No matter what we do, we will always find people who:
- It will try to sell us 'secret recipes' for success, shortcuts to achieve a specific goal.
- They will proclaim the "death" of some online channel (emailing, banners, etc.), and then sell you what "really works".
- They will promise you results and try to convince you that they are unlikely to fail.
- In short, they will tell you what you want (or need) to hear in fine words or big headlines.
- What is the purpose of all these techniques? To gain your trust as quickly as possible in order to sell you something.
But these methods have a basic problem in that trust is something that is earned, it cannot be artificially generated.
Trust is definitely the basis of our reputation.
What makes you buy a book? Why do you prefer one brand over another? Why do you believe what someone else tells you? Why do you choose to read one blog over another?
A person's reputation is based on his or her ability to inspire trust.
We can then deduce that trust will be the basis for branding, for a good online reputation, for brand loyalty. But...
How do we build a good online reputation?
Online reputation = what you say about yourself + what others think about you
What we say about ourselves is our activity on social networks and blogs, while what others think of us is represented in comments, the sentiment of these comments, the quality and number of visits received on our blog, followers, etc.
Users' perception of internal factors will determine the generation of trust. In other words, in order to build trust, trust must first be transmitted.
Components of trust
If we want to inspire confidence in others, we have to start with ourselves. It is a "job" from the inside out. If we feel confident, we inspire confidence.
The 3 C's of online trust are: commitment + capability + behaviour.
- Commitment
The root of it all lies in the material we are made of. It will be essential to have a good base to be able to transmit confidence.
This base is made up of values and qualities.
Honesty y transparency should go hand in hand. Being decent and clear about your intentions and objectives is essential. As the saying goes, "you must not only be, but appear to be". When it comes to transmitting confidence, there are no second chances.
It will also be key to transmit passion. To demonstrate to our public that we believe in what we say, and above all, that it is the best option.
Another quality that is of utmost importance and relevance in marketing is the empathy. We must try to ensure that all our content is designed for the needs of the person who is going to receive it. When we communicate, the person reading our content must have the feeling that every word is addressed to them.
- Capacity
Our knowledge y experience will determine our online reputation. Knowing what we talk about and having experience will be important aspects to sustain a good online reputation. It is the ability we want to show.
The important thing here is to show the capacity we have, no more, no less. To show that we are good at what we do, that we know what we are talking about.
If we pretend to be better professionals than we are or deal with subjects that we do not really master, it will be obvious. As we all know, "You'll catch a liar before you catch a lame man"..
- Behaviour
Many people put all their efforts and start here. The problem is that without the other two C's forming a strong and coherent base, the result will be a pretty picture, but lacking in content.
Within behaviour, we can mention characteristics such as consistency, community, design, frequency, image... But there is one that we could highlight as fundamental among all of them: the quality.
Quality sums up much of what is mentioned in this post.
We could sum up quality in one premise: "If you don't have anything interesting to say, don't write".
A well-written and well-crafted article will be able to transmit everything we have mentioned: honesty, passion, empathy, knowledge, experience...
Quality will contribute the most to building trust, and will therefore form the basis of a good online reputation.
