How to Build a Brand People Actually Trust

26Q3-1

Jun 3

When it comes to building a brand people genuinely trust, it takes a little bit more than scheduling a few posts and leaving it to do its thing on social media.

There's an art form to building trust with your audience and creating a brand that is exactly what people want, and that will champion you at every turn.

The problem, however, is getting it right from the beginning, as there are many mistakes you can make when building your brand in the early days. These tips are designed to help you avoid the more common pitfalls of building a brand.

Be Consistent

You need to pick a few platforms that are going to put you where your target audience is. You don't need to be everywhere, just in the places that matter. This might take some research to uncover, but once you know where you need to be, you can make more of an impact.

From here, you need to find a schedule that enables you to share content when your audience is online, and you can reach them easily. Create a simple content calendar that has the relevant details in it as well as content ideas, and then stick to this and be as consistent as possible. That doesn't mean change it, but work with any engagements you get to build a consistent approach to marketing.

Choose a Niche

You need to find out exactly who your ideal customer is and what they're looking for. Then you need to pin down what you do to meet their needs. This means picking a niche that closely resembles this.

For example, if you're selling skincare, can you narrow down what you talk about or the products you offer to a certain market? Do people with certain skin conditions use your products, a particular age group or section of the population that is more drawn to you?

Once you find this out, you can then hone in on your niche and ensure that you're targeting those who will get more value from what you share and your services as a whole.

Provide Genuine Value

This isn't about giving away what you know for free. It's about showing your audience you know what you're talking about and sharing that authority with them to help them.

Find the questions people are asking when they find your brand. What search queries lead to you? What questions are they asking on social media or in direct communication with your brand?

Once you have these questions, you can then create content that answers them so you can share it. The more you know, the more you can share, and the more people will start to trust your brand.

Cultivate a Consistent Voice

This is the hard part. You need to know what you want to say, but how you convey that information too. A good starting point is to ask yourself what four words you want your brand to be known by or describe your brand the most accurately. From here, you can run through some phrases to see how they feel and sound and build from here.

A great way to build your voice and develop consistency here is via video and audio formats. People get to see and hear you, not read words on static images or posts you share.

This means diving into video creation using YouTube for marketing and short-form reels for Instagram, etc. It can also involve using podcasts to help you create audio that elevates your brand or to create talking points that you can use in other promotions. Working with experts or taking up podcast studio memberships can help you hit the ground running here.

Be Active in Your Community

You need to be as active as you can be in your community, both online and in person. If you have a local bricks-and-mortar business, then being active in community events is essential. If you're creating an online community, then replying to comments, engaging with others in the space and generally getting involved is the way forward.

Never do this with the expectations of returns from others; always do it because it's what your audience and community want from you and what will showcase your brand in the best light, not to get anything in return for it.

This, however, can take time to perfect, and it's not immediate, so give it around six to eight months before you fully assess if it's having any impact, but the more active and visible you are, the more people will remember and come to trust your brand.