Ways To Build Brand Credibility with Content Marketing

No consumer will ever try your product or service, become a loyal customer, let alone tell their friends and family about you or your product if you are not able to build brand credibility, at least through their eyes.

This is why alongside with product or service quality (and some might even say more than these two factors), brand credibility spells the success or failure of a marketing campaign. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that brand credibility consists of two dimensions—trustworthiness and expertise.

Brands need to earn consumer trust and at the same time be top of mind.

You might think digital channels make it easy to build brand credibility by making consumers more accessible. But there is also more competition for audience attention, with almost every brand vying for share of hearts and minds.

That's not to say that you can't set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Used strategically, digital platforms can be effective vehicles for brands to build a relationship with consumers and establish brand credibility.

A 2016 survey by Forbes Insights shows that 82 percent of consumers conduct online research about a product or service prior to purchasing, consumption, or usage. Consumers look for all available information about the product or service: product details, instructions, expert recommendations, user reviews.

This means that with content that is relevant, interesting and better yet, unique, you can get a step closer toward the goal of becoming top of mind. The approach of providing high-quality and relevant content is called content marketing.

The latest Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Report  found that 70 percent of global respondents trust information in a branded website. They also tend to take action after consuming the content, whether to register for a newsletter, make a purchase, or share information about the product or service to friends or family who need it.

In the same survey, 83 percent of consumers reveal that they trust peer recommendations to help their decision-making. Recommendations from people they know, such as family, friends, and influential figures on social media, are also rated as the trusted source of information, among others.

This psychological phenomenon is known as social proof; when an individual's perception of the right social behavior is influenced by others. To build its credibility through social proof becomes tactical for a brand.

Content marketing is the most effective and right way to support social proof. It uses content such as expert opinions, user reviews, testimonials, peer-based content that encourages feedback from the target audience's family and friends, crowd-based content such as live streaming of people queueing for a product launch, and celebrity endorsements.

When integrated into the social proof phenomenon in a marketing campaign, you can build audience trust for your brand. In turn, your audience will influence others with their personal opinions about your brand through content they share on social media.

To produce highly relevant and engaging content that will help your audience trust you more, work with expert creators of high-quality content. Visit the GetCraft Marketplace today to work with thousands across Southeast Asia.

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