In this year’s #12DaysOfContent series, we’ve covered content that drives awareness, content that engages your audience, content for social leads – but if you really want to convert readers into customers, your content has to establish trust in your brand. Here’s Content Marketing Strategist Mark Griffin with practical tips to instill brand trust.

*Show* them what you’re working with

24% of Americans say video is ‘most trusted’ source of brand content

Seeing is believing. Show your customers the value of your brand with content that clearly establishes why an investment with you is worth it. This might include case studies, product reviews or – Mark’s favorite content for trust – video content. In addition to testimonials and expected “ROI” clips, videos show “who” the company really is, beyond just words on the screen. 

Don’t take our word for it? Research shows 24% of American consumers say video is the most trusted source of brand content.

Testimonials are great to include in the mix, but also focus on corporate promos that offer transparency around executives, or a live or animated product demo to display how a product or service actually works.

Use words wisely

When it comes to written words, it’s important that every piece have confidence. Striking the right tone will resonate with readers and make them realize your company knows its stuff. Read more in a blog from one of Brafton’s editor’s on the best ways to build tone into ongoing content.

Pro tip: Include Q&A pieces in your marketing mix of writing. They are a great way to give a voice to the brand and offer the user a candid look at their opinions and their take on the industry.

Measure trust

“More return visitors indicate they think the brand is a reliable source. They are serious about it and trust the content.”

Trust will reveal itself as part of a bigger marketing picture, correlating with higher engagement and improved conversion rates. Mark says his go-to metric is, “the percentage of new visitors versus returning visitors. More return visitors indicate they think the brand is a reliable source. They are serious about it and trust the content.”

He also said social metrics will indicate trust. People’s social shares are like digital word of mouth – if they’re sharing the content, it’s likely they trust it.

Make trust a strategy, not just a goal

Be honest about the public perception of your company when you first start developing your content marketing strategy. You may want to enhance trust among new users or you might need to build it from the ground up; this dictates where trust fits into your content strategy. As Mark says, “The more work you have to do, the sooner you should start. If people already trust your company, you can focus on some other goals first.”

More tips in the rest of the #12DaysOfContent – keep watching!

Katherine Griwert is Brafton's Marketing Director. She's practiced content marketing, SEO and social marketing for over five years, and her enthusiasm for new media has even deeper roots. Katherine holds a degree in American Studies from Boston College, and her writing is featured in a number of web publications.