How to gain the trust of your customers with Content Marketing

If you’re like me, before you make any online purchases, you spend time reading customer reviews and even reading product reviews on other sites. We need, as consumers, to be reassured about the choice we will make. Will the product really match the description? Will it be delivered on time, how much is the after-sales service worth, do I have the right to make mistakes, to change my mind? Will the seller keep all his promises? As a customer, can I place my trust?

Integrity and honesty are the two pillars of trust that consumers will place in your business. More than well-intentioned words and formulas on the home page of your website, it is an attitude at all times, a set of values ​​that you must communicate to your customers and potential customers. You can’t just advertise your values, you have to put them into practice!

People who trust you will have a harder time choosing another company, simply to minimize risk-taking. Trust makes the consumer a little less attentive to the price (this however does not allow it to skyrocket).

Content Marketing to the rescue of customer trust

Content marketing is an effective way to demonstrate your values ​​and gain the trust of your customers. But always keep in mind that on the internet the traces are indelible. If you promote your honesty on your blog and social media, consumers will know how to take these posts back when they feel cheated. So be as transparent as possible and let your communication reflect who you really are.

1 – Highlight your satisfied customers

To gain the trust of your potential customers, your customers’ words will always be superior to yours. Word of mouth still represents one of the most important vectors of trust today. Make sure the customer experience you provide is good, make the necessary changes when your customers report problems to you, and collect positive feedback.

They may appear at the bottom of your sales pages but may also punctuate some of your blog posts. Comments are a source of potentially positive content that most sites don’t know what to do with.. Recycle them. The same goes for articles that talk about you and your products, give them visibility on your site.

Encourage reviews, product tests and unboxing videos by sharing them. I often say that Content Marketing is not about trying to talk about yourself, but simply about answering your customers’ questions. This will be the case if you reassure them about the experience they will have with you.

To go further: How to build a strong brand

2 – Use influencers

Always with the idea that it is better for others to talk about you, influencer marketing represents an opportunity to be seized. Consumers tend to place their trust in industry authorities and influencers, even if they don’t always realize it.

When a personality, a recognized influencer, interacts with a brand, they gain credibility among their audience. You still have to choose the right person: who is known enough for this association to be fruitful, who is not so well known as to ruin your brand and, finally, who is relevant to your business sector or the tone of your communication.

A share on social networks from an influential person will resonate as a boost of trust in your content or brand. It’s a quick way to “earn stripes” with Internet users. However, influencer marketing is a long-term strategy. The ideal is to build a relationship as quickly as possible with a few influencers active on social networks. To do this, you can:

• Like, share or comment their social media posts
• Start a conversation via comment or private message. I recommend this practice over sending an email. Influencers receive a lot of solicitation emails from brands, so get noticed, literally. Don’t interact like a brand, but instead try to engage in real discussion, be less conventional and take an interest in their work instead of talking about yourself first. You can ask for advice, react to the influencer’s content, or congratulate him on his work to start the discussion.
• Events (conferences, fairs, etc.) are also an opportunity to meet them live. Also in this case, avoid the excessively conventional approach, be relaxed to dedicate yourself to a pleasant moment.
• Another way to get his attention is mention in your content and notify them when your article is published. So send him an email, and if you behave, this should be the start of a courteous and friendly relationship. Furthermore, there is a good chance that he will share the article in which you mention him on social networks to his entire audience.
• You can also ask him to intervene in your article. Ask him if he has an idea in mind, something special to share about the topic you’re writing about.

Obviously you will never get a 100% return. I personally don’t respond to all requests, there are many and sometimes I don’t have time.

To go further: How to find and identify influencers?

3 – Be honest

This should have been my first point! In fact, don’t try to communicate something you are not, the truth always reaches you sooner or later. It is not because the Coca Cola label or the Nutella or Total logo become green that these companies suddenly become champions of environmental protection.

You want to gain the trust of your customers and potential customers, do everything to deserve it. This also affects your content. If your article titles look so attractive that your readers can’t help but click but are disappointed by their disinterest or the fact that the article is far from the advertised topic, you will quickly lose your readers.

Your content must live up to your title, your product must live up to what you advertise in your ads, and your customers’ experience must live up to their expectations.

4 – Share your story

Don’t just give advice, suggestions, much less talk about your product or your business. Personalize your content with anecdotes from your experience. This has the effect of humanizing your brand, bringing consumers closer to it. Also add weight to what you say. It’s no longer just a lot of knowledge thrown into an article, it’s the fruit of an experience. You become more credible.

For example, I can tell you about social networks and content marketing because I have been using them for several years and not only am I convinced that it works, but I experience it every day. I live thanks to this, my business is partly based on these components of web marketing.

This helps show your audience that you are a real person, with similar emotions, goals, desires, and problems. They can connect with you, through your shared values.

However, don’t make anything up! Don’t embellish your story. The art of storytelling is to tell a story, not stories! If you produce, manipulate, to make yourself or your business more interesting or your content more credible, at some point you will miss your goal. Some do and last, but their doom still looms over their heads.

If you don’t feel legitimate, if you think you have no experience, it’s not too late to build your experience.

5 – Have empathy for your audience

Be social! Show interest in people who also show interest in your business. We appreciate a brand even more when it shows empathy towards its fans. Answer questions, thank those who comment, and be on the lookout for ideas that come back from your audience. Brands that operate this way generate quality engagement and significant likeability and trust.

Whether you do it with humor, as the Innocent brand knows how to do, or more seriously, because that’s what your business sector requires, your social media team must ensure a connection with your customers, prospects and onlookers.

In fact, it’s a safe bet that you have a lot in common with your potential customers: perhaps you have common interests, hobbies and concerns. If this is a problem, you can try to solve it for your customers. They will realize that you have faced the same challenges and you will be able to encourage them to follow in your footsteps. If it’s something positive, you can encourage people to share their stories to drive engagement. In both cases, your potential customers will realize that behind your business there is someone who listens to them and understands them.

Take every opportunity to bond, develop the relationship and if you make promises, keep them!

To go further : Manage your image on social networks

Conclusion

Trust is never acquired forever. One misstep, one bad buzz, one crisis and the entire building built over many years collapses in a few moments. So it’s constant work.

Every article written, every video produced, every comment from your customers, every publication on social networks represents a further effort to gain the trust of your visitors.

Of course there are other elements to take into consideration:

• your graphic card that will be able to project you from the rank of amateur to that of professional
• the ergonomics of your site
• the payment methods taken into consideration
• the care taken with spelling and grammar
• customer experience,…

Content marketing is a great way to attract leads but also to work on your brand image. Above all, be sincere and honest! It’s easier to forgive a mistake than a lie! This reveals a completely different state of mind.