Glossary/Social proof
Social proof — definition
Social proof is the psychological shortcut where people copy what others do because they assume those others know something they do not. Reviews, testimonials, logos, user counts, and public mentions all answer a visitor’s silent question: should I trust this product?
Why it matters for indie developers
Indie landing pages fail less from bad features than from empty trust. Strangers will not be the first customer; showing peer evidence removes the biggest conversion blocker.
When you have zero customers, exchange-based proof — tweets, testimonials, backlinks from other founders — is often the only honest way to start the flywheel.
Related terms
Go deeper: Read: what is social proof for founders?