Building trust through content marketing

Building trust through content marketing

Content marketing is about more than building a brand and connecting with customers. Sure, it’s about telling a story, and offering information on your product or service, but deep down it’s about more than this – the brands that do content marketing really well, are those that build trust with their customers.

And with content marketing being the lifeblood of all brand-customer interactions, good content can help to foster strong relationships with future customers, while poor content can drive them away forever. This is particularly true in the age of information overload we live in, with thousands of blogs being posted every day. Videos, social media, micro blogging, email….… and we haven’t even mentioned advertising. We are all bombarded with information every second, so how do we ensure that we stand out? Is it the quality of the content, or the frequency? Both are important, sure, but what is ultimately more important? Creating the content that builds trust between your brand and its consumers.

So how do we do this? Firstly, you need to define your audience and the outcomes you are looking for. Who are you writing for, and why are you writing for them? Decide on the goal of your marketing campaign first. Once that is taken care of, you need to decide on the type of content you will produce, how often you’ll produce it, and where you will share it. Doing this properly, and putting information in places where your audience will benefit from it, will show them that you are interested in them, and understand their needs.

It also helps to understand how effective your content has been. Analytics can help here, as using these tools will automatically let you know what has been effective, and more importantly, what hasn’t. Knowing what is being read and shared, will help you tailor future content, and ensure you produce stuff that your audience really connects with.

Finally, be patient. Trust isn’t build overnight, it takes time. Set reasonable expectations and manage them appropriately. No content marketing campaign will work until you have built that trust, but once it is there, the sales process will not only be quicker, but far easier too.