How important is it to build credibility and trust for your business? It is absolutely essential. Content marketing is how you, as a business owner, blogger, or service provider, capture the respect of your audience and engage them so as to persuasively direct them to visit your site, buy your product and/or use your service. Without the perception of integrity in your marketing approach, nobody will trust you enough to take a chance on buying what it is you are selling. So what are some ways that you can use content marketing to build up trust in your business?
Blogging
Whether you’re offering custom web design, premium SEO services, lead generation, or any other product or service, you can and will benefit from blogging. Uploading a consistent stream of original and relevant content will help you strengthen and solidify the relationship between you and your customers.
Research shows that businesses that blog actively experience about 126% greater lead generation than those who do not. Why is that? Traditional marketing seeks to get a person to buy, but the choice to purchase something usually occurs only if the individual trusts the brand. When you blog and demonstrate your knowledge of an area relevant to your business that your potential customers care about, potential customers feel comfortable becoming actual customers because they feel comfortable with you…specifically with your knowledge and expertise.
So for instance, I might be looking for sales tips. You may have a book on sales you are selling. If I Google “books on sales” the list is endless, and it is not likely I am going to by yours. If, on the other hand, I happen to be on a website I trust and see a guest blog from you titled “The 5 Keys to Being a Master Salesman” and I learn something useful from it, the odds of my clicking the link that takes me to your website and buying your book just went up astronomically. This is the currency of credibility.
Vlogging
Video Blogging, or Vlogging, is another great content marketing tool, particularly if your area of expertise is one in which it is more effective to physically demonstrate something to your audience than it is too simply write about it. But whether you have a food service and want to make cooking videos to show your audience fun new recipes that will make them want to order from you, or if you are a contractor who wants to make short videos showing people how to patch a hole in the wall and other minor repairs to get them to feel comfortable hiring you for bigger jobs, seeing you in action demonstrating your knowledge and expertise will drive people to looking into your service.
Makes sense, right? For instance, if I type in “Arts and Crafts stores” and I just happen to see “Ana’s Arts and Crafts” on a search, alongside a dozen other stores selling similar products, I’m as likely to buy from one of the others as from Ana. But if I happen to see a Youtube video with Ana titled “5 Awesome DIY Presents You Can Make with Your Kids before Mother’s Day” and I learn something useful, then my choice is clear. I trust Ana, and I’m going to buy her product. I liked her video, I may have commented it, I may have shared it for friends to see; I have a relationship with Ana, and she has credibility with me.
Product Reviews and Other Ideas
Whether your Vlogging, Blogging, Podcasting, or doing any other type of content marketing, there are other approaches you can take in terms of the type of content you can create (in whatever format). If you are a chef, a contractor, or a mechanic, you may not be able to do demonstration videos all the time. But you can do product reviews that will be useful and fun for your prospects to watch and read. Let them know how some new organic butter actually tastes to cook with. Tell them which types of gas help their engines perform the best and which ones they ought to stay away from.
Also, interviews with other people in your field or related industries are a great way to cross promote businesses or brands while giving people useful information. The bottom line is that there are many things you can do. Content marketing is not just the way of the future, it’s the way of the present. The more you can build trust and credibility with your own content marketing the more of an impact you will make in your industry, and the more of a success you will be!