Because no-one remembers a faceless brand.
hey@storyprompt.com
It really shouldn't be so hard to attract new customers, right?
Remember how great it felt when you'd receive a response to one of your cold emails? Or when you could actually get through to a decision-maker on the phone. Or when a Facebook ad was able to generate a direct sale!
Getting someone to pay attention used to be (dare we say) easy. Then things changed.
Now, no matter how much you pay Google and Facebook to bring you a new website visitor, they don't stick around for very long. And of those who explore your site, very few actually go on to become customers.
Yet, you keep trying. You test new ad campaigns. New email copy. New sales pitches.
But nothing is working anymore. Why?
Because it’s not just you that's trying to steal their attention – it’s everyone!
Your customers live in a world of infinite options. There’s too much noise and too many choices.
There are 300 million photos being uploaded to social media each day and 500 hours of video content is produced every minute.
Your customers are being bombarded with content and ads. Their attention spans are shrinking and they don't know where to look. Or, who to trust.
The traditional marketing messages that come directly from you are no longer effective. And the tactics you use to push them towards a sale, like ads or sales calls, only serve to drive them further away.
Only 3% of people say they trust a sales person and only 1% say advertising is likely to make them trust a brand.
The world has changed and you need to adapt.
Today, your customers have all the power. They get to decide who they want to do business with. And if they don’t trust you – you have zero chance.
Of course, ads are vital for making an audience aware of your business. They aren't going away.
But to truly motivate and capture the attention of customers, you have to instil trust. And not through what you say, but through your actions as conveyed by others.
You are no longer selling a product or service. You are selling trust.
With trust-based marketing, rather than exposing people to sales pitches and ads, the most successful businesses are capturing the stories that convey trustworthiness and infusing them into every stage of the customer's journey.
The majority of trust-based marketing happens online. Most of these efforts rely on surfacing raw stories from your customers, your employees, and yourself. The stories you collect are then sprinkled throughout your marketing funnel to reinforce trust.
Trust-based marketing is most effective when authentic content is being shared by your customers, your employees, and yourself (in that order).
To drive awareness with a high level of trust, use organic social to share the stories that give your product or brand a personal, authentic touch. Share behind-the-scenes content or tell your story.
Remember, you aren't trying to make a sale. All you're trying to do here is build an audience that trusts you.
When you attract visitors to your website, they are usually at the consideration stage of their journey. Not only are they questioning whether your product or service will provide the solution they're after, but they also want to know if they can trust your business.
So, it's important that you use the relevant stories you've collected from successful customers as social proof in order to instil confidence in your visitors and to help them make a decision.
The majority of trust-based marketing happens online. Most of these efforts rely on surfacing raw stories from your customers, your employees, and yourself. The stories you collect are then sprinkled throughout your marketing funnel to reinforce trust.
A great way to establish trust at the consideration stage is by giving your potential customers a sense of the people they'll be working with in your company.
Your customers want to do business with people they like, so take the time to show off the human side of your team.
Your customers will always be your best sales people, so make it easy for them to create content that builds trust about your business.
Ask for testimonials and feedback at every touch point, and reach out to happy customers for user generated content – video always works great here!
Get into the habit of telling your own story or adding value through educational content and thought leadership.
Consistency is crucial, so make sure you block off time to reflect on a challenge you've recently overcome and turn that into powerful content that resonates with your audience.
