Now, Who Do We Trust?

It’s time for the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer! Trust me when I say, you’re going to want to hear this.

According to the survey, there’s been a pretty big shift in whom we trust to give us credible information. In both 2009 and in the current report, academics and experts got the biggest vote of confidence with 62% and 70% respectively. But in 2009, “Person like yourself” got 47% of the vote, but in 2011 that number dropped to 43%.

Steve Rubel of Edelman Digital wrote an excellent article about the Trust Barometer survey and I like his take on this particular drop.

I believe the reason for this is that, as more of us join social networks, there’s been a devaluation in the entire concept of “friendship.” A separate survey found that people don’t know 20 percent of their Facebook friends. Consider that “unfriend” was Oxford’s word of the year for 2009.

But here’s where it gets weird. The trust metric for CEO’s jumped up from 31% in 2009 to 50% in the new survey. Seriously? Suddenly we have trust in what the CEO’s of companies are telling us? How did that happen?

Maybe this new found trust factor comes from the fact that CEO’s appear to be more transparent these days, more accessible to the general public. Not to mention the fact that half of them look like college kids who just came from a frat party (excuse me a moment while I adjust my bifocals and shawl.)

Another related shift came in the form of this question: where do you go first for news about a company? In 2009, the top tier (29%) went to online search engine. Now the lowly search engine has dropped to 16%, bested by online news sources and print.

People saying bad things about you on the web? That’s cause to worry, because 59% of the survey respondents said they believe it if they hear it 3-5 times.  No wonder those celebrity death rumors on Twitter take hold so fast.

The Trust Barometer has tons more information but they sum it up neatly with this very simple graphic that shows how companies have had to change over the years.

In the past, it was all about controlling the flow of information making sure the public only saw what you wanted them to see. These days, however, it’s transparency that precedes trust.

Who do you trust?

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Boost Traffic and Trust by Giving Back

This is a guest post by Joshua Noerr of JoshuaNoerr.com.

It’s clear that social media, specifically blogging, is about so much more than making money. Sure, we all want to be compensated for our time and our talents, but if the only goal was to make money, blogging would certainly not be our first choice.

If you’ve been reading ProBlogger for any length of time, the message will be clear to you: blogging is not a get-rich-quick kind of deal. There are certainly a few stars that rose to prominence quickly, but they’re the exception, not the rule.

The truth is, blogging for dollars is a slow process that requires many different factors to click into place before it produces a dependable income. One of those key factors is trust. The bottom line here is that your readers absolutely must trust you in order to buy from you, or to subscribe to your feed or newsletter.

I remember reading a book on sales a few years ago that said, essentially, “The prospect does not have to like you, he or she just has to trust you.” I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall any time I’ve said, “Wow, I don’t like that guy, but I sure do trust him.” Likability and trustworthiness have a tendency to go hand in hand.

Give back to build trust

Giving selflessly is a very powerful way to build the trust that you need to boost your repeat visitor levels, and your traffic overall. I’m going to share with you a way to do exactly that, but first I want you to consider something.

Have you ever noticed that most large corporations have either a foundation established in their name, or a department that handles charitable giving on behalf of the company? Think about that. I could name ten corporations that do just that off the top of my head. Consider why they do it. If you answered “to build trust,” you’re right!

What I’m proposing is that you donate a small portion of your online real estate to a good cause.

I know that the thought of giving even a small portion of your sidebar to charity may seem painful at first. For many, that means less space for direct advertising or AdSense promotion. It might even mean removing a featured affiliate product.

What I promise you is that the trust you get in return, while impossible to place a dollar value on, will be worth it. The good that you do in the world will become a part of your legacy.

Get started giving

Head over to FirstGiving.com. This website sets up free donation pages for thousands of charities and non-profits. After you set up your giving page, you’ll be able to create a widget that displays the amount of money you’re trying to raise, the organization you’re supporting, and how far you’ve progressed in your fundraising.

Place this widget somewhere on your blog. Now, you’re almost done, but there’s still one more step.

I suggest that you announce what you’re doing, which charity or cause you’re supporting, and why you’re supporting them (if you would like to see an example, take a look at my post asking for help to cure multiple sclerosis).

Writing this post is key, because it’s highly likely that it will be Stumbled, Dugg, and Tweeted, drawing attention to the cause, as well as your blog.

I also recommend that you choose a charity that’s near and dear to your heart. I decided to support the MS Fund because I have a wonderful friend who struggles with the disease. I can’t wait for the day when this disease no longer affects so many people. I’m sure you have a similar story, and I encourage you to share it with your readers.

Can blogging change the world?

Blogging has already changed the world in so many ways. It has changed the way news is reported, the speed at which information travels, and the way we get that information.

But I believe it can do much more than that. I truly believe that with so many wonderful, giving people out there in the blogosphere, blogging will change the world for the better in the years to come.

Please share your thoughts in the comments. What other ways can we give back and make the world a better place through blogging? Is there an organization that fits perfectly into your niche that you would like to support?

Joshua Noerr is a former competitive fighter turned blogger. He owns, or is partnered in, several blogs in different niches including personal development and fly fishing. He has one simple mission that drives all of his blogs: to change the world.

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Facebook Jumping Into Email Game on Monday?

Facebook has announced another event to announce more activity by the social media giant and the strong rumor has it that a full-fledged email offering is hitting ‘the ‘book’. It’s something that has been speculated about for quite some time.

TechCrunch’s Jason Kincaid says this

Back in February we wrote about Facebook’s secret Project Titan — a web-based email client that we hear is unofficially referred to internally as its “Gmail killer”. Now we’ve heard from sources that this is indeed what’s coming on Monday during Facebook’s special event, alongside personal @facebook.com email addresses for users.

This isn’t a big surprise — the event invites Facebook sent out hinted strongly that the news would have something to do with its Inbox, sparking plenty of speculation that the event could be related to Titan. Our understanding is that this is more than just a UI refresh for Facebook’s existing messaging service with POP access tacked on. Rather, Facebook is building a full-fledged webmail client, and while it may only be in early stages come its launch Monday, there’s a huge amount of potential here.

Now all of the back and forth on data and particularly e-mail data portability between Google and Facebook makes sense. It made sense before on many levels but now this would appear to be the real reason behind this sudden squall over data privacy etc.

Obviously, there is nothing to know about this product offering from Facebook yet. The idea of Facebook having my e-mail activity, though, is not even close to being in the cards even of they put together the greatest functionality a web based e-mail client has ever seen.

Why? It’s about trust. I am not naïve enough to think that any e-mail provider I use is keeping all of my information and data private. Those days are long gone and I have just decided that in the Internet’s new world order I will accept a certain level of uncertainty about what is or can be done with my data. Despite a few major gaffes Google has earned my trust. I am not here to debate whether that is right or wrong. It just is.

What I don’t have is the desire to try to let someone else earn that trust. It has come over time and, once again whether it is accurate or not is irrelevant, I have afforded Google enough trust to have this important part of my online life.

Having said that there is no chance on this earth that I would trust Facebook with this valuable piece of my online life. No way. They have done nothing to earn an ounce of trust with their “Oh we’re sorry we didn’t know that was an egregious breach of privacy so we won’t do it again ….. wink, wink, nod, nod” approach to me as a Facebook user. Call it “Once bitten twice shy” or “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me” but there is more than enough anecdotal evidence to say that anyone trusting Facebook implicitly with even more data is a fool.

Since Mark Zuckerberg didn’t get his degree from Harvard I am going to posit that he got his degree from Pink Floyd University. Why do I say that? Because aside from the “check to see if you have all of your fingers after you shake his hand” feeling I get about him and the incessant ass-kissing by many of the higher-ups in the Internet inner circle, the following lyrics from Floyd’s aptly titled song “Dogs” describe how I picture him and the culture that truly exists at Facebook.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You’ll get the chance to put the knife in.

Over the top? Sure but when hasn’t Facebook been to this point when it comes to the data it is entrusted with?

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Social Media is Good, Trust Me

In light of  the recent privacy breech on Facebook, it’s no wonder most internet users don’t trust social media. Only 16% have faith, says a study by Vision Critical with forums and blogs scoring even lower.

Who do we trust? The only online source is news, I’m assuming they mean from a known source such as CNN or the New York Times. TV, radio and print all came in much higher on the trustworthy scale.

Seeing as most of us are using social media for marketing, how do you get over the trust hurdle? The key is responsiveness. Says Professor Judy Olson,

“In e-mail, Linkedin and Facebook messages, much of the traditional markers of trust, such as voice intonation and body language, are hidden. . .  when only text is available, participants judge trustworthiness based on how quickly others respond.”

She recommends always sending a quick response to any queries, even if it’s only to say you’ll follow up with a more detailed response at a later date.  It’s a simple step but easy to ignore.

Another commonly mentioned issue is transparency. Folks are more likely to trust what you’re putting on Facebook if they know where it’s coming from. Are you a real person? Do you have a home base of operations? Use a real photo of yourself on your social media accounts and make sure there are plenty of ways to contact you. Not everyone is comfortable dashing off a complaint in a Twitter message, but you want to give them every opportunity to get it off their chest and get help.

One of the simplest and most overlooked ways to gain trust is by saying thanks. I’m guilty of this and it’s not because I’m not thankful, it’s just. . . well, honestly, I don’t know why I don’t do it more often.

This morning, I was talking with a group of colleagues who mentioned that they get annoyed when they aren’t thanked for an RT on Twitter. To me, that’s odd. I don’t need six more Tweets thanking me for passing on information I thought was useful. Apparently, I’m in the minority on this. So, right now, let me stop and say thanks to all of you who retweet my posts here at Marketing Pilgrim.

The point of all this prattle, is that to most folks, social media is one entity, so when Facebook gets caught with its hand in someone’s private pocket, we all get punished with a lack of trust. Make sure your efforts stand out by not ignoring these blunders. Tell your customers that their information is safe. Tell them you’re there to answer questions, and most importantly, tell them thanks for their patronage.

Trust me, it’s good business.

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We Trust the Blog But Not the Twitter

When it comes to trust online, it’s no surprise that people prefer the blogs of their friends, but according to a recent report on eMarketer, they’re a little suspicious of their friends’ Facebook streams, and when it comes to Twitter, fugetaboutit!

The study, which was conducted by Invoke, says that only 12% of the people surveyed completely trusted a friend’s Twitter stream, while more than double that number said they completely trusted a friend’s blog post. The numbers get even more dismal when it comes to brand blogs and brands on Facebook.

15% of the respondents in the survey even went so far as to say they distrust brand blogs somewhat. The really surprising result is that only 8% of the people said they completely trusted comments by fellow members of the same community.

What it adds up to is that we’re a mighty suspicious lifeform and that’s kind of sad. When it came to blog and Facebook posts by friends, the most chosen choice was “Trust Somewhat.” Somewhat? I know the old adage of ‘don’t believe everything you read,’ but do that many people really believe that their friends are up to no good? I suppose it comes down to the definition of trust. Maybe it’s not so much that we’re being lied to as we don’t trust Suzy’s taste in movies, so her recommendations are not to be believed. Then there’s your friend who always says he saw a famous person at the bar last night. TwitPics or it didn’t happen, buddy.

So if people can’t even trust their friends, what chance does a marketer have when hawking the benefits of his latest product?

37% of those surveyed said they’d be more trusting if the arena was open to both positive and negative comments. They also said that the quality of the content and the responsiveness of the author went a long way to solidifying the validity of any claims.

The number of fans, followers or participants was the least important factor which proves that those auto-Twitter Follow programs aren’t doing you any favors.

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