This is post 5 in a series of 10. You can read the previous 4 posts:
1. 5 Reasons Why You Should Use Facebook Ads
2. 7 Ways to Get More Followers On Social Media
3. 10 Ways to Build Your Credibility On Social Media
4. How to Become The Go-To Person In Your Industry
Gain The Trust of Your Audience On Social Media
Marketing is a lot about building and maintaining trust. It's one thing to be able to reach out to a huge audience, it's quite another to have an audience listen to you and trust you.
This is why it's so incredibly important that you make sure you're doing everything you can to build the trust of your followers and to establish yourself as an authority.
So how do you go about doing that?
How Building Trust Works
The first thing to understand when it comes to building trust and authority through social media, or any other means, is that it takes time. This is not something that happens overnight or with a single post, but rather something that you need to develop and build on.
At first, when people read your posts, they are likely to ignore them. I'm being honest. Until they trust you and believe what you're telling them, when they read what you've written they do it to learn more about you and what you represent.
Then, as they read more posts and time passes, they remember what you've written and might come back to make sure they remember correctly. Or they remember that it was you who wrote about something, and so they're able to share it with a friend.
Over time they will go from ‘taking note' of what you say, to ‘actively seeking you out'. It's only when you've reached this point that you will then have their trust and attention. And it's only then that you can begin making sales.
The trick here is consistency and quality. It can be tough to consistently post relevant, informative and accurate information with what appears to be little feedback. But, it's what it takes to really become a thought leader in your industry or niche. And, if you're getting comments on a blog, shares on social media and generally good feedback from people who know you, then you're well on your way to becoming seen as an authority.
Helping Things Along the Way
There are a few things you can do to speed up the process. For one, if you can get a mention from someone that your audience already trusts, this can go a long way by sharing some of that trust.
It's also important to engage with your audience, to respond to their questions and to make sure you appear approachable and responsive. Reply to their comments on blogs and on your social media profiles.
Pay close attention to what the leading names in your industry are doing. You can pick up more pointers that way. It's not by accident that some accounts rise to the top – it's through careful planning and hard work.
