Establishing Trust With Your Social Media Audience | Social Joey - Social Joey's Social Media Marketing Blog

We’ve recently talked about how the consumer-brand relationship is similar to a “relationship-relationship”—the phases of single, it’s complicated, and dating apply more to social media marketing than you might think!

We’re not dating gurus by any means, but that got us thinking about the inner workings of how brands and consumers grow to become attached. Consumers love their favorite brands—they advertise for them just by talking about their favorite products, and you can find them engaging with nearly every single social post.

So how do brands build up the “in a relationship” stage from casual fan to passionate follower? We believe that it’s all about trust. While establishing trust with an audience takes time and connection, it will totally pay off by increasing customer loyalty and attracting followers who are crazy about your brand.

By creating a space filled with trust and fostering the brand-fan connection, any business can take their casual “likers” and turn them into faithful followers! Here are some tips for establishing trust with your social audience:

Know Who They Are

We all know how difficult it is to make friends as an adult. Getting to know someone is vulnerable and awkward, and it’s really hard to connect with someone that you don’t really know. That’s why knowing your audience is integral to connecting with them on a meaningful level—and thankfully, social media takes that vulnerable and awkward worry away!

Understanding your audience’s demographics, pain points and needs will help you connect with them in a personal way. Imploring methods such as buyer personas, social listening, and even requesting direct feedback from previous customers will give you all the info you need to make a positive impact on their lives.

Keep It Authentic

In a world where brands are constantly vying for the coveted attention of potential buyers, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd—meaning authenticity is key. Simple tweaks like writing in the first person, using a casual tone in your content and communicating with your audience in a personable and informal way will go far in creating an authentic vibe.

While basic grammar rules, sentence syntax, and spelling are still vital, don’t be afraid to “let your hair down” and take a more casual tone! By communicating with your audience where they are, you’ll show them that your brand is different from the rest.

Be Consistent

There’s plenty of memes out there surrounding the topic of your romantic partner randomly disappearing, and brands can fall into that trap, too! As you foster a relationship with your readers, they’re going to want to know when they can expect to hear from you.

Whether you’re just updating the company Facebook status on the same day each week or you’ve committed to a twice-a-month blog publishing routine, make sure to create a content release schedule and stick to it to give your audience the consistency they crave.

Offer a Guarantee

This might seem scary, but hear us out. How often have you ordered a piece of clothing you were unsure about because the business offered free returns? Or how many times have you chosen to spend a bit more on an authentic item over its knockoff counterpart because it had a lifetime warranty? Now more than ever, consumers are concerned with quality and value—meaning most people would rather pay a little more or take a chance on a new product if the barrier to obtain it seems a bit less risky.

While not every company can swing a lifetime warranty or a full-service guarantee, there are smaller ways that you can show your business stands by your product. Endorsements from your own staff, showcasing positive reviews and testimonials or simply offering hassle-free returns or exchanges will show consumers that they’re dealing with a brand they can trust.

Give Things Away

And we don’t mean like contests or raffles (though those can be fun, too!). The thought of giving away your star product might seem like a lot, but there are other freebies your brand can offer that can build the relationship just as much. Creating industry guides, informative articles or presentation downloads that are applicable to your specific niche will distinguish the brand as an industry leader and show customers they can look your way to solve their problems.

Shift The Focus

You wouldn’t want to talk to someone if you felt like they only chatted when they needed something, and consumers don’t want that on social, either. For any business in any industry, continued sales and a growing profit margin is the ultimate goal. However, the way to go about getting those sales changes when it comes to a social strategy.

While billboards and newspaper ads used to be the way companies communicated, we’ve now been given a much more personal way to connect. Because social media is different from any advertising platform that’s proceeded it, it’s important to remember the rules are a little bit different. Consumers want content that relates to their lives, as opposed to content that makes them feel like they’re always in the buyer’s funnel. While the occasional call-to-action or promotional post is advised, it’s important to remember that social sales are all about establishing the relationship first.

The beauty of content marketing is that you don’t just have to stick to talking about the “what”—you’re also free to talk about the why. No matter what your business model is, we can guarantee there’s something that makes it special. Whether you’re disrupting an age-old industry, thinking of something totally new, or simply doing something better or more effectively than your competitors, there’s a reason why consumers should choose your business over others.

The best thing you can do is showcase that to your consumers so they know what makes your company stand out. Whether you started your company because of a life experience, created something to fill an important gap in the market, or use your profits for philanthropic causes, sharing the story and the mission behind why your business does what it does will allow that personality—and that customer connection—to shine through.

If you need help creating a social strategy that fosters connection and trust with your audience, get in touch with us! Social Joey is passionate about connecting brands with their fans.