We’re experiencing an era where the term “fake news” can quickly discredit a story or the organization sharing the story.
Don’t think that fakeness and mistrust are solely focused on news organizations.
Brand communications can be swept up into the current skeptical maelstrom.
Building trust into your marketing efforts is more important than it’s ever been.
Your business communicates in an arena of online reviews and social commentary. A bad client experience can make the rounds quickly, leaving you with months of reputation repair efforts.
If you’re in business, chances are, a bad online review will happen to you. However, you’re empowered to preemptively lessen the damage an errant experience can have on your business.
All it takes is building trust with your target market and making them your advocates. Your efforts to build trust today can overwhelm negative experiences tomorrow.
How do you build ongoing trust with your marketing? Incorporate the following practices into your marketing strategy.
Know Your Target Market
Understand who you’re communicating with. Your target market wants to work with businesses that get them. This means understanding how they use specific terms and phrases, where and how they like to be communicated with and what problems they need solutions for.
When you speak their language and provide solutions they really desire, you’re taking an important step to make sure they hear that you understand them and their needs.
Once they know you know them—they’re more apt to trust the solution you provide to them.
Foster Social Proof
Nearly 90% of consumers trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations.
Your business should make garnering positive reviews from happy customers a high priority in your marketing efforts. Check out our article on how to encourage online reviews.
Additionally, create ads, videos and blog posts that tell your customer stories. Share what problems your customer came to you with and how you went about solving it.
Encourage Content Creation from Your Customers
76% of consumers find content posted by fellow consumers to be more trustworthy than brand content. Facebook shares your customer’s posts more than posts on your business page. So, start encouraging your best customers to share their experiences with you.
If you’re a restaurant, encourage selfies and food pics.
A landscape company can create a contest for a discounted service encouraging consumers to take pictures of their yard and posting it with a hashtag branded phrase.
Building trust is an ongoing effort. It’s important to be consistent and authentic in your messaging. When your target market gets to know you and your message, they’ll more than likely head your way when they have a need for your product or service.
As a marketing virtual assistant, we can help you uncover your target audience and start building trust-oriented content. Give us a call at (904) 429-4588 and let’s see how we can help you grow your business.