How to Leverage Content to Build Brand Trustworthiness

Infographic Vectors by Vecteezy

by Dan Matthews, Business Marketing Specialist, Guest Contributor

Marketers are constantly talking about content these days. And why not? In the modern marketing world, content is king. It can help with your online search engine rankings, e-commerce sales, and customer service. It can also be a key factor in developing a keen sense of trust between your company and its customers. 

Often things like developing quality products, properly securing data, and putting minds at ease through responsible retention and destruction of business documents are touted as ways you build customer loyalty.

---

---

However, your content itself provides another excellent opportunity to build an incredible level of confidence in your brand and what it brings to the table. But just because content can do this, doesn’t mean that it will do so automatically. Here are a few of the key ways that you can leverage your content in order to build brand trustworthiness.

Use Content to Foster Authority
Authority is one of the critical parts of creating a positive perception of how your customers view you. Exuding authority creates an important mental trigger that compels people to follow your brand. When you create content online, it’s important that you do so with an eye towards fostering the authority that your customers perceive in your brand. You can do this by:

• Demonstrating your superior knowledge within your niche (more on that below).
• Finding authorities within your niche who are willing to endorse and share your content.
• Finding authorities within your niche who will author or co-author content on your site.
• Using real images and infographics that don’t come across as stock photos.
• Always emphasizing quality over quantity.

Use Content to Demonstrate Knowledge
Demonstrating that you understand your particular industry is one of the best ways to get the most out of the content you create. There’s nothing more reassuring to customers than feeling like they’re communicating with someone who genuinely understands their questions, problems, or interests, in general. You can demonstrate your knowledge by:

• Showcasing important information regarding your niche topic (e.g. if you’re a soccer blog, talk about the nuances of the FIFA organization or some other deep cut, related topic).
• Personalizing things by using real-life stories from yourself and your customers whenever possible.
• Always trying to source your claims.
• Creating genuinely helpful resources that answer customer questions.

However you choose to go about it, there are few more effective ways to build a rapport with customers than by showing a solid grasp of knowledge within your industry.

Use Content to Be Unique
Research indicates that customers feel more positive about a company when they come into contact with their custom content. The key word there is “custom.” If your content simply regurgitates the same, bland information that customers have seen on a dozen other sites, they’re much less likely to feel that sense of positivity.

In other words, don’t be lured into simply pumping out easy-to-create content that doesn’t actually help anyone. For instance, it’s easy for a coffee blog to pump out articles about various flavors of coffee, how to use a French press, where the best coffee shops are in Seattle, and so on. However, if they answer more nuanced questions like where coffee beans come from, how a roaster works, and what the difference is between Columbian and Kenyan coffee, they’re much more likely to actually provide meaningful, valuable information for their readers. 

Use Content to Be Consistent
Content designed to build trust must be consistent. It’s as simple as that. If you’re going to create content as part of your marketing strategy, make sure to strive to keep it consistent across all online marketing platforms. Don’t be goofy on your Facebook profile and then sober and serious on your actual company blog. Several of the top things you should keep consist within your content include:

• The format of your information.
• The voice of your brand.
• The tone and style of your writing.
• The reading level and complexity of your text.
• The graphics you use throughout your site and social channels.

Use Content to Talk on Their Level
Authority and knowledge do not equate to superiority. It’s important that you avoid a high-and-mighty attitude as you go about presenting your authoritative, knowledgeable content. Demonstrate to customers that you’re genuinely interested in helping them. Communicate a sense of camaraderie and talk like you’re right there with them in the trenches. A huge element of pulling this off successfully is striving to stay customer-centric in your content. Every social post, every article, every response to a question should be written with the customer’s thoughts and needs in mind.

Use Content to Be Honest
After multiple decades of technology perpetually upending the marketing world, there’s one thing that continues to hold true: honesty is still the best policy. Throughout every stage of content creation, always strive to maintain a high degree of honesty and respect throughout your business dealings. 

When you create an article, only include content that is thoroughly researched and that you truly believe in. Don’t create clickbait titles or misleading meta descriptions, either. While they can (and should) be cleverly crafted, ensure that each title and summary genuinely reflects the content that follows. When you connect on social channels, feel free to share your content with followers, but also make sure to follow up with a policy of quick and thorough responsiveness. Practice active listening and always be willing to interact with customers about your content. 

Good customer service is always a crucial element in retaining your customers for the long term. Remember, it costs five times as much to attract new customers as it does to keep your existing ones. Investing in honest, upfront practices regarding your content and the activities surrounding it (e.g. social media, emails, and other interactions that promote your content) can make a huge difference in retaining those existing customers. 

Leveraging Content for Success
To summarize, the best ways to use your content for success include:

• Using content to foster perceived authority from customers.
• Using content to demonstrate knowledge of your niche or industry.
• Using content to be unique with your message.
• Using content to be consistent with your format and delivery.
• Using content to communicate on the customer’s level.

Harnessing these tactics within your content strategy is an excellent way to develop a deep and genuine (not to mention well-deserved) sense of trust within any customer base.

Author bio:

Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, finance, marketing, and culture.

---