I talk about trust a lot. I think it’s the most important aspect of social media that you should be focusing on besides achieving business goals. But alas, you can’t really monetize trust and it’s difficult to quantify as well, so it’s most likely to fall to the wayside.

Here’s the thing though: If you want to continue to achieve those business goals, trust is going to come into play sooner rather than later. So it’s time to invest in it.

Work with an influencer

The quickest way to boost your trust is to work with an influencer who is already trustworthy.

So often people go after this angle and look for any influencer who has a large audience. That’s a great way to pay for an influencer who won’t get you the results you are looking for.

Instead, see who is popular in your niche. Don’t look for the biggest follower counts. Look for the engagement numbers that show their audience is interested (just keep an eye out for engagement pods). When you have gathered several of these accounts, check out who is already interested in your brand. They are more likely to do work that will get their audience to trust you since they are already invested in you.

After that, you can move onto the next circle: Those who may be aware of you. Know that the further you move away from that first circle of influencers who are invested in, the less effective the influencer will be. Enthusiasm can be much more valuable than skill. So be sure to invest the most in those who are already your champions.

Follow through

This is so simple: If you say you’re going to do something, then do it. I’ve created so many ambassadors for a brand simply by saying I will find information for a fan and then doing just that.

If you want to be considered a trustworthy brand, then your social media manager needs to constantly be creating that trust by doing what they say they will do. That means giving them the tools they need to be able to connect fans with the information they need. The more barriers you put up to that, the less trust they will be able to create.

Be truthful

I used to have a client who would never tell me the truth about anything. They would either go out of their way to hide information from me or they would lie to my face. Do you know what ended up happening? They decided to hide an important piece of information that they announced at a live event. I wasn’t at the live event, but I was answering questions on their social media based on what I had been told. When I said something about how that piece of information hadn’t been decided yet, it was a bloodbath.

So being truthful can mean a lot of things. Don’t hide information from your social media consultant. Then they can answer fan questions appropriately. And that’s even if they can’t release the information quite yet. This way, they can make sure there is nothing contradictory posted when the information becomes free to post.

And it also means just being as truthful as you can with your audience. If they know that you are providing the most accurate information available and are actively giving them all of the information you can, that goes a long way toward earning trust. Remember that it only takes one lie to ruin it all, so avoid lying at all costs. It’s just not worth what you will lose.

Anticipate your audience’s needs

If you have a good sketch of your audience, then you have a good idea of their needs and wants. Take a look at what is not being met. Could you possibly meet that need or want?

Once you have decided on something, think of when they would be looking for something like that. And then get to work.

A well-timed met need is probably going to get you the most loyal audience in the history of time. It’s not easy. It will take a lot of work. But the results will be legendary.

Not sure where to begin with this? Or how to test your idea out? Look at Answer The Public to see what your audience is searching. That will likely give you loads of ideas. And then ask a select few audience members to see if you are headed in the right direction. You could even give them multiple options to see what they are most attracted to. This will also give these people more buy-in and they will be more likely to help you promote when you release. So there are lots of reasons to get some of your audience members involved as you do this.

Just be yourself

So many brands go into marketing thinking they have to be everything to everyone. That’s a recipe to fail. Audiences can smell brands that do this. Not only do they not trust them, but they know they should not be loyal to them.

On the other hand, audiences also smell an authentic brand. These brands know that they are not everyone’s cup of tea and are okay with that. But they go after those who do belong in their audience with a fierce love. And more than anything, these brands are comfortable because they aren’t hiding who they actually are. In a world where we’re all uncomfortable, we are going to flock to those who are comfortable, because it’s what we ultimately want to be.

In this scenario, it’s easier to build trust because you have nothing to hide. But you can’t fake this. You either commit to it or else you can’t do it. Because like I said, audiences can smell when you’re not doing it, and they will run to the next brand that is.

Just being who your brand is can be scary. What if everyone rejects you? Unless you stand for something truly terrible, then it is unlikely that will be the case. It might take you a little longer to connect with your audience and turn them into the loyal fans you need. But in the end, it will all be worth it.

How are you creating trust on social media?