Social proof
Use the psychology of social proof to increase conversions. Show visitors that others are buying, create urgency, and validate their purchase decisions.
What is social proof?
Social proof is a psychological principle discovered by Robert Cialdini: people tend to do what they see others doing, especially in situations of uncertainty.
In the context of ticket sales, this means:
- Seeing others buy → Builds trust and reduces fear of making a mistake
- Seeing scarcity → Creates urgency and accelerates decisions
- Seeing popularity → Validates that the event is "worth it"
Studies show that social proof can increase conversions by 5% to 15%, and in some cases up to 34% when multiple techniques are combined.
Accessing the configuration
From the Fanz dashboard, go to Website → Social proof.
By default: All options are enabled. You can disable the ones you don't want to use.
Understanding the interface
The social proof configuration has two views:
List View — Shows all 6 social proof cards at a glance:
- Active cards have a colored border and full-color icon
- Inactive cards have a grey border and greyed-out icon
- Each card displays "Click to configure →" to indicate it's clickable
- The preview shows the combined result of all active social proofs
Configuration View — Click any card to open its dedicated configuration page:
- Status section — Shows "Active" or "Inactive" with a toggle switch
- Customization section — Configure specific settings (thresholds, time windows, etc.)
- The preview shows ONLY the selected social proof in isolation
How to enable or disable
- Click the card for the social proof you want to configure
- Toggle the switch in the Status section
- Click "Save" when you're done
How to customize values
- Click the card for the social proof you want to customize
- Make sure it's enabled (Status shows "Active")
- Scroll down to the Customization section
- Adjust the values (number of purchases, hours, remaining tickets, etc.)
- Click "Save" to apply changes
Live preview
The preview updates in real-time as you make changes:
- In list view: See how all your active social proofs work together on event cards
- In configuration view: See exactly how the selected social proof appears in isolation
- Toggle between homepage (event cards) and event page views using the context selector
The 6 social proof tools
1. Live Sales
Show real-time notifications every time someone buys a ticket.
How it works:
- When a visitor is browsing your site and someone else buys, an animated notification appears
- Shows the buyer's email partially hidden (e.g., "j***n@gmail.com bought a ticket")
- The notification appears with a smooth animation and disappears after a few seconds
The psychology behind it: This technique leverages the bandwagon effect and FOMO (fear of missing out). When we see others buying right now, our brain interprets that:
- The event is desirable
- There's real urgency
- It's "safe" to buy because others are doing it
Expected impact: Studies show that real-time purchase notifications can increase conversions by 10% to 15%. The effect is stronger when there's frequent real activity.
Configuration: Enable / Disable
2. Recommended Events
A carousel of related events that appears at strategic points in the user journey.
Where it appears:
- Event page — At the bottom of the event detail
- Purchase success page — After completing a purchase
How it works: Works like "recommended products" carousels in e-commerce. Shows other events from your brand that might interest the visitor, encouraging additional purchases.
The psychology behind it: Takes advantage of the active decision moment. When someone is already interested in an event (or just bought), they're in a receptive mental state to consider more options. The success page is especially powerful because the buyer is in a positive post-purchase emotional state.
Expected impact: Recommended products/events carousels can generate between 10% and 30% additional revenue in e-commerce. For events, it can mean a buyer who was going to see one show ends up buying for multiple performances.
Configuration: Enable / Disable
3. Best Selling Events
Show special badges (#1, #2, #3) on your site's most popular events.
How it works:
- Every 7 days, the system automatically calculates which events are top sellers
- Top events receive visible badges: #1, #2, #3
- Badges appear on event cards on your site
The psychology behind it: This technique uses the social authority principle. If an event is the bestseller, visitors assume it "must be good" and trust the decision to buy it more. It's the same principle that makes "bestseller" books sell more: success generates more success.
Expected impact: Products marked as "bestsellers" or "popular" can see increases of 20% to 50% in their conversion rate compared to unlabeled products, according to e-commerce studies.
Customizable field:
- Number of events to display as top sellers — Default: 3 (shows #1, #2, #3). You can increase it to show more rankings.
4. Recent Purchases
A badge that shows how many purchases happened in a recent time period.
Where it appears:
- Event detail page
- Event card on homepage
How it works:
- Default: If there were more than 5 purchases in the last hour, the badge appears
- Shows something like: "5+ purchases in the last hour"
The psychology behind it: Combines the social consensus effect with implicit urgency. If 5 people bought in the last hour, the visitor thinks: "There's active demand, I better buy now before they sell out." It also validates that the event is "alive" and they're not the only one interested.
Expected impact: Recent activity indicators can increase perceived urgency and improve conversions by 8% to 12%.
Customizable fields:
- Number of purchases — Minimum purchases to show the badge (default: 5)
- Time period in hours — Time window to consider (default: 1 hour)
5. Recent Views
Similar to recent purchases, but shows how many people are viewing or have viewed the event.
Where it appears:
- Event detail page
- Event card on homepage
How it works:
- Default: If there were more than 50 views in the last hour, the badge appears
- Shows something like: "50+ people viewed this event"
- Optionally, you can show total views since the event was created
The psychology behind it: Creates perceived competition. If 50 people viewed the event in the last hour, the visitor feels they're "competing" with others for tickets. This accelerates the decision because no one wants to miss out on tickets after seeing there's so much demand.
Expected impact: "People viewing now" or "recent views" counters can increase conversions by 5% to 10%, with greater effect on events with limited availability.
Customizable fields:
- Number of views — Minimum to show the badge (default: 50)
- Time period in hours — Time window to consider (default: 1 hour)
- Show total views — Switch to alternatively display the historical total views
6. Limited Availability
Alert when few tickets remain.
Where it appears:
- Event card on homepage
- Event detail page
- Checkout (when selecting tickets)
How it works:
- Default: If 10 tickets or fewer remain, the badge appears
- Shows something like: "Only 8 tickets left!"
The psychology behind it: Uses the scarcity principle, one of the most powerful in consumer psychology. People value what is scarce more. When we see "last spots," our brain activates a sense of urgency and fear of losing the opportunity. This principle is behind the success of "limited time" offers and "last units" messaging.
Expected impact: Scarcity messages are the most effective of all social proof techniques. They can increase conversions by 15% to 35% according to multiple studies. The effect is especially strong when scarcity is real (as in events with limited capacity).
Customizable field:
- Number of remaining tickets — Threshold to show the badge (default: 10)
Combining the tools
The magic is in using several tools together. Imagine a visitor who sees:
- Notification — "j***n@gmail.com just bought a ticket" (someone is buying now)
- Purchases badge — "12 purchases in the last hour" (there's active demand)
- Views badge — "89 people viewing now" (there's competition)
- Scarcity badge — "Only 15 tickets left!" (they're going to sell out)
- #1 badge — "Bestseller" (the event is worth it)
This combination creates a compound effect: each signal reinforces the others, creating genuine urgency that accelerates the purchase decision.
Real data, real results
Guaranteed authenticity
Fanz shows 100% real data:
- Purchase notifications are from real purchases
- View counters are from real views
- Availability is the real availability
We don't inflate numbers or show fake data. Social proof works best when it's authentic, and buyers can detect when something isn't genuine.
Why authenticity matters
Studies show that when consumers detect fake social proof, trust in the brand drops dramatically. That's why Fanz only shows verifiable, real data.
Next steps
Yes, absolutely. All purchase notifications, view counters, and availability data are 100% real and in real-time. We don't inflate or fabricate data.
For privacy. We show enough information to be credible (it's a real email) but don't expose the buyer's complete personal data.
The bestselling events ranking is automatically recalculated every 7 days. This prevents one event from dominating indefinitely and allows new events to climb the rankings.
Yes. Each of the 6 tools can be enabled or disabled individually. You can use only the ones that work best for your type of events.
If the minimum threshold isn't reached (default: 5 purchases or 50 views in the last hour), the badge simply doesn't appear. We never show information that isn't real.
Not significantly. Social proof tools are optimized to load asynchronously without affecting user experience.
Typical increases range from 5% to 15% in conversions when used correctly. Impact varies by event type, traffic, and configuration. Events with high demand and limited availability tend to see the best results.
Yes. In the "Recent Views" settings, there's a switch to toggle between showing views in a time period or the historical total views since the event was created.
Because it activates the scarcity principle: we value more what might disappear. In events with real limited capacity, this effect is even more powerful because the scarcity is genuine, not artificial.
It depends on the type of events you manage. Social proof configuration applies to your entire site (all your events). If your events typically have high demand and good activity, using all tools creates a powerful effect. If you manage more exclusive or niche events, it might be better to use only some (like limited availability) to avoid overwhelming visitors. Experiment and measure results.