Credibility The Social Trust Factor
By Oscar Smith
MJFM.Live Radio and Mt Juliet’s Own
TV Channel

Mt. Juliet, TN has taken plenty of time to understand. The Land Between The Lakes is no quick study. For me building an online persona and brand began with the most basic aspects including building a core message.
1Big1.com and MJFM.Live both are being broadcast from here. Building up trust was essential for us. There could be many different reasons why communities we do business in are reluctant to engage with us. One of the most common reasons is that they don’t trust us. We have all the pretty colors, bells and whistles for our online presence but we lack credibility.  We simply lack the trust factor.

In real life and offline relationships, trust is built via word of mouth, client and partner referrals.  One person talks to another person who knows good and bad about you. You earn a reputation for being who you are and the quality and service you deliver.  You may have a solid reputation and trust factor offline but are finding it difficult to establish such online.

If this is the case for you, don’t you fret! This could be for many reasons. It could be you are practically starting over with online relationships. If most of your offline contacts, partners, colleagues and friends are not yet online, then yes you are starting over to some degree. However, you can also leverage your relationships offline to bring credibility online.

Building trust doesn’t happen overnight. However, there are some simple things we as business folks can do even if we are just starting out to increase credibility and the trust factor.

11 Tips to Establish Credibility and Trust
1. Establish authority.
First and foremost you must establish authority. Your must know your stuff. Faking it online will not get you far. Social media is far different than handing someone a business card. In the social realm it’s easy to validate who you are, where you have worked, what references you have, who your clients are, who your contacts are within only a few clicks.  Your content on all social platforms must scream results.
2. Social proof.
Yes, even though you may have spent far too much money on that beautiful Twitter background, custom Facebook page and blogsite, you still need to prove to me who and what you are.  This isn’t as hard as what it sounds. Don’t ignore this step. Instead make this one of the first things you do when you hop online. Take time to update this content at least once a month.  
3. Walk the walk.
Everything about your online persona, website, blog and social profiles must not only talk the talk but your actions must walk the walk of whatever you say you do.
4. Be consistent in both life and business.
The days of separating online and offline personas are over and done. You can’t be one person offline and a better, different person online. You are one business, one team, one person regardless if you are online or offline.  If you are a one man or one woman business consultant this is even more important.
5. Hang with the right peeps.
Hang out with people you learn from, people who build you, empower you and make you a better person.
6. You had me at first tweet.”
What you tweet matters. Don’t be negative. Give your Twitter and Facebook readers good nuggets of information that help them, inspire them and enable them to get to know you better.
7. Take time for relationships.
I see many businesses get too caught up in the science of social media that they forget the most important aspect, the art.  I am not talking about art as in brand and colors. Instead focus on the art as in relationships and conversation. It’s the art of engagement that will differentiate you from the masses. If you are finding it hard to build real relationships online then chances are you are not taking the time to get to know someone. Take time to truly connect with others.
8. Build a platform that invites conversation.
Ask specific questions about how your content makes them feel.
9. It’s not about you!
As much as you want to think that your Twitter profile, tweet stream, Facebook business page and blog are all about you, they aren’t. Yes, you can use these platforms to establish authority, build community and trust, it is not a walking billboard of YOU.  Your online personas should scream helpfulness, content that inspires, conversation that engages. Talk to your communities in voices they like to communicate, not in web speak.  Ask them what they want if you don’t know. Take time to know your audience, partners, clients and more. The better you understand your audiences, the better you will be able to help them.
10. Author content like I’m doing here.
Chances are you are in business because you know something. You hopefully know something that is going to help a business or individual otherwise you probably won’t be in business long.  Make certain you establish your own content. I am a big believer in sharing and curating awesome content I find across the web with my communities.  However, I am also a believer in creating my own content. It is through your own content that people get to know YOU!
11. Be honest. 
I added this one as a bonus mostly because it should be common sense. The people who live between the Land and the Lakes are much more resilient when the relationship you build with them is built on trust and credibility.
Bottom line, if you lose my trust, you lose me.  

I appreciate the opportunity to share my heart in this awesome publication.
Osmithmedia@gmail.com