Marketing Content that Builds Trust
I always get asked all the time, “What should I post?” It’s because we all get into those moments of creative block and we start wondering if the content that we’ve been working on is still good. You may be getting bored or the algorithm decides to shift again and you’re stuck in analysis paralysis.
No matter what the situation is there is one key question to ask
“How am I creatively reflecting the trust that I’m trying to create with my customer?”
Creating human-centered marketing content focuses on taking the magic behind the one-to-one in-person relationship and turning it digital. So when we’re talking about how you create content that builds trust and converts effectively it’s about how it reflects that human relationship. When you focus on pointing back to the human relationship, it gives a reason for potential customers to follow you because they want to consume more of the same content.
Here’s a quick disclaimer: Social media is designed to be a PART of your sales process but not the silver bullet. Yes, ads tout the horn saying that they do that but do they honestly really?
Your social media actually reflects and emphasizes your whole buyer journey. It may not be the direct ROI that moves that ticker but it’s what will enhance the process. Now digital marketing is the primary form of communication and most businesses, unless they have built a sustainable audience of raving fans, cannot afford not to be found online.
Your social media is actually a crock pot that does two major functions:
- Get people to know and trust you and come down the funnel
- AND most importantly COME BACK THROUGH the door and bring a friend
Your content overall on your grid should let that person be able to scroll down your feed and get a sense of who you are so that they can trust you and want to follow you. Then when they follow you you have built the trust in where they want to work with you. And continue to remind them of the experience that they had with you so that they come back through the door and bring a friend.
We’re creating content to inspire action
So when you create social media content it’ll be designed to:
- Inspire conversation in the comment
- Inspire them to share or tag a friend
This isn’t a “me, me, me” game but to entertain and excite them so much that they want to continue coming back to you to consume your content. Think of your favorite show, why do you go back for more? The same thing applies to content for businesses and there is a third piece:
To build trust with them that they’re willing to work with you by either purchasing your product or service.
Remember “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
So your content is designed to do the same, it’s designed to create a feeling so that people will remember your brand even after the social media post finishes its lifespan. People remember viral moments not because of what was in the content but what it made them feel or act on.
So what should you post to build trust?
There are three content pillars that reflect that whole entire sales process:
Foundational
The end goal is for them to know you and like you. Your foundational content is typically evergreen that will be an ongoing showcase of who you are. It’s designed for anyone new to come and get to know who you are while also reminding your customers about the conversations that you’ve had with them in the past.
These will hold about 80% of the content that you have because it’s designed to build trust.
Your post content can show different talking points of who you are as a brand or be created to educate or entertain others. The medium of the content will vary depending on the end messaging that you’re trying to convey and what’s trendy.
Remember everything points back to the larger messaging of your brand. Yes, we want each individual content piece to inspire action but they need to speak to the larger message so that your audience is more likely to follow you.
You can also use your content to give off different impressions for example Starbucks uses its grid for a more aesthetic professional view of its products and brand:
While it uses its Reels and Tiktok to create more relatable content that entertains, inspires, or educates its audience after they follow them.
Promotional
As simply stated, these content pieces are creating overall on your grid to promote your offerings. The intention of these posts is to be sprinkled into the day to day so that your customers can be reminded of what you offer as a business and be inclined to purchase if the time is right.
Not all promotional content needs to be about buying from you it can vary including:
- Scheduling a call
- Checking out a new product launch or sale
- Going to an event that you’re a part of
- Partner collaborations
While these are promotional content pieces you still want to make it fun so that people are more likely to come through your door for example ASMR Pistachio Latte anyone?
Influencer collaborations are a hybrid because their promotional content builds in the format of a user-generated so while it’s user generated, it’s more of what we call branded content. These are designed ideally to be a ⅓ max of your content on your grid. You can promote as much as you want to lead up to events in stories as they only last 24 hours.
On stories is where you can have fun using stickers on stories and using links in the bio functionality to invite them to come through the door even more often. Note that this type of content is different than the content that you would be creating for funnels where you’re leading them down a specific path but the promotional content is typically a jumping-off point to the deeper parts of your sales funnel.
User-generated
Finally, the third type of content is the most powerful form of content because it’s the literal representation of word of mouth. It’s the stage to talking about me and being my biggest ambassador by inviting a friend with you. User-generated content is different from influencer relations because these are genuine customer testimonials of their love for your content without you as a brand directly paying for their endorsement. Nowadays after 10 years of influencer marketing, consumers are able to realize the difference between a genuine review and an #brandcollaboration #ad.
Now getting your customers to post about you goes beyond always asking for a testimonial. You can turn a passive customer into your biggest fan by connecting with them at a deeper level.
Connect with shared stories like this Starbucks Tiktok
For example, Starbucks reposted a content creator who talked about the pay it forward process and in turn if you go to the comment section, there are tons of stories of customers being on the receiving end.
How are you creating content movements and engagement that will get them excited to want to post about you apart from talking about your product?
Take it to the next level of connection
You can also use your social media beyond just ways of cultivating online content of the proven word of mouth by creating and pushing them to a community so you’re not limited to just what the algorithm would show on social media.
- By creating an app or another community online you’re starting to build first-party data of your people
- Get them to connect with you on a platform where they get direct access to you all of the time and it’s not limited to what an algorithm will or will not show
But to do that you, you have to always answer the question of “What’s in it for me?”
Starbucks decided to combine its mission of supporting its community while building its online community in a more active way through its “Good Vibes” campaign.
Next steps
Now that I’ve covered all of the different forms of content that converts remember that you do not need to post all of these overnight and you can stack up to work towards these specific campaigns.
Ask yourself first:
- What am I posting now that is working and what is not working?
- What of the three tiers do I need to tweak and adjust moving forward?
- Is there specific content or talking points about my brand that I have not shown yet and is there a medium that I can show it?
Chances are that you’re already working on the content types that I’ve listed before and you’re just adding to or enhancing the existing content.
IF you’re trying to figure out where to start I suggest signing up for my newsletter and getting the Define Your Voice workbook to start building out what that intentional relationship is that you’re looking to creatively reflect into the world.
Good luck creating new content!
