By Joshua Nite

Ever notice that the people who say, “trust me,” are the least trustworthy people around? Something about those two little words immediately puts people on guard. If you were really trustworthy, we think, you wouldn’t have to ask.

Right now, we have a serious trust gap in our cultural institutions. The Edelman Trust Barometer for this year shows a continued downward spiral. Nearly half of respondents view the government and the media as divisive forces in society, rather than sources of reliable information. 

“Trust me,” says the senator. “Trust ME,” says the pundit. And most of us say, “no, thank you.”

This trust gap may seem like the perfect opportunity for business to step in. After all, B2B brands want to be trusted advisors to potential clients. The only problem is, even if consumers trust us more than the government or media… they still don’t trust us all that much.

Thankfully, this is one of the many B2B marketing challenges that co-creating content with influential industry experts and thought leaders can fix. Here are five ways that B2B influencer marketing can build trust.

#1: Boosting Visibility

This is influencer marketing at the simplest level. If a trusted influencer in your industry has a million followers, and your brand accounts have a couple thousand, the influencer’s participation widens your audience.

Of course, influence isn’t solely about numbers. The right influencer should have a sizable audience that is immediately relevant to your brand. And they should be actively engaging with that audience, not just broadcasting. 

With a truly relevant, actually influential person aligned with the brand, you can boost visibility in a meaningful, useful way.

#2: Boosting Credibility

In addition to amplifying your message, the right influencers can make your message—and the intent behind it—more credible. For example, our client Prophix could have written an eBook by themselves called “The Ultimate Finance Software Purchase Guide.” However, since Prophix is a Finance platform, one would suspect highly biased advice from them.

Instead, Prophix co-created three smaller assets on specific aspects of digital transformation in Finance. Each one features three respected thought leaders in the field.

Now Prophix is saying, “This is the way the industry is headed, according to these experts,” rather than, “We think you should buy our solution.”

Influencer co-created content shows that you genuinely care about the audience, and are committed to presenting something of value they can’t get anywhere else.

#3: Aligning with Purpose

Purpose is becoming a major differentiator for both B2B and B2C. Consumers and B2B buyers alike want to spend money with people who have the same values. That means …read more

Source:: Top Rank Blog

Author: Aaron