are doing them, weaponized by marketers since the dawn of the testimonial. It's why every landing page has a section that says "Trusted by 10,000+ companies" next to logos you've never seen.

Example Usage

"We added social proof to the landing page. It's just five-star reviews from people whose last names are suspiciously similar to our employees'."

Related Terms

Advanced

dynamic creative optimization

Technology that automatically assembles personalized ads from various creative components based on user data, serving different headlines, images, and calls-to-action to different people. Mass customization meets surveillance capitalism in a beautiful, algorithmically-optimized dance.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Beginner

editorial

An opinion piece where a publication's editors climb onto their soapbox to tell readers what to think about current events, traditionally unsigned to represent the institution's collective wisdom (or bias). In media, it's also the content side of the business—the journalism and creative work, as opposed to the advertising that actually pays for everything. Editorial calendars plan this content, while editorial independence is the increasingly quaint notion that advertisers don't influence it.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Advanced

ascription

In data analytics and sociology, the act of assigning credit, blame, or characteristics to a person or thing based on analysis rather than self-identification. Marketers use this to decide who deserves credit for a conversion, while sociologists use it to study how society boxes people into categories they didn't choose. Both involve making assumptions that may or may not reflect reality.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Advanced

volubility

The gift of gab taken to professional extremes—someone who talks smoothly, rapidly, and seemingly without ever needing to breathe. In sales and marketing, it's either your greatest asset or most annoying quality, depending on whether you're the one talking or listening. Think used car salesman meets TED talk speaker.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Advanced

ad exchange

A digital marketplace where publishers and advertisers buy and sell ad inventory in real-time through automated auctions. Imagine the New York Stock Exchange, but instead of trading equity in companies, you're trading the privilege of annoying someone with banner ads.

📣 Marketing / Advertising
Intermediate

Lead Generation

The process of finding people who might want to buy your stuff, which mostly involves bribing strangers with free ebooks in exchange for their email addresses. It's essentially the corporate version of trick-or-treating, but you're the one handing out candy.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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suagooml

shut up and get out of my life...