How Should New Businesses Build Trust on Social Media?
Brands from all over the world are now turning to social media to build their online presence. Social media has provided a level ground for businesses of all shapes and sizes to advertise and communicate with their target audience directly. Virtually everyone is on social media now, and brands are leveraging this fact through excessive advertising on the platform.
In the middle of it all, the question of trust is getting lost somewhere in the haystack. Think about it: everyone is advertising, everyone is looking to build an online presence; there is brutal competition but where is the trust factor? Business transactions have always happened on the basis of trust. A customer will only stick to a brand if they trust it.
When everyone is advertising on social media using some means or another, building trust is of the essence. That is what will separate your brand from your competition. Trust is what will give you that edge. There is a caveat though: just like in human relationships, building a factor of trust in your target audience will be a long and difficult process. It will require a lot of effort from your side.
If you are willing to put in that effort, then follow these steps that will help your new business build trust on social media
1. Do not self-promote
Yes, you read it right! Conventional self-promotion doesn’t work on social media, and it is the most common mistake new businesses make. You cannot explicitly tell your audience to buy your products and services. Your audience is not on social media to buy things. Social media is a platform for sharing thoughts and ideas, not for marketing your business. If you keep talking about how good your products are, no one will listen to you. And your brand’s trust value will go down the drain in a jiffy.
Instead of explicitly advertising your business, use other unconventional ways to build brand awareness. Ask yourself, “How can I add value to my target audience using social media?” The answer is anything but self-promotion. Post original, quality content that with the aim to add value to your customer’s life. Ensure that the content you post goes with your brand’s identity. Share knowledge and information about your industry and its market. All in all, share engaging, informative content that is consistent with your brand’s voice.
This is how your audience will learn to take you seriously, instead of deeming you like the rest of the spammers who self-promote their brands.
2. Be responsive
Many large and small businesses are using social media to interact with their target audience on a daily basis. For growing a business’s scope, customer engagement and interaction is indispensable. Social media renders you the platform to interact with your target audience. Facebook even has an option that tells users how responsive a particular page is. Check out the Facebook pages of big brands, and you will see that they respond to their target customers within a minute.
Reaching that level of responsiveness should be your target. Your customers will always have queries and complaints about your products/services. It is your responsibility to settle those queries in a quick and effective manner. Your responsiveness will go a long way in establishing trust.
3. Create a social image
Brands who have a strong social image seem to do better on social media than brands who don’t. And isn’t it obvious? The phrase social media starts with the word ‘social.’ This means that you have to create an image that shows that your brand can positively impact society and has a responsibility towards it.
Create social media campaigns that showcase your brand’s social conscience. Post your thoughts on the recent developments in society and what you can do about it. Your image should be of a brand that thinks beyond its own profit and loss. If you keep doing this consistently, it will create a deep sense of trust in your target audience’s minds.
Conclusion on Learning to Build Trust on Social Media
Social media marketing can be a tricky job. One wrong move and you will find yourself in the dusty pile of social media spammers. Generating trust in your audience can be all the more difficult but not entirely impossible. If you keep the above-mentioned points in mind and keep following them consistently, I can assure you that you will see desirable results in the long-run.
Image: Photospin
Author Bio:
Anthony Bergs is a project manager at Writers Per Hour. He always keeps an eye on the marketing sector to implement the best innovations into the strategies that he builds. He’s always open for new connections and partnerships.
