Why you need to earn the trust of your customers or constituents
We live in jaded times. People have become cynical because of the companies and leaders who have lied to them. Advertising is not powerless, but it no longer holds the influential sway it once did.
You probably already know that you and your company have to build your case for everything you sell, with complete transparency and reliance on third-party endorsements. During tough economic times, people are highly discerning about how they spend their money, and will gravitate to professionals, agencies, brands, products, and organizations they find trustworthy. Having a robust online presence — with images and video they can see, and content and testimonials they can read — is one of the best ways you can earn this trust.
Take steps to build the search engine optimization of your website
As people search for your company online — or keywords associated with your business or nonprofit organization — they will tend to select the top ranking search engine results, as well as companies and organizations that have many search engine results. Market researchers have also established that people place increased confidence in companies that have established a social media presence, including Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles and accounts. Therefore, taking steps to improve your company’s SEO is another important way to build trust in your business.
When you look like you care and are passionate about your business or mission, people will begin to believe in you. Fortunately, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to build online credibility. But it will take planning and effort, and if you are behind the eight ball now, you do need to get started. Here are some sure-fire ways to build credibility in your brand online.
1. Take lots of photographs and post them frequently. You know how they call Missouri the “Show Me” state? In this economy, every state is the “Show Me” state. Your inventory of online photographs must include photos of yourself and every staff member, as well as the products, and services you offer. I still see public relations agency websites without photographs. They will not fly. People need to see it to believe it. For maximum searchability, post your photographs on Facebook, Google Profiles and Maps, Yelp, and Flickr.
2. Assertively collect testimonials and reviews: Credibility in this economy is everything, and there are few more effective ways to build trust in your company than with testimonials. You need to ask your past and existing clients, customers, and vendors to post testimonials for you on LinkedIn. You may find these testimonials are easier to obtain if you begin with writing testimonials for your clients and partners.
What lends even more credibility power to the Linked In testimonials you re-publish on your website? Photographs and real names of your endorsers and reviewers. Don’t forget, you can also collect video testimonials. No endorsement is more compelling.
Reviews are different. You really should not solicit online reviews, either for yourself or for a client, such as those found on Yelp, Google, and TripAdvisor. It violates the terms of service for these platforms. However, you can encourage people to post reviews by establishing a business listing on review sites, including photographs, URL, and contact information. And once you have reviews, you can link to those reviews from your social media and websites, including the review icon, which may encourage even more reviews. And, as mentioned, you could always ask your repeat customers and regular clients for endorsements or video testimonials.
3. Produce YouTube video: 25% of search is processing through YouTube. In search results, people tend to click on links with videos more frequently than those without video - even if the video link itself is ranked lower in search results. And there is no better way to tell your story, or earn trust with your target audience, than to make your case “in person’’ Video is no longer an option; it is a requirement if you are serious about marketing your business or nonprofit organization.
Are you worried about production quality? You should strive for a decent level of production quality, yes. You should use a great camera, and proper lighting and microphones. Or, hire a video production company to produce affordable videos for you.
4. Start blogging: It seems incredible to me — that in 2010 — people who call themselves professional communicators still have not invested the time it takes to learn how to navigate and compose blog entries about their work and for their clients. If you can write a press release, you can and should be blogging. Search engines love blogs; they’re great for driving traffic back to your website. But there are other benefits. Blogs are an effective way to present your subject matter expertise, which builds trust in you and your business. They can be easily linked, shared, and fed into your social media platforms, and other people can easily share your posts on their sites. Not every blogger is lucky to receive many useful comments, but when you do receive feedback, you may find it useful.If you don’t have a blog on your LinkedIn profile right now, you are missing out on an opportunity to promote yourself and your brand.
One blogging bonus — that you don’t often hear people talking about — is that the action of formulating and shaping your thoughts into text and images, and the discipline of routinely blogging about your services, industry, and issues, will help you constantly examine and refine how you present yourself and your business, or your nonprofit’s mission, or your clients. It’s just a great mental workout, which is why I recommend it for everyone. My experience with blogging is that it has helped me become more articulate and confident in client meetings, and as a speaker.
5. Comment on popular blogs and online news articles: Search engines rely on the number of inbound links you have to your website to determine if your web site is popular and reputable enough to bump to the top pages of search engine rankings. There are two very easy and legitimate ways to create inbound links. First, link to your web site from all of your social media, YouTube videos, blog posts. Secondly, whenever you comment on blogs and online news articles about your industry, you usually have to add your name, email, and website URL. Each of those comments will link back to your site as an inbound link, and will boost your rankings. So, it pays to express your opinion, especially on popular blogs.
Don’t believe it? I just checked my Google search engine results for blog posts for the name of my company. Between my blog posts and comments, there are more than 76,000 search engine results. Do you think I could have purchased that kind of exposure? I couldn’t. It’s all the result from blogging and commenting on reputable blogs.
6. Update your web site. Your website will typically appear in the top search engine results for your company name, and if you’re fortunate and strategic, for your industry, as well. More than 80% of web users click on the first listings they find online. The kinds of changes you should be making now? Featuring your social media links, revising copy to contain keywords (words and phrases for which an organization’s customers may search for online), and adding video, photographs, and PDF files. Yes, PDF files are now searchable.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Sure, Mary, but easier said than done,” then consider creating an actionable online marketing plan, asking for help, if needed. If I can do it, so can you.
Questions? Comments?
What is your experience with earning the trust of your customers? How do you think the economy affects people’s ability to develop trust in your brand? Feel free to share your insights in the comments (remember how good it will be for your SEO!)
