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How are you overcoming the trust barrier customers have put up around social media branding efforts?
Emarketer.com recently published a survey on sources people trust in social media. There are lots a interesting nuggets here, but the thing that stands out most to me is how very little trust people have for any content coming from companies - be it blog posts, Facebook posts, comments in online communities, etc. For example, only 25% trust information in corporate Twitter streams.With so little trust being given by consumers, how are you using social tools to overcome the trust barrier customers and prospects have built?
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4 Answers
I think trust is built over time and the effort to maintain a working relationship with said customer or client. If you share more with me then pitch me I would be more likely to act on your pitches when I am in need of your product or service. That's why I continue to follow folks like Darren Rowse of @problogger, Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan and Anita Campbell of @smallbiztrends. They all do more sharing then pitching or selling. One corporation that I have been following recently that really gets all of this and is sharing so much great info you just want to learn more of what they do is Cree Inc. @cree Cree is a LED light manufacturing company out of Durham NC. They teach and share more on how we all can take part in conserving energy. Lowing the heat that is produced in our homes and offices so we can lower our electric bills and save even more money. If more corporations took lessons from companies like Cree, I think we would trust them more.
When customers take the time to respond to a post they need to feel heard. The person posting the information should interact back with them in a very timely manner with a response that takes their comments into consideration. If you interact with your readers, which is hopefully your target market, they become more trustful and willing to spread your information.
Brent, you've really touched on a critical business issue. From what I've read and experienced, we have to be careful with social media, it can be a slippery slope. Consumers aren't stupid and companies unfortunately can be quite transparent.
I use social media to educate consumers and build relationships. During the last several months, I've poured over study after study relating to trust and business. What I learned was quite astonishing. Customers will trust testimonials from other customers or opinions of other customers when making a purchasing decision. If your goal is to try and sell products and services using social media, you'll come up against a brick wall, if your goal is to educate consumers and build a brand relationship, you'll be able to transition to the sale with much greater ease.
"Employee trust levels and corporate performance are closely linked... the rate of 3-year total returns to shareholders is almost 3X higher at companies with high trust levels than at companies with low trust levels." - Watson Wyatt WorkUSA Survey
Reasons for Failed Sales -
54% - No trust
12% - No need
11% - No desire to change
10% - No urgency
7% - No budget
6% - Other reasons
I think the best way to do this from a small business perspective is to remember that those following our tweets are not there for a sales pitch. They are following us because we are providing them useful tips, tricks, and insights into how they can do business better. While we do that we need to also remember that what we put out for our followers and friends should be accurate and timely. We aren't going to win trust with stale information and trite comments.
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