Politics and a Lot of Businesses Rely on Stupid People!

Sheep... and Most People are Followers

Yep, you can probably tell from that title that I'm going to tick off some people with this article! Take for example our recent Presidential Election here in the United States. I can guarantee you that Barack Obama would not be our President if we didn't have so many apathetic and uninformed people. Some of which are just plain stupid. I know that there are a lot of Obama supports who are very educated, very well informed, and would still vote for a Democrat even if Jesus Christ was running against him or her. I would bet if there existed a way to determine how many well informed people voted for McCain vs. Obama, that McCain would win among that subgroup of voters. It was the legions of blind followers, people who don't know the first thing about how our government works, or who our elected leaders are, much less who did what and to whom, that elected President Obama. Barack Obama is the Teflon coated, Pied Piper of Political Marketing. He's the Master Grade Grand Poobah of Social Proof!

Business is the same way. Commercials blast nonstop, and ads constantly reinforce, whatever a business, government, or other group wishes to beam into our brains. Several studies on Social Proof prove this hands down. One study in particular shows that the more fast food ads parents view, the more fast food their families consume and therefore the unhealthier they become. Did the ads somehow change the parents understanding that fast food was generally bad for you? No, the ads simply made the parents perceive that fast food consumption was normal in their communities (Grier et al. 2007).

So what does it mean? It means show me someone sort of like me, doing something you want me to do, and show me often enough, and I may just follow. It worked for Obama's campaign. It works for fast food and hundreds or thousands of other products.

Does this really mean that most people are stupid? I hope not, but I've said for years that 90% of the population is either clueless, stupid, or both. What it really means is that most people are followers, preferring at some subconscious level to avoid making decisions and just do what everyone else is doing. You may know, in your heart of hearts that Obama was not the best choice, but you voted for him anyway because everyone else was. You may know that fast food is not good for you, but everyone else is eating it so why not me? You may know that your child would be better off not listening to sexually charged rap or watching 90% of cable TV programming but all their friends do it, so it's OK, right?

Social proof works on smart people, not-so-smart people, and stupid people too. It's just that smart people realize the other 90% of the population follows without questioning. Does that stop the smart ones from falling into the social proof trap? No, not always - it's wired in pretty deep in our brains!

So in effect, politics and a lot of businesses rely on stupid people to just follow whatever they beam into our heads. Repeat it often enough and it becomes real or at least close enough to make enough people buy it, believe it, or vote for it.

But, since YOU are reading MY blog, YOU are NOT one of the 90%, YOU are one of the SMART 10%! So you are thinking: I need more testimonials, I need video of people consuming my products, I need letters from happy customers, and I need more social proof that my product will give them what they want, solve their problems, and make them beautiful, smart, attractive, successful, wealthy, and do it overnight while they sleep!

Until next time... BE SMART!
Fred

P.S. I know a lot of Internet Business guides say never mix politics and religion into your business blog, I don't agree. This Presidential election was won by marketing and a lot can be learned by recognizing that fact, regardless of who you voted for!

Get Free Updates! Enter your name and e-mail address to receive a short notice each time I make a new post. First Name: Last Name: E-Mail Address: E-Mail again: NOTE: You will receive a confirmation email. You must click the link in the email to activate your free updates. Please check your spam folder(s) if you don't receive the email.