The level of trust web users have in the information they find on web sites and in blogs, forums and social networks seems to be declining. This is a pity as blogs in particular used to be places where people could trust the content as being non-commercial and honest.
Unfortunately, companies love the idea of getting their messages into these channels and more and more adverts and marketing are finding their ways into blogs. Marketers are increasingly using blogs, and social network pages specifically to promote their products or services.
Your Opportunity
Although it’s a shame that there is so much ‘advertorial’ out there , it also presents opportunities for you. As levels of credibility and trust sink lower, readers will seek out content that is honest and useful. They’ll be hungry for information they can trust, and once you have their trust, you are more likely to be receptive to the products and services that you offer.
What not to do
There are some excellent, trustworthy sites around which support themselves through all manner of advertising and sponsorship deals. The trick is not to remove the advertising, but to clearly separate editorial from advertising.
People understand that information media needs to support their existence through advertising. What isn’t OK is when you try to trick your readers.
It’s not acceptable to:
- Write content that’s thinly-veiled advertising
- Try to make people think a certain page is editorial they can trust, when in fact it’s there to deliver a marketing message
- Write a blog entry that appears to be editorial when you’re being paid a fee by a company to write it
- Write poor content simply to attract readers in the hope they’ll click on an advert
These are the practices that dilute trust and make web users sceptical about the next blog, forum or website they visit.
How to build trust
Online, every marketer is in a hurry to make money. But if you just slow down a little you’ll end up doing better in the long run.
Create valuable, useful and honest content, whether it be in the form of articles, reviews, guides, white papers, or blog entries. Keep marketing messages out of your content. Add them separately, and keep them separate. Over time, people will come to trust your site and the information you provide.Trustworthy content will win in the end
So while we’re in the midst of an explosion of sneaky marketing right now, the smartest marketers will be investing in sites and blogsthat are genuinely trustworthy. They will be the winners in the end.