Twitter for Business: "It's the trust, stupid."

"It's the trust, stupid."

I have spent most of my career working with top notch companies that sell brand name products. The great thing about a brand name is that you know your product performs as promised, and it has already established trust with customers. The messaging requires defining your target audience, delivering one focused message, and to do so in a provocative, engaging and creative way.

Granted, that simplifies things, but it works time and time again. And I have worked on top brands from consumer products like LUVS diaper, Bounty paper towels and Tyson foods to technology like Quicken, HP LaserJets, and Barra.

While the specific strategies for these brands are different, these brands have one common theme; they want the character of their brand to be seen as a trusted, friend. It is all about the trust.

Image via Wikipedia

While big corporations have the luxury of big budgets, other businesses must use less costly marketing tactics, which means using the internet. But the internet is a jungle when it comes to figuring out who to trust.

The Internet: Who do you trust?

When it comes to getting reliable information to help make a purchase, the number one challenge for a prospect (consumer or business) is "Who do I trust?"

The answer: Develop a website. Not! Every company has a website with pages and pages of biased, corporate speak.

The answer: Add in positive testimonials and customer reviews. Not! No one is going to post a negative testimonial and those positive reviews can be be added by anyone.

The answer: A blog. Not! A corporate blog is just going to give the company-line and the major blogs are being paid by companies to post positive articles for them.

So who can you trust online?

The answer: Friends. Yes! 90% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.
(Source: Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey of over 25,000 Internet consumers from 50 countries April 2009).

Twitter Friends = Trust

If you go about your business on Twitter the right way, other users will follow you and see you as a friend. You need to follow the right Twitter etiquette. You need to provide value to your followers. You need to make an effort not to go into marketing speak and a hard-sell.

On Twitter, one essential part of your strategy is to to be perceived as a trusted, friend. It works for major brands and it will work for you. You are the brand in a friendly, social media network. Twitter is social. Be social. Be a friend.

The advantages of being a friend is that it makes it easier for your followers to buy from you. People buy from those they know, they like and they trust. And the bonus is that friends who buy from you will often become advocates for you as well.

As a next step, list all the ways you are going to do to be a trusted, friend to your followers on Twitter (you do have a written plan, don't you?). Because yes, it's all about the trust.