Every brand needs a community. On social media, this need is elevated, with community support and trust being one of the key indicators of a business’s success. However, building community trust is not as easy as we’d like it to be. More often than not, the process takes years of engagement and active effort before you start seeing tangible results. So how do you go about building trust? We spoke to digital marketing strategist Jen Cole to explain all about community. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Topic: Earning your community’s trust
Guest: Jen Cole
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
To earn your community’s trust means to be there for them consistently. Whether they want answers to tough questions or help with your services and support during a crisis, you have to be there for your community when they need you—that’s how you develop trust.
A1. To me, it means that you consistently show up for your community. You’re there to answer questions, whether good or bad. You show up in an authentic way every time. Consistency and authenticity build trust. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/yLpw9xAkjy
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
Though often used interchangeably, credibility differs ever so slightly from trust. Trust refers to your longer-term image, whereas credibility is associated more with your content sources and references. For instance, when you build trust, your community will expect any content you share to be from credible sources. They’ll trust that you’ve verified sources before citing them. Being credible is a way of building trust—as you consistently share credible content, you become more credible as a brand and that’ll help your audience develop trust in you.
A2. I think trust is more of a long-term situation. Credibility, in my mind, refers to being a source of trust…. But trust in and of itself is something you earn from being consistently credible over time. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/nzDIC3AfHt
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
Catherine put it well. Trust is a by-product of building relationships. Credibility is the first step to building those relationships. When your audience realizes that you’re a credible brand, they’ll engage with you more. As you get to know your community and they get to know you, you develop mutual trust.
A2: To me- trust aligns with establishing a relationship. Trust will usually lead to others returning to you as a source of information or service. Credibility will also help with those things but it is a more formal or backed form of trust. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/JCh7kdCsOI
— Cathrine Nelson (@cathrinewith1e) December 9, 2021
Community trust can make or break a brand. When people trust you as a brand, they’ll recommend you to their friends because they know they can rely on you to do well. And when your business is doing well, they’ll be the first ones to cheer you on.
A3. I think it’s VERY important! If people don’t trust your brand, they won’t advocate for you. In fact, they’ll do just the opposite a lot of the time. Spending the time and building trust pays off in such a mutual way. With trust, everyone wins! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/C3tHDXQFlm
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
As our friends from iThemes put it, trust is important because that leads to relationships that keep your business running. In many ways, trust is the foundation of a successful business.
A3: Without trust, there is no relationship.
It is ALL about relationship!
Your community needs trust if they are going to follow through with your brand.#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/816TrNaG22
— iThemes (@ithemes) December 9, 2021
The biggest and not-immediately-obvious consequence is that you’ll lose your community’s advocacy. If you’re not actively working to build trust, your community won’t have a reason to be loyal to you. As a result, they may not be promoting your brand as you’d like them to.
A4. You miss opportunities for advocacy from fans. Fans trust people first… that’s why influencer marketing often works so well. People evangelize for brands they love and trust. There’s nothing more authentic than that, right? #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/CCu8yV97pK
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
Julie from Nimble added that you might see engagement decreasing, interest in your brand waning, and purchases falling. Once people lose trust in your brand, it can be harder to re-build that trust.
A4: Loss of engagement, decreased likelihood of purchase, and it's going to be even harder for that brand to build that trust back ~Julie #TwitterSmarter
— Nimble (@Nimble) December 9, 2021
Be present and transparent. People value those two traits more than anything from a brand. If your brand is going through a rough patch, be open about it. If your brand’s doing well, share the happy news. Either way, make your community feel like they’re involved in it so that they have a reason to care.
A5. I think a big way to do that is to be present and open during tough conversations about your brand. (and be there for the good stuff too, obvi!) Stay real and be receptive to true feedback. This is how you learn and grow from your community, ultimately! #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/KScmdyTGZq
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
One of the most common problems brands face is that they expect to be perfect. As Gail reminded us, it’s ok for you to be imperfect—that just shows you’re human. Whether you’re telling stories, doing videos, or sharing opinions in Twitter chats, don’t let the fear of getting things wrong or imperfect hinder you from engaging with your community.
A5. Tell more stories. Share videos. Encourage use of social media to share these stories!
And allow for imperfection!
It is more important to be engaged and interested then have a perfect corporate video or brochure #TwitterSmarter #GailNow #CuriousBrain
— 🟣 Gail Robertson-ChiefCuriosityOfficer (@GailNow) December 9, 2021
There’s a whole list, but the most important ones are, don’t get defensive and don’t ignore or shut down constructive feedback. Instead, show up regularly and treat your community as you would like to be treated. Make time for your social media community.
A6. Don’t:
Be defensive
Shut down constructive feedback
Show up only when it’s convenient for you
Talk down to customers/fans
Put social media engagement on the back burner#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/e2Ofyz38SS— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
Alyx from Charlie Appel Agency added a few more great don’ts, including being inconsistent with your voice and messaging and promoting subpar partnerships and dodgy products.
A6 Not following through on promises
Inconsistent voice, messaging, etc
Promoting poor quality partnerships/products/services
Not being transparent
Ignoring major issues
Causing unnecessary drama
-Alyx#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/dVtPcF3AQf— Charlie & Alyx – Charlie Appel Agency (@ColfaxInsurance) December 9, 2021
When your community trusts and likes you, you’ll know right away. Just keep an eye and an ear out for people who post about you, tag you in conversations, engage with your content, show up to your events regularly, and are genuinely thrilled when you do well.
A7. Sure signs of community trust are:
They post about you
They excitedly mention you without prompts
They recommend your brand often
They engage with your brand often
They’re excited about your success#TwitterSmarter https://t.co/h2GswXObAA— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
The technical name for this is social listening, as our friends from GiveWP told us. Set up alerts for when your brand is mentioned, follow hashtags closely related to your brand or industry, and keep a Twitter List of your customers and close advocates to know who’s singing your praises and who wants you to improve more.
A7: Oh, you'll know 😂😂
Use social listening to understand what is being said, to determine if they are recommending you, if you have business coming in from referrals, etc. #TwitterSmarter
— GiveWP (@GiveWP) December 9, 2021
It can be hard. That’s why it’s important to be transparent and genuine about what went wrong and what you’re doing to make things better. Acknowledge the issue, apologize, and engage with your audience so they know you care about them and are trying to fix things.
A8. Start joining conversations with an open attitude and a genuine willingness to make things better for the long haul. Be apologetic, and leave canned responses at the door. Make it clear that their feelings about your brand really do matter. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/Dsv5e0jVVf
— Jen Cole #getxstand (@jencoleICT) December 9, 2021
One of the most important parts of rebuilding trust is listening to what your audience wants, as Madalyn reminded us. Learn what they expect from you and make sure to deliver. And of course, know that it’ll take some time. You can’t rebuild trust overnight.
A8: Apologize and own up to any wrongdoings. Pay attention to what your audience wants and expects from you during this time. And be patient. It’ll take time to rebuild a reputation. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/ngMoYmHS1W
— Madalyn Sklar 🗣️ 26/100 #Voice100 (@MadalynSklar) December 9, 2021
Well, that’s all from me, folks. Thanks for reading through, and for more insights from our chat with Jen, have a look at this Twitter thread. If you think this summary is pretty good, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us every Thursday at 1pm ET on #TwitterSmarter. Afterward, we also hang out on Twitter Spaces at 5pm ET to continue our chat. Catch you there!