Communications -- Marketing -- Media -- Consulting
Building Trust

Building Trust

We are often asked the question (and have asked it of ourselves many times), how does one get the most for their money out of marketing and advertising, and is it really possible to assess its value?

One of the quandaries of social media is that it is both extremely impersonal and, yet, has the potential to be very personal at the same time. There is a ton of “noise” on social media now; businesses, politicians, and scammers, seeking our attention when we are on social media sites. Somehow, we filter out all the junk and we see what is actually valuable to us. And there is a lot of valuable information waiting to be found.

According to PC Magazine, “There’s no definitive correlation between a “Like” and sales volume. A Facebook “Like” is chock full of potential value, but very little real-world value—virtually none, in fact—until you nurture that connection. It’s not how many Facebook fans you have—it’s all in how you engage them.”

We totally agree with this assessment of the value of social media marketing. As in life, having a whole bunch of friends is not nearly as meaningful as having a handful of really close friends. PC Magazine goes on to say, “Successful social media communication efforts are often based around building your business’ brand by creating and nurturing a relationship with your customers.”

And just like the difference between friends and close friends, close friends get a different quality of attention. A strong effective social media presence has to be cultivated by building trust. Trust is established the same way it is in any good relationship, by giving honestly and providing meaningful information. This means, consistency without being overbearing, honesty without always gushing about everything, good advice when it is needed, and a positive feedback loop that supports the relationship. People want to buy from people they trust. People want to reward people who give to of themselves. People are always looking for positive relationships.

The problem for the small business owner is finding the time to nurture these relationships. It is hard enough to nurture the relationships that are most important to us, like family and friends, much less nurture relationships with Facebook “Likes”. Almost every small business owner we know feels like they do not use social media effectively because they can’t really commit to it. Halfway measures in a public forum are probably worse than no presence there at all. Hiring a professional to manage your social media should drive analytics and “Likes”, but, mostly, it should build the kind of relationships with your customers that will keep them around for a long time. Like any good relationship, you have to commit to it and see where it takes you.