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Buying something is a leap of faith: you are investing your hard-earned money in the hopes of getting what you want out of it. Trust that the brand will deliver on its promises and that your money will be spent in a way that you approve of. So, how do you go about establishing that crucial trust? There are numerous ways to do so, but none is more effective than — you guessed it — social media.
Trust-Building Opportunities
Every engagement in any connection, whether it is between people or between people and brands, provides a new opportunity to strengthen or weaken trust. Because brands interact with their customers in so many various ways, there are many potential paths that might lead to increased trust. Some of these options include:
- The actual product: When a product or service performs as expected, it builds trust. If, on the other hand, it falls short of the consumer’s expectations, they will be less likely to trust you.
- Customer service: Customer service is really important. Excellent customer service makes customers feel safe and secure, allowing them to more trust the company. Poor customer service makes customers feel as if the company isn’t on their side, eroding trust.
- Advertising and marketing: These are two different things. Advertisements and marketing materials are meant to persuade customers to buy your product, but they must do it truthfully. In the short term, misleading marketing may persuade customers, but in the long run, it will build distrust.
- Genuine one-on-one interactions: Because trust is a human emotion, it’s only natural that speaking with another human gives a great trust-building opportunity. In-person events, customer phone conversations, and in-store interactions can all aid in the development of trust.
- Actions taken in public. What a brand does in public reveals a lot about who it is. Trust is bolstered when their public activities match who they say they are. Taking contradictory activities raises suspicion.
- Social media: We’ve arrived at the gold mine. One of the most significant aspects of trust-building is social media. Fortunately, it’s also an area that’s always open and where businesses of all sizes can begin creating and strengthening trust right away.
Why is Social Media so Effective at Building Trust?
For several reasons, social media is the gold mine of trust-building. For starters, it gives a platform for direct communication with others. It’s not a marketing blast sent to everyone who has ever signed up for your email list, nor is it a podcast commercial heard by who knows who. You can see who your fans are on social media and speak to them in a setting where they can directly answer you. In certain ways, it is a scaled-up version of the real-time human-to-human interaction you get on customer calls or at live events. Second, your target audience is on social media. Regardless of your target market’s demographics, there’s a good chance they’re on social media. Their chosen platform may differ (for example, older audiences may prefer Facebook while younger viewers may choose TikTok), but social media is a part of their lives. Both of these indicators indicate that you have a large pool of trust at your disposal that your brand may tap into. All you have to do now is make sure you do it correctly.
Building Brand Trust via Social Media
Building brand trust through social media isn’t difficult, but it does require some effort and consideration. Follow these seven criteria to ensure that you’re effectively exploiting your social media presence to develop trust with your audience:
Distribute useful information. Obviously, you want to make a profit from your product or service. People will not trust — or listen to — you if you are constantly selling to them. Instead, publish relevant, valuable material that you know your target audience would find interesting.For example, if you’re a skincare company, offer an infographic on how to use skincare items in the best sequence; if you’re a bakery, share fantastic quotes from famous bakers; share amusing recipes and suggestions, and so on. You develop trust in two ways by sharing actual content: both through strengthening the brand-consumer relationship and by demonstrating that you are an expert in your field. At least 80% of your material should be about your product or service, and 20% should be about selling it.Participate in the discussion. Putting something out on social media and then ignoring the response is a certain way to damage trust. This demonstrates that you are unconcerned about what your audience thinks, which is a huge source of distrust. Make careful to not only respond to (both favourable and bad!) comments but also to encourage them by asking questions. Because these interactions typically happen fast and in real-time, it’s critical to have someone on your team continuously watching and responding to your social media accounts.Use good feedback to your advantage. Consumers today are naturally suspicious of businesses, and many rely on online evaluations to develop their opinions. This is understandable: the brand has the interest to tell you how fantastic their product is, whereas the critic does not. Of course, you can’t force people to write favourable reviews, but you may encourage them to do so. Some social media networks, for example, Facebook, has a built-in review tool, but you may also highlight positive reviews on other social media platforms. For example, you can ask individuals to submit screenshots of their positive reviews on Twitter or Instagram stories, or you can acquire permission to share their positive reviews on your account (through a simple request or a more planned campaign).
Conclusion
Brand trust used to be a one-way street: you projected a reliable image in your advertising and marketing and hoped for the best. Consumers today require more persuasion to trust brands. Thankfully, social media provides the ideal venue for gaining the trust of intelligent customers. It may necessitate a greater amount of work.