How can you start building relationships with your blog? It may not seem feasible to get clients whom you may never meet in person to trust, know and like you exclusively through your presence on the internet.
You probably know how to make customers feel at home when you are dealing with them face to face, but transferring your human relations skills to the pages, platforms and search engines of the world wide web may not come naturally. Never fear- a well-managed, well-written blog is your secret to developing fruitful relationships online.
We might say that trust is the cornerstone to success on the internet or conversely that a lack of trust will doom any enterprise to failure. From banks to news outlets to online vendors, no business would be able to survive on the web if consumers were not able to trust them.
Trustworthy online companies are serious, professional, transparent, and responsive. Tweet This
Blog Commenting Creates a 2-Way Conversation
Customers feel safe with companies which openly respond to their problems and queries. Allowing for comments on your blog and responding to them is a must for developing trust.
We recommend using DISQUS for your commenting platform. It’s used by small blogs and large brands and allows you to tap into a community of commenters. DISQUS supports gravatars, which means that many of your commenters will have a headshot associated with their comments.
DISQUS shows how important 2-way communication is to developing trust.
Although I trust my credit card company, they are a huge international corporation which makes me feel small and insignificant- their website is impossible to navigate and I can never find the answers to my questions. I often reminisce of the days when I would walk into the branch of my bank and receive personalized help through open communication.
Showcase the People behind the Brand
As a customer, it is important for me to feel that a company knows me and that I know them.
Doing business on the internet makes this slightly more complicated than when interactions happen in person; nonetheless, familiarity with people that we have never met is really nothing new. Think of the celebrities that you refer to on a first name basis- you know everything about them, possibly even more than you know about most of your neighbors. Virtual distances are often shorter than physical ones.
For this reason, it is particularly important to focus on the people behind your brand- every blog post should be attributed to an actual person, not just ‘Your Brand’. And authors should have a headshot and short bio so readers can put a face to the words of each blog post.
Make sure each author on your blog has a headshot and a short bio.
Speak the Language of Your Customers
Businesses can become familiar to their customers by reminding them that they are regular human beings too. A blog is a perfect place for businesses to speak the language of their clients; to remind them that they too are facing the economic crisis and know what it is like to have to make tough decisions, to lay forth their point of view on important topics in their sector, and to exhibit their goods and services in a more human light.
By presenting themselves in layman’s clothes and as people rather than brands, businesses become more familiar and more approachable. If they do all of this with exquisite charm, they may even become likeable. Getting your clients to like you based on what they see on the internet entails putting a significant amount of effort into the details of your online presence- everything from aesthetics to the quality of your written content.
You know how to dress in a way that makes you presentable- your website should be dressed in the same way. You probably know how to speak in a pleasant, engaging manner- your written content needs to transmit your voice to those who read it.
In a face-to-face interaction with a customer, you know that the experience doesn’t stop with the product or service you provide- how you treat the customer is what makes the difference when it comes to creating a lifelong client. On the internet your blog gives you a chance to forge the type of relationships which keep you in business- relationships with clients who trust, know, and like you.
How do you build trust online? Please let me know in the comments below and if you liked this post, please subscribe to our e-mail newsletter!