User-generated content (UGC)
User-generated content is any content about a brand created by its customers rather than by the brand: reviews, photos, videos, comments, forum posts, social media mentions..
Social proof
Social proof is the tendency to judge something by how other people have judged it.
Definition
Social proof is the tendency to judge something by how other people have judged it. In marketing it means showing evidence that other customers chose you and were glad they did — reviews, ratings, customer counts, logos, testimonials.
The term comes from Robert Cialdini’s work on influence, where it describes a mental shortcut people use when they lack information of their own.
What it looks like in practice
A hotel page showing “4.6 from 1,240 reviews” is social proof. So is “booked 14 times today”, a wall of customer logos, or a queue outside a restaurant. Reviews are the strongest form because they are specific and attributable.
Why it matters
It is the cheapest lever most small businesses have. You already earned the evidence; the only question is whether a visitor sees it before they decide. Volume and recency both count — a rating from four people persuades nobody, and one from 2021 raises a different question.
Related terms
User-generated content · Testimonial vs review · Build trust on your site.
The full reviews glossary defines every term used across this site.
Questions
Related terms
Testimonial vs review
A review is unsolicited feedback left on a platform you do not control, alongside everyone else’s including the critical ones.
Google Place ID
The unique identifier Google assigns to a place. Find yours below.
Aggregate rating
An aggregate rating is the average score across all reviews of something, together with how many reviews it came from.