Trust and credibility are critical. No ethical editor would purposely publish errors or bad info. This is a no-brainer, right?
What about when it comes to social media?
It's the place we most often encounter our consumers. Is it the place we invest the most time building our credibility? Or is social media a portal we jump on when we're done with what we perceive as the real publishing?
No matter what your business, credibility is a critical to you brand. No one will buy your car, read your story or fly on your plane if they don’t trust you.
And it’s not a goal you can ever walk away from. You can always increase trust and credibility.
That's where the challenge comes in. How to do you translate something squishy like credibility into tangible/measurable steps?
Back to the no-brainer, let's assume that accuracy and error-free posts are mandatory. Accurate information and posts free of typos, grammar errors and wrong word usage is the bare minimum you need.
Here are the top five things I would put on my list:
1. Tagging: Tagging accounts makes it clear that you're posting about legit people/companies. It's also makes it clear you're not posting something shady. Not tagging people is like talking behind their backs or gossiping; tagging shows you're not posting something shady. And that you're smart enough to know how to tag.
2. Have good social media friends: Remember when your parents told you that hanging out with a bad crowd would get you a bad rep? Same goes for social media. People will draw conclusions about you based upon groups that you're a part of and who your friends are.
3. Make sure everything you do reinforces your brand: Don't share/like/favorite trash or sketchy information. You might think that political meme or the video of a wardrobe malfunction is hilarious, but what does that say about you and your brand? People may be draw to gossips, but no one trusts them.
4. Don't bicker: People are rude on social media. Don't try to out-rude them. It may feel good in the short-term but the price is high.
5. Don't hide: Because social media is so accessible and easy, your consumers are going to use this as a customer service portal. Don’t hide from their complaints. Don’t delete the negative posts or get defensive. Address them professionally. That may mean that you need to take a few deep breaths and re-read No. 4 a few hundred times, but it’s the payoff can be massive.
Trust is so difficult to build and so easy to destroy. It’s worth investing the time to be strategic about social media credibility and draw up your own list.
If you do, I’d love to hear what’s on it.
