Despite community managers’ best efforts, it seems that most of the American public is still leery of brands on social networks. Forrester recently took a poll concerning digital marketing in general, and found that only 15% of U.S. participants in the study said that they trust posts by companies or brands on social networking sites. How can brands work to improve that trust?
Use user-generated reviews, stories and material.
Potential customers may not trust posts coming directly from the brand or business itself, but if a fellow fan makes a post about a personal experience with the brand, they would probably be more apt to listen. Keep that in mind and seek out that user-generated content to share across all your social channels. Need help getting started? Refer to our guide to using user-generated content.
Share more than just promotional content.
If you’ve been focusing your social efforts on just promoting your products, well, you’re doing it wrong. Just as content marketing is about showing and sharing helpful and useful content, so is social. Not only does this help keep fans from getting too overwhelmed and disenchanted with product plugs, it also helps build trust between the brand and the fans. Check out our list of five common Facebook marketing mistakes to see if you’re sharing the wrong kind of content.
Show the people behind the brand.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, showing fans that there are relatable people behind this brand name goes a long way towards building a true relationship between the two. Include some candids, some headshots, personal posts from different employees — anything that works to show that your brand is relatable and populated by real people with others’ best interests at heart. Not sure what I mean? Here are three ways hospitality brands are doing it.
Take time to address any concerns as they arise.
If there are any issues that crop up, work to resolve them and maintain that trust you’ve worked so hard to build. Mistrust often spreads when an issue arises and quickly gets out of hand, or isn’t resolved in a satisfactory manner (remember the Starbucks India incident?). Take the time to resolve even the slightest complaint in a timely and sincere way to help keep that brand-customer relationship healthy and positive.
Make sure that you’re approaching social media marketing correctly by referring to our helpful guides.
