Online presence: 5 steps to establishing your credibility

No matter what is going on in the world of content marketing or beyond, you want your website to remain a valuable source of information and products. One of the best ways to do this is to establish credibility with readers, users and customers.
Everyone who comes across your website, blog, social media page or any other online presence is a potential consumer, and it’s up to you to earn their trust. The only way you can do this is by demonstrating your knowledge and expertise in the field, but this isn’t always easy to accomplish online.

Create a cohesive brand image

It is impossible to claim your brand is credible if you don’t have a clear-cut image of exactly who you are as an organization. The first step toward this involves understanding what you’re trying to project to the public through your online presence. Only once you’ve settled on that, create goals for your content. What reputation do you want to build? What style do you want to employ? Make sure you’re applying these answers to all corners of your brand campaign to create a unified front.

Produce original content

Acting as a credible source of knowledge means you’re doing more than passing along secondhand information. You also have to be producing some type of original content to go along with your product or service. Blogs are just the tip of the iceberg – you can churn out interviews, whitepapers, videos, infographics and everything in between – just as long as it offers some kind of value to your consumers. Everything should have a deliberate purpose and must fit your brand image and your online presence.

Leverage social media

With the use of smartphones and mobile devices, people are never too far from their social media profiles. You can capitalize on this with smart use of your own brand pages. However, there is a fine line between savvy use of these tools and oversaturation. To ensure you’re toeing the line properly, consider altering your strategy for each site. For example, Twitter may be best for interacting with customers and peers, sharing their work and opinions with others. Conversely, Facebook is better suited for spreading the word about products, content and promotions. You can even build your online presence by giving your audience a look at the inner workings of your enterprise.

Communicate with other experts

Once you’ve started laying the groundwork for your own expertise, you’ve got to reach out to other authorities in the field. These people can validate your efforts, inspire ideas for future innovation and, most importantly, lend an informal seal of approval to your website and to your online presence. Getting a recognized industry leader to share or contribute to your content in any way is a huge first step, and after that happens, you may even notice that it’s easier to get more people on board with your brand. Any type of positive communication with other experts also grants you exposure to a wider audience of people who are at least somewhat interested in your field, and you would be remiss to let these sources go untapped.

Spur conversation and relationships

You’ll know your efforts to establish credibility have succeeded when consumers begin interacting and forming relationships with your brand. It could start with a few more social media followers, but eventually it should expand to include a dialog between your brand, its consumers and its peers. This is a great way to forge connections that can lead to guest posts, interviews and customer reviews – all of which can improve the credibility of your brand’s online presence.