How to Build Trust with Your Audience

You're witnessing how real-time I am with posting. Last week, I visited my parents and sister. My nieces made the executive decision that we go to the park every day. I'm back this week with a new post.

Before making a purchase, more than half of online shoppers research product reviews on Google, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and Amazon. Audiences crave trust and interest signals to feel confident in their decision to buy a product and "buy" into a community.

While user-generated content (UGC) was a major trend, the focus has shifted toward paying influencers. I conducted a scan of interest levels for UGC and influencer marketing over the past five years in the US.

UGC has consistently remained below a score of 50/100 week over week, spiking over 50 only 6 times. In contrast, influencer marketing has consistently scored above 50 for the majority of the 5-year period, and from May 2022 to May 2023, it has rated consistently closer to a score of 100.

I suggest working with both nano-influencers (1K-10K followers) and micro-influencers (10K-100K followers). This diversifies your investment, and smaller creators often have a niche audience that better aligns with yours.

If your monthly marketing budget exceeds 1 million dollars, it also makes sense to bring in macro-influencers (over 100K followers). Due to their high demand, ensure they haven't collaborated with your competitors or diluted their brand by working with too many companies. As a baseline, businesses can generate $6.50 for every $1 they invest in influencer marketing.

Companies can demonstrate trust and interest signals to their audience by sharing content from their customers and influencers not only on social media but also on their website's homepage and landing pages.

In addition to your website, create a distraction-free space through a landing page:

1. Use clear headlines throughout the page to ensure visitors feel they made the right decision by clicking on your landing page.

2. Write brief paragraphs about how they benefit/why they should care, using 30 words or fewer per paragraph.

3. Include a product video where someone from your team speaks to the audience.

4. Add calls-to-action that encourage the audience to "experience the difference" rather than just "learn more" or "buy now".

5. Avoid adding buttons or icons that redirect traffic away from the landing page. You spent money to get them there, so don't rush them off.

Curating UGC for startups can be challenging, as these posts may not yet exist. While more people post about large brands on social media, startups need to encourage and incentivize their users to create and share content about their products or services.

One solution is to offer your fans the opportunity to have their photos, videos, or reviews featured on your social media channels and websites. By providing your customers with a platform to share their experiences, they become part of the brand rather than just spectators.

You can upload 50% of your customer emails to your social media accounts for retargeting and email the remaining 50%. Ads that incorporate UGC have click-through rates four times higher and a cost-per-click 50% lower than the average. They can also lead to 29% more conversions compared to campaigns or websites that do not use UGC.