Great content — regardless of what distribution channels you choose — is one of the best investments you can make as a business owner.
It’s amazing at building brand and product awareness. It’s great for engaging leads. And it can even play a part in maximizing customer retention and brand loyalty — especially if you manage to build a rapport with your audience.
But let’s face it, content marketing isn’t just for the awareness or post-purchase stages of your digital marketing strategy. On the contrary, it can play an active role in your sales processes.
Of course, to do that, it must be credible.
If you think about it, brand trust is one of the most influential factors determining people’s purchase intent. According to data, it’s a top consideration for 88% of consumers. Even more impressively, it’s just as important to them as product quality or value for money.
So, if you’re looking for ways to drive conversions, building brand trust needs to be your first step. Read on to learn about five effective strategies for using content to boost credibility and sales.
Showcase Customer-Centric Social Proof
No piece of content is as powerful and effective at building brand trust as great social proof.
After all, 99% of buyers check product reviews and ratings before making a purchase decision. And almost one-half of consumers won’t even consider investing in a solution if it doesn’t have any customer feedback.
With this in mind, elevating your audience’s confidence in the fact that your offer is a good choice for them necessitates some high-quality social proof.
But here’s the deal. Not all social proof was created equal.
For instance, while reviews are the most widespread example of this content type, they’re often insufficiently trustworthy, with some data suggesting that around one-third of all online reviews are fake.
So, when aiming to build trust (and drive conversions as a consequence), prioritize social proof that is evidently true, believable, and effective at showcasing your brand’s credibility.
One of the most effective methods for accomplishing this is to prioritize customer-centricity.
Give your real-life customers a voice in your social proof content. It will build trust via the power of authenticity. Plus, it could help you ensure relevance, which is particularly important in a world where most consumers actively ignore marketing messages that aren’t personalized to meet their needs or interests.
For inspiration on how to do this well, take a look at RE Cost Seg, a well-known cost segregation service. This brand dedicates the topmost section of its homepage to social proof content in a video format. But more importantly, this resource isn’t just a traditional collection of positive feedback about the company’s services. Instead, it’s an assortment of real-life experiences from people who have genuinely benefited from hiring RE Cost Seg, paired with authentic messages from the brand’s team sharing the why behind the company’s existence and building trust (and purchase intent) via the medium of customer-centricity.
Produce High-Value Resources to Resolve Audience Pain Points (for Free)
Brand trust isn’t simply earned by demonstrating your organization’s competence to resolve audience pain points. Instead, psychological research suggests that people have confidence in companies that prioritize customer needs over profits.
In fact, if you check out data from 2020, you’ll find that people are four to six times more likely to buy from, trust, champion, and defend companies that have a strong purpose.
With this in mind, one of the most effective ways to use content for building trust (and driving conversions) is to produce and distribute high-value resources that will help your target audience and show that your business genuinely cares about solving their pain points.
Do this for free, and you get extra brownie points for establishing your business as a trustworthy and benevolent organization in an economic setting that is often profit-oriented.
There are several different types of content that can help you accomplish this goal.
For instance, downloadable resources that share your industry insights or expert advice — like the Global Salary Guide from Somewhere, a popular remote staffing agency — are an amazing way to present your audience with content that’ll establish your brand’s credibility.
Alternatively, you could also experiment with interactive formats. With research suggesting that these are considerably more engaging than static content — we’re referring to quizzes and tools, like the Hemingway app — they could be an exceptionally effective way to attract new leads, show them they can trust your brand, and nudge them toward the lower stages of the buyer’s journey.
Finally, don’t underestimate the value of more traditional content formats, such as newsletters, in providing your audience with trust-building and conversion-inspiring value. Unita, for instance, dedicates the hero section of its homepage to inviting visitors to sign up for its free newsletter, knowing that such weekly guides and resources are guaranteed to establish its credibility and inspire subscribers to become a part of its growing community directory.
Help the Product Evaluation Process Through Education
Consumer research suggests that interacting with educational content significantly elevates people’s chances of converting into a customer.
However, while traditional educational blog articles, videos, and social media posts can be a great method for building trust and driving sales, it’s worth considering the stage of the buyer’s journey where your audience needs the most guidance.
Ultimately, the stage of the sales cycle where most people “fall off” pertains to the evaluation process. But why?
More often than not, brands try to present their leads with as much product information as possible. Yet, while appreciated, this approach doesn’t result in the desired effect because informational overload almost always leads to analysis paralysis.
With this in mind, when aiming to earn your audience’s trust and get them to become customers, why not invest in content that will help prospects collect product information and set them on the right path toward resolving their pain points without causing them to become overwhelmed?
Simple content formats, like product comparison tables and buying guides, can be exceptionally valuable during the typical buyer’s journey — especially if they’re informative and objective.
For instance, the Wyoming LLC Services overview on the Start in Wyoming homepage is a great example of this type of content. It doesn’t just aim to encourage web visitors to choose a service (and invest in it). It also shows how much the brand cares about helping customers choose the right service for their needs, which effectively elevates its trustworthiness.
Address Common Customer Concerns
In some cases, the reason your leads aren’t converting isn’t necessarily that they don’t trust your business. Instead, it’s that they have specific fears or concerns that are making them less willing to click that “Buy” button.
There are many such concerns. Some people fear making the wrong buying decisions, which is particularly true for those who feel out of their depth. Some consumers are worried about regretting a purchase. And some simply aren’t fully familiar with the conditions of buying from your brand, which is making them stall.
The good news is that you can easily address (and remove) any of these concerns with relevant trust signals and informational content.
For instance, you may want to reassure web visitors about the effectiveness of your solutions. In that case, something as simple as the “Trusted by 11,000+ organizations worldwide” trust signal on the Tresorit homepage can be more than enough to nudge your prospects closer to a conversion.
Or how about removing price-related conversion killers, which is particularly important in today’s unstable economy? Brands like Monday, a popular work platform, do this by emphasizing that sign-ups are possible without a credit card, as well as by pointing out that there’s no limit on how long users can use a Free plan.
Create and Highlight Self-Service Resources
Finally, when looking for ways to use content for building trust and driving conversions, don’t forget that people often decide whether to buy from a brand based on the quality of customer service they expect from a business.
According to PWC, customer service is a crucial purchase-influencing factor for most consumers, with 73% of people saying that it influences their buying behavior.
With this in mind, explore opportunities to highlight content that supports your customers before and after making a purchase.
At first glance, this approach may not have that big of an impact on brand credibility levels. Nevertheless, demonstrating that you genuinely care about your prospects’ customer satisfaction and are willing to go above and beyond in helping them get the most out of your products is a marvelous way to build customer relationships based on trust — ones that have the potential to grow into loyalty.
For instance, something as elementary as producing pre-purchase resources like FAQs can be exceptionally effective at presenting your audience with all the info they need to trust your brand and make an informed buying decision.
Additionally, don’t forget to pay attention to the post-purchase stages of the sales cycle, as this is often where brand loyalty is determined. Notion’s Help Center is a marvelous example of how educational content can boost customer satisfaction and nurture loyalty, all the while establishing brand credibility in a highly competitive niche where customer retention tends to be low.
Final Thoughts
Investing in content to build trust and encourage conversions holds tremendous potential for the longevity of your business. For starters, it’s a surefire way to earn your audience’s confidence and show they can genuinely rely on your brand to resolve their pain points. Plus, it shows that your business cares about customers instead of seeing them as just a source of income, which is precisely what consumers want when choosing what brands to support.
To maximize your content’s reach (and conversion-boosting power), don’t forget to optimize it for search engine rankings. The VH-info SEO team can help you maximize visibility, earn high-quality backlinks, and even produce valuable content for your brand to help you stand out and grow your business.
