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Here’s an equation that every business owner needs to understand.
Know + Like + Trust = Buy.
Whether you sell toothbrushes or multi-million dollar medical equipment and everything in between — until a customer:
- Knows who you are
- Likes who you are
- Trusts you
there is no purchase. The depth of the trust required varies but there must be at least a base level of trust in place before anyone will spend a dime.
One of the things I love about social media/content marketing is that it is hard-wired to help savvy business people maximize this equation.
Know = search. If I can’t find you, then I can’t know you exist. Understanding how potential customers are using search when they want what you sell is vital to your business success today. Do you know what key words and phrases you should be mindful of? Are you creating content that will leverage that?
Like = social networks/blogs. When I hang out with you, in person or online, I get a sense of who you are and whether or not I like who you are. When I read your blog, I begin to learn who you are and what you believe. Are you out there, creating conversations and relationships? If not — when are you going to start?
Trust = consistency online and off. It’s easy to fake being nice, smart or helpful once or twice. But that’s tough to pull off on a consistent basis. We know that when it comes to our offline world. And we’re learning it’s just as true online as well. One of the greatest elements of having a digital presence is that it can quickly provide someone with a long term view of who/how you are. That builds trust.
That equation lines up perfectly with how content marketing/social media is supposed to work. When you create great, helpful content that aligns with how people search — you create that long tail effect that drives people to you. When you share it through your social networks and it’s done without being pushy or sleazy, people will come to like and respect you. Like and respect evolves into trust when you behave consistently in the same way.
Whether you actually sell online or you have a brick and mortar presence – using content marketing and your social media presence to move prospects along the spectrum of know, like, trust is just good business.
I’m curious — how are you building trust with what you do online?
