How to Build Trust Online – These Little Steps Make a Big Difference! – Kady Creative
How to Build Trust Online - These Little Steps Make a Big Difference!

How to Build Trust Online – These Little Steps Make a Big Difference!

In our last post, we gave you all of our top tips on getting feedback from your clients. There is a method to the madness! Not only is getting customer feedback essential to continually improve your business, it is also a great way of promoting your website. Social proof is the biggest factor in buying decisions. How many times have you decided to buy a new book because it was a No 1 Bestseller? The fact that other people have used and approved of a product or service instantly makes said service/ product trustworthy. You instantly think this must be good if so many other people have loved it. One of the major factors in buying decisions is fear of the unknown. If a customer is dealing with a brand they have never heard of, they are unconsciously wary of it. So to counteract this, you need to shout your brands praises from the rooftops! While it’s great to have compelling copy and beautiful branding, if you build trust with your brand it gets that extra tick of approval.

There are so many ways to build trust online that it would be silly not to implement them! But what if I am just starting out and don’t have a line of raving fans? I hear you ask.. There are many ways to go about this. The best and easiest way is to give a customer a trial of your service or product in return for feedback. Not only do you get valuable insight and testimonials, the customer will most likely rave about our brand after getting so much value from you to all of their friends too! Helloooo new clients! Below are our favourite ways to easily build trust in your online presence.

#1 – Add ratings to products

Everyone looooooves ratings! If you are anything like me, you will not even consider eating out without checking food website reviews first. Well, it’s the same for your products. Make sure there is an area your customers can rate your products and provide feedback. If you are a food blogger – you could even add ratings to your recipes. Not only does it provide social proof, it also encourages your audience to be more engaged and interactive with you!

#2 – Use testimonials to build trust

Add a testimonial slider to the bottom of your home page. Add your best feedback from your top clients. Using their photo or logo is great or if you can get video testimonials, even better! If you use wordpress, consider using this plugin to easily set it up on your page!

#3 – Use real life imagery!

Nothing says bland like generic stock images. Not only do they looks crappy (you an do better, I know you can!), they also just make you look like you are a fake company run by a college student from their couch in sweat pants. Get some proper photos taken! It will build trust in YOU and YOUR BRAND. People will start to identify you and relate to you as a real person. If you MUST use some stock imagery, check out Unspalsh and Death to the stock photo for something a little less basic.

#4 – re-inforce your brand message by using great copy

Building trust = reinforce, reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. Make sure your messaging is the 3 C’s: Clear, Concise and Consistent. Blogging regularly adds value for your audience and also shows that you are trustworthy and know your stuff. So get to it!

#5 – Add client logos

If you have worked with any recognisable brands, make sure you show it off! Your website is no place to be modest so make sure they are plastered all over your homepage (in a beautiful neat design of course!) This shows that you are trusted by other relatable brands and makes it easier for new clients to trust you!

#6 – Show off your previous projects

Make sure you show examples of past client work so that your audience can see first hand what you can do. If they look through your previous projects, they will be able to see how you can help them too.

#7 – Don’t be spammy

It’s just plain not cool. Nobody likes too many ads or spam. You may be making a little cash in the short term, but chances are you are scaring away clients. It’s just plain annoying and completely cheapens your brand.

Ok there you have it! Now tell me, what has worked for you? How do you build trust on your website? I would love to hear!