Building Trust Online – The Ultimate Challenge

Apparently, it’s not at all uncommon for contemporary Americans to have trust issues these days. (Pew Research) Whether we distrust each other, our government, or corporations, trust is on the decline. This makes building trust online difficult at best, and always challenging.

And, as with any relationship, once trust is lost – it’s likely gone forever. So, be careful. Not only is building trust with prospects difficult in the world of internet marketing, but keeping their trust is just as challenging.

The internet is an impersonal environment for shopping (or most anything else). It cares not for your needs and wants, or for those of potential clients. It simply sits there, always waiting and seeming omnipotent when, without our active participation, it’s impotent.

What does this mean for the typical online marketer? It means that you must actively seek the trust of visitors to your business website. You must create valuable content for them and build your reputation as an expert. You must be active on social media. You must show empathy and understanding of their pain points. You must actively listen and communicate, responding to comments and questions in a timely fashion.

You know, just like a face-to-face relationship!

Now, with some help from an article titled 16 Effective Ways Business Can Build Trust Online at Forbes (a very trustworthy place), we’d like to share a few of the ideas for building trust online – and keeping it.

Building and Keeping Trust Online

“Human beings already have a hard time trusting people they can't see. An online space can therefore be the worst possible place for a professional to try to build consumers' trust.”

• Show You Really Understand Your Audience – Demonstrate that you really do understand your audience, their challenges, hopes, fears and what they put up with. And then be direct and honest about why that matters to you, why they matter to you, and what makes you and your team stay in the game every day to make a difference for your audience, to help them achieve their dreams. That clarity, truth and focus will build trust.

• Speak Your Voice – Allow your voice of truth to shine; don't hide behind an avatar of what you think people would like of you. Be you. Customers want to know that they are speaking to a human being with real emotions and a real voice. Our unique voice draws people who are like us. Think about why we go back to a particular shop — it's because in that place we were conversed with in a way that we enjoy.

• Be Consistent and Follow Through – Be consistent, take responsibility, and follow through! If you want to build trust online, you must “show up” consistently. Have a clear point of view and/or position and don't appear scattered. When you receive negative feedback, take responsibility and acknowledge issues or shortcomings. Vow to do better, then follow through and improve.

• Be Transparent and Available – Things that build trust offline will work online, too. Be yourself; most people can sense phony. Be transparent. Ironically, if you are hiding something, it will show. Be honest and avoid claims you cannot back up. Be available in other ways than just online, be accessible and approachable. Be a raving fan of your customers. They are much more likely to trust you if YOU cheer for THEM!

• Create A Sense of Intimacy – It's all about your relevance. Use the time to create a sense of intimacy, showcasing your credibility and insight into their issues. Your value and ability to deliver will invite at least a follow-up conversation.

• Live Out Your Brand Promises – Be trustworthy. From top leadership to the front line, be whom you claim to be. Live out your brand promises, day in, day out, even when it's challenging. Do the right things. Online and offline, your customers will be sure to share when you deserve trust, and when you fail to deserve their confidence.

• Interact on Social Media – Interact more with customers online. We often forget the social part of social media. Trust is built in small actions over time, and each online interaction is an opportunity to build (or destroy) trust.

The challenge for building trust online is obvious: not only establishing your reputation but living up to it. It’s just that simple, and just that difficult.

With more than 25 years of experience in the trade, Ted can offer you valuable reputation management and trust-building tips as your business consultant. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

Reputation Management Tips - Use Other’s Bad Ideas to Build Yours

As participation in online marketing continues to grow, and as more people declare themselves “experts” to their audience, bad ideas, misconceptions, and just plain stinkin’ thinkin’ proliferate. While such ill-conceived thinking can be problematic for consumers, these poorly conceived and misunderstood areas can be a great opportunity for you to enhance your reputation management techniques – as long as those bad ideas are not yours!

When you realize that the majority of self-proclaimed “experts” online deal in little more than clichés, platitudes, and simplistic solutions, the potential for making a real difference in the lives of your audience will easily double or triple.

In other words, by debunking popular misconceptions, errors in judgment, and poorly explained answers to common questions, you will build your reputation as an expert in your field. And, as your reputation grows, so will your audience, your subscriber list, your list of leads, and your conversions!

Build and Protect Your Online Reputation

In many ways, your online reputation is your greatest asset. In fact, it represents the unified mental construct everyone who “meets” you online shares about you; a mental image of who you are and what you have to offer.

Of course, the clearer that image is, the stronger their perception of you and the more valuable you become to them.

This makes building, protecting, and managing your online reputation of paramount importance for both the short- and long-term success of your business.

According to an article at Entrepreneur.com, there are threes areas of focus for creating a positive online presence – and keeping it intact:

• Create great content – The paradoxical nature of content creation as it relates to online marketing is that, while you’re creating content with the hope that it will eventually help convert, the best content is rarely created with that in mind. Keep in mind that consumers today are pretty savvy and expect a certain level of effort to be put into any content they consume, especially if it’s designed to turn them into paying customers.

• Social media presence – It’s hard, if not impossible, for your audience to care about your social media accounts if you’re not using them. So, if you want to turn your business into an online authority, you’ll need to be ahead of your competition when it comes to social. That means having a consistent posting schedule, using a variety of different social media platforms and, most importantly, actually engaging with your audience.

• Testimonials, reviews, and perceptions – Known as “social proof”, what others think of you will make a huge impression on your audience and potential clients. Digital word of mouth is one of the most persuasive forms of marketing to the modern consumer, and it tends to be a massive aspect of the decision-making process for the average person because people trust other people. And, if an unbiased third party tells someone your business is not to be trusted, then you’d better believe people are going to have some reservations. Then again, a few positive reviews can lead to increased engagement (at worst) and inspire more conversions (at best).

Ultimately, the key is understanding how to be successful in leveraging the tools and techniques of reputation management to effectively build your online reputation, enabling you to meet your business goals.

With more than 25 years of experience in the trade, Ted can offer you valuable reputation management tips as your business consultant. Simply… Contact TD Fall today.

How to Use Bad Ideas to Build Your Online Reputation

As participation in internet marketing continues to grow, and as more people declare themselves “experts” to their audience, bad ideas, misconceptions, and just plain stinkin’ thinkin’ proliferate. While such ill-conceived thinking can be problematic for consumers, these poorly conceived and misunderstood areas can be a great opportunity for you to build your online reputation – as long as the bad ideas are not yours!

In other words, by debunking popular misconceptions, errors in judgment, and poorly explained answers to common questions, you will build your reputation as an expert in your field. And, as your reputation grows, so will your audience, your subscriber list, your list of leads, and your conversions!

In many ways, your online reputation is your greatest asset. In fact, it literally represents the unified cerebral construct everyone who “meets” you online shares about you; a mental image of who you are and what you have to offer.

Of course, the clearer that image is, the stronger their perception of you and the more valuable you become to them.

This makes building and protecting your online reputation of paramount importance for both the short- and long-term success of your business.

Build and Protect Your Reputation Online

According to an article at Entrepreneur.com, there are three areas of focus for creating a positive online presence – and keeping it intact:

• Create great content – The paradoxical nature of content creation as it relates to online marketing is that, while you’re creating content with the hope that it will eventually help convert, the best content is rarely created with that in mind. Consumers today are pretty savvy and expect a certain level of effort to be put into any content they consume, especially if it’s designed to turn them into paying customers.

• Social media presence – It’s hard, if not impossible, for your audience to care about your social media accounts if you’re not using them. So, if you want to turn your business into an online authority, you’ll need to be ahead of your competition when it comes to social. That means having a consistent posting schedule, using a variety of different social media platforms, and, most importantly, actually engaging with your audience (i.e., responding to their comments and questions).

• Testimonials, reviews, and perceptions – Known as “social proof”, what others think of you will make a huge impression on your audience and potential clients. Digital word of mouth is one of the most persuasive forms of marketing to the modern consumer, and it tends to be a massive aspect of the decision-making process for the average person because people trust other people. If an unbiased third party tells someone your business is not to be trusted, then you’d better believe people are going to have some reservations. Then again, a few positive reviews can lead to increased engagement (at worst) and inspire more conversions (at best).

Ultimately, the key is understanding how to be successful in leveraging the tools and techniques of reputation management to effectively build your online reputation, enabling you to meet your goals.

If you're ready to work with a professional consultant who can help you build your online reputation, feel free to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.