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Persuading your target audience to invest in your products/services can take a lot of effort. You have to not only reach your prospects but also show them the unique value of your solutions and services.
Moreover, boosting sales requires that you earn your audience’s trust.
Plus, you must convince prospects of your expertise and credibility. You need to show that you have your customers’ best interests at heart.
The problem in 2024 is that earning customer trust is easier said than done.
Research suggests that most people don’t trust organizations (including businesses). Yet, data reveals brand trust and expertise are crucial for boosting conversions. It’s clear that you must take action. And the way to do that is to convince your audience that they can put their faith in your business.
Fortunately, you can do this by investing in the right marketing strategies. Namely, you can use content marketing to demonstrate expertise and build trust. Read on to learn the top tactics for using branded content to boost brand credibility.
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Focus on customer needs
Using content marketing to push your business forward is all about customer-centricity.
Producing and publishing generic content could attract attention to your brand. Particularly if you create something that will appeal to a large audience. Still, your goal isn’t to go viral. It’s to prove your expertise and build trust.
So, you must optimize your content marketing strategy. Ideally, you’ll do that in a way that will appeal to your target audience. After all, your prospects aren’t online to waste their precious time. Instead, they’re searching for information or solutions to their pain points.
Look at the latest statistical data about people’s reasons for using the Internet. 60.9% of people go online to find information. Other motivators include research, looking for instructions, and product/brand exploration.
So, how do these trends relate to your content marketing strategy? They reveal what you must do to capture your audience’s attention and earn their trust. You must focus on solving customer pain points over making sales.
Approach the content production process from a customer-first point of view. It may not make sense. At least not when trying to generate credibility. But check out the research on the three elements of trust. According to science, benevolence establishes credibility.
In other words, you must show you have someone else’s best interest at heart over personal gain.
So, to convince your audience to trust your brand, why not use scientific data to optimize your marketing efforts?
Center your content marketing strategy around helping your prospects solve their pain points. It’s easy to achieve. For inspiration, check out the How to Calculate the Area of a Circle post on Alexander Tutoring.
The brand could have given readers a few geometry formulas and let them do all the work. Or it could have even invited web visitors to sign up for a tutoring session with a well-optimized CTA. Yet, the content team at Alexander Tutoring knows that its audience wants actionable help. That’s why it put so much effort into creating a helpful resource. The aim was to convince readers of the brand’s trustworthiness and expertise.
(Image Source: Alexander Tutoring)
Commit to authenticity and transparency
Through content marketing, you can earn the trust of your target audience. But the process isn’t merely about solving customer pain points. More often than not, it’s about finding the right approach to convince prospects of your brand’s expertise. It can also be about showing your organization’s commitment to helping clients. This is a fundamental strategy that top marketing resources like The Authority Site System 3.0 and Blog Growth Engine teach.
One excellent way to do these things is to change your approach to the content creation process. Ideally, you should produce each post dedicated to authenticity and transparency.
For example, look at the research from the experts at Nielsen IQ. They discovered that 72% of shoppers think transparency is essential when deciding whether to trust a business. Additionally, 64% of people would switch brands if it meant receiving more in-depth product information. Furthermore, consider that the most trustworthy content formats include unfiltered posts (like user-generated content (UGC)).
You’ll realize that being open and honest with your followers isn’t a question of brand values. More than that, it’s an effective strategy for building trust.
One of the easiest ways to apply this tactic is to be open about what you get from helping your audience. For example, something as simple as an affiliate disclaimer could help you convince readers to trust your business. Check out the one at the end of the Meal Prep Containers guide from Ultimate Meal Plans.
(Image Source: Ultimate Meal Plans)
Lastly, be creative and add a personal touch to your content marketing efforts. Weave your brand’s story into your posts. Talk about the people behind the brand and show off the team effort. Strive to show your audience the why behind your brand’s existence.
For example, check out the Minnetonka blog section. This brand regularly publishes interviews with its reconciliation advisor, Adrienne Benjamin. By doing this, the brand lends its platform to an artist representing Native Americans.
Even more, Minnetonka proves its commitment to working with underrepresented communities. It shows that it’s interested in giving back and helps raise awareness about Native art. These aren’t actions that benefit Minnetonka. But, they position the brand as one of the most trustworthy businesses for sourcing Native-inspired designs.
Pay attention to readability and accessibility
Demonstrating expertise and building authority with content isn’t necessarily about providing info. Sometimes, it’s about prioritizing UX and making it easy for your audience to extract value from your posts.
To earn your prospects’ confidence, consider how your resources serve them. Pay attention to readability, accessibility, and structure. And do your best to make your articles useful for any client, regardless of their expertise level.
Furthermore, use these optimization tactics to demonstrate your user-centricity and expertise. Don’t waste readers’ time with fluff or poor formatting choices. Instead, give them direct and helpful information they will genuinely benefit from.
To start, begin with making technical improvements. Using free optimization tools can be a great way to boost readability. Hemingway App and Yoast are both excellent resources. You can use them to make your content more accessible to a large audience. Combine readability improvements with good web design practices.
For example, choosing solid text and background colors can also boost readability. Maximizing contrast can further help transform an average post into an informative resource that’s easy to read.
Supplement content with user-friendly design features for an even more positive effect. Using more images, video, and audio is also best practice.
For example, check out the Academic Influence College University Rankings post below. The design on this page works perfectly for scanning. Why is this important?
Well, most people don’t read online text word-for-word. Instead, they skim text until their eyes land on relevant info. Research shows that people reading online content follow an “F” pattern when reading content online.
By using the “F” design, the Academic Influence College University makes it easy for readers to extract value from the almost 3,000-word article. This allows readers to skim easily for the most important information and also read more in-depth if they choose.
(Image Source: AcademicInfluence)
You could also allow your audience to choose how they want to interact with a resource. For instance, the New York Times lets web visitors listen to articles. True, this content format may not be accessible to everyone. But it does make the pieces easy to consume for hearing people — even on the go.
(Image Source: The New York Times)
Additionally, consider the structure of your articles. Figuring out the layout and outline can be a great way to improve readability. Doing so can also guarantee that your posts communicate expertise and boost credibility.
For instance, look at the practice of burying the lede. At first glance, it appears to be an excellent tactic. Especially if you want to maximize content page engagement and dwell time. But, this approach can also be frustrating for your target audience. And even more, it may send the message that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Consider reworking your content outlines to lead with your main point. For an example, check out the Vidpros How to Hack YouTube Shorts for More Views post.
The section just below the intro features a TL;DR. It may be counterintuitive. However, leading with value emphasizes the brand’s competence. It also shows that Vidpros is ready to put its audience’s needs first. Even if it means a slightly lower engagement rate on its blog posts.
Use industry insights and expertise to empower your audience
Sometimes, using content marketing to build trust isn’t just about demonstrating your expertise. Often, it’s about empowering your target audience with knowledge. And about giving them tools to help solve pain points on their own.
Unfortunately, brands often believe that providing prospects with free resources lowers conversions. Sure, in some cases, giving away knowledge for free can harm your lead-capture efforts.
That said, your customer base needs to understand you’re willing to go above and beyond for them. This will compel them to trust you and buy from your brand. More importantly, it’ll make customers more inclined to be loyal to your business. So, explore ways to empower your audience with high-quality content.
For inspiration, check out the Ahrefs website. This business created a Keyword Research guide for beginners. What’s interesting is that prospects can access it for free.
Sure, this may seem like the wrong choice from a conversion-oriented point of view. Especially as web visitors could use the knowledge and not sign up for a subscription. However, the brand’s content team knows the value of a great educational article.
By creating a positive first interaction, Ahrefs builds brand trust. The quality of the resource maximizes free plan sign-ups. And it allows the business to capture more leads it can nurture into loyal, paying customers. It gets prospects thinking, “If they’re giving this away for free, what amazing benefits would I get if I actually paid for a subscription?”
Collaborate with experts and scientists
Do you want to position your solutions as the best solution to your target audience’s needs? In that case, highlighting your team’s experience and knowledge won’t magically build trust.
Yes, it’ll help boost credibility and demonstrate expertise. But, to earn your audience’s confidence, you must make your efforts more effective. That’s why you should add established industry voices to your content marketing strategy.
The latest research about trustworthy entities supports this decision. Data shows that experts and scientists enjoyed increased consumer confidence in 2024.
For example, check out the findings from Edelman. The latest reports revealed that:
- 66% of Gen Z think scientists and experts are trustworthy brand spokespeople. And;
- Almost three-quarters of people trust scientists as much as they do their peers.
In other words, if you want to maximize brand trust and cement your brand’s position as an authority in your niche, you’ll need some strong backup. Fortunately, employing expert collaborators shouldn’t be a challenge.
For example, check out Business for Sale. It features multiple articles from the Australian Government Business portal. The Protect Your Business from Cyber Threats article comes directly from the government body.
(Image Source: BusinessForSale)
Sadly, this content creation method is profoundly underutilized. It’s a smart, straightforward way for a brand to build credibility and provide its audience with real value.
Alternatively, take a look at the Joovv website. Joovv sells light therapy products, so a large part of its target audience is athletes looking for muscle recovery aids and the like. The website includes several interviews with professional athletes who are brand ambassadors. By publishing this content format, the business establishes its reputation in the sports industry.
By proxy, it maximizes customer trust levels. And it boosts people’s chances of choosing a Joovv red light device over a competitor’s solution.
Of course, you shouldn’t only rely on outside voices to build credibility for your business. Consumers think it’s essential for brands to show empathy. And they want businesses to prove they see things from their customer’s perspectives.
So, if you can show that you understand your prospects’ pain points, why not share your personal story and experience to build brand trust?
Look at the How ‘one sec’ Lowers Your Screen-time article on the One-Sec website. The resource emphasizes the app’s effectiveness from a scientific perspective. But it also includes a personal note from the founder. Although the post doesn’t delve into the founder’s story, the detail adds authenticity. Moreover, it demonstrates the organization’s desire to help people reduce their screen time.
Publish powerful social proof
Do you want to highlight your brand’s expertise? Looking to encourage your audience to trust you? Or do you want to increase sales? To reach any of these goals with content marketing, you must add social proof to your website.
When making buying decisions, people actively seek out social proof. This marketing content format plays a huge role in encouraging consumers to trust your business. And, sure, more traditional types of social proof — like customer reviews or ratings — can get the job done. However, you could extract more value from this trust-building content tool by going more in-depth.
For example, you can use social proof to establish credibility. Do it by producing posts highlighting your competence. Describe the effectiveness of your solutions. Or use your existing clients’ satisfaction with your services.
Check out Usersnap’s case studies. Through using the content format, the brand paints a clear picture of everything its solution does. It doesn’t have to rely on vague promises to capture new customers. Instead, it can present prospects with real-life proof of its successes to convince them to convert.
By incorporating a social wall, you can curate and display positive mentions of your brand from various social media platforms. This can include customer testimonials, reviews, social media posts with your brand hashtag, and even influencer endorsements
Update and optimize
Finally, to show expertise or build trust, remember that today’s consumers want consistently good results.
In other words, ensuring a stellar customer experience (CX) isn’t just about wowing your audience before they make a purchase. You must get your clients to continue appreciating your brand. And that requires a dedication to surpassing their expectations.
One way you can use content marketing to achieve this goal is to update and optimize your posts. You can do it on a quarterly or annual basis. Or, depending on available resources, you can make improvements more regularly. What’s important is that you show your audience your dedication to keeping your content fresh.
For example, something as simple as stating when an article was last updated can be an effective way to boost the trustworthiness of your posts. And it’s remarkably easy to do. Check out the Updates section at the bottom of Healthline’s Sleep Disorders page.
Or, take a step further. Use content to position your business as customer-oriented. The easiest way to do it would be to use the comments section to engage with your audience.
Yes, it may require a more hands-on approach to content marketing. Still, engaging with your followers presents a unique opportunity to help your audience. It shows your brand’s commitment to delivering a positive customer experience. Plus, it’s a great way to establish your brand’s reputation as a business that cares about helping its customers solve pain points.
In closing
Content is a powerful tool for growing your business. But, for it to work, you must center your marketing activities around building trust and demonstrating expertise. Especially if you want to convince your audience to convert and remain loyal to your brand.
The tactics described in this article are excellent ways to do just that. However, they won’t be enough to reach your brand’s full potential. For that, you must also optimize and personalize your content efforts to match your audience’s needs to achieve that goal.
That way, your potential customers will see that your business is credible and competent. More importantly, they’ll realize that your solutions have the potential to solve their needs. And that will convince them to remain loyal customers of your business.