Becoming the trusted expert in your industry is one of the most powerful ways to take your enterprise to the next level. Weather you’re an insurance agent, an antique appraiser or a scotty dog collector, becoming the go-to person for information on any given subject is hugely beneficial.

Fifty, even fifteen, years ago it was really hard to get yourself up to expert status. You really had to gain some serious media attention or spend thousands on advertising. Now, with the internet, it’s not only possible, but much easier to become the trusted expert in your field.

In this post I’m going to explain how you can use your website or blog to effectively position yourself or your company as the trusted expert in your industry. It’s still hard work, and it can take some time and money. However, compared to times past, it’s cheaper and easier than it has ever been.

Here’s a breakdown:

  1. The one second test. Building Trust by Design
  2. Use real imagery
  3. Don’t sell right away
  4. Write user focused copy
  5. Personality
  6. Having a wealth of resources
  7. Social Proof
  8. Success Stories
  9. Interact with your users

Here we go!

Some say 8 seconds, it’s probably less.

It’s said that you have only 8 seconds to convince a user that they are in the right place when they land on your website. This may be true, but, after reading this article from the guys over at Men With Pens, I now think that it’s less than that.

The first impression that you give in that one second is crucial to building trust with your visitors. The design of your site needs to be sharp, on message and telling a compelling story about your brand. If it’s not, people will leave. That’s it.

I can hear you saying, “Well, what is good web design? Isn’t it all subjective?”

No.

Good web design delivers content in a meaningful way that helps you the website owner reach a desired goal. It guides the user’s eye to important areas using visual paths, grouping, color and texture. All of these things together communicate one thing or another about your site.

For example, if your site is about cowboy memorabilia, you probably wouldn’t use a color pallet with shades of pink and flowery embellishments. You will most likely want to tell a story about your brand that instantly communicates who you are, what you are about and who the site is for. So, you would most likely draw inspiration from the southwest. Using the rough terrain to inspire your color pallet and over all design.

Being clear about your target audience will save you a tremendous amount of trouble getting the design right. Know who you are speaking to and do it boldly. This will help to build an initial layer of trust with your audience, and helping you position yourself as an expert in their minds. The first impression of your site can say either, “I’m serious, trust me”, or “I’m seriously shady, run away—fast!”. What is your site saying?

Ditch the stock photos

Well, most of them anyway. Here’s my rule: stock photos are ok when being used for illustrative purposes, like in a blog post, but not good when it comes to pages on your business website. Being transparent is huge when it comes to building trust on the web. Having real images of yourself, your staff and any clients that are willing will go a long way in building trust.

Remember the old saying about a picture saying a thousand words, well it’s true on your website as well. Your real images say a lot about your company and it’s culture. Be open and transparent as much as possible.

Ease People In

Having a call to action is truly essential for a website. Without one, your visitors will have to think WAY to hard to do what it is that both you and them want them to do. So, have a clear, inviting call to action button that is both enticing and not to sales-y. You don’t want to scare people off from your site if they see a big red button that says “BUY NOW” without giving them a sufficient amount of reasons why they should.

If your site is to pushy your visitors may not hang around very long. For example, if you are a service company you may want to offer a free quote, or, even better, a link to a free report or tip sheet in exchange for the user’s contact details. If you are a software company you may want to offer a free trial. This is much better than a call to action that is overly aggressive like, “Ready to buy? Call us now!”.

Easing people in is a much better way to attract people into doing business with you.

Write for your user’s benefit

To many times we write to convince our website visitors how awesome we are. And, while this may be true, the superior truth is…they don’t care! They care about their problem and how you are going to solve it. Actually, they may not even care that you will solve it for them, they may just want to know that it can be solved!

Instead of having copy that simply touts your processes and accomplishments, give reasons why those things are of benefit to your visitors. If you are incredibly efficient, you could say, “Want to save more money on XXX service? Our efficiency helps your bottom line get larger, not smaller.” That is much better than just stating that you are a supremely efficient business.

So, focus on the user and what they need. This will curry favor with your users and show that you truly care about them and their needs and desires.

Add in your unique personality

I had a client not too long ago say to me, “I want to look like everyone else in the industry”. I couldn’t believe it at first, but after some thought I understood where he was coming from. He had a new business and didn’t want to scare off new customers by being to “out there”. I totally get this. The problem is, that not showing your unique personality in your site wont help your cause. Blending in is probably the worst thing that you can do from a marketing standpoint. If you don’t differentiate on things like personality, culture, service or process, you are left with competing on price. And that is just a race to the bottom.

Showing your unique personality will allow people to get a sense of what it’s like to work with you. Sure, you will turn some people off, but you will really resonate with others.

Now, I know that when some people hear the word personality they think that they have to be over the top and out there. Not true. Be yourself. Express the culture that you have created and express it boldly. This type of genuineness goes a long way in cultivating a strong tribe that considers you an expert.

 Have lots of resources

What’s the thing people want most online? Information! Your site should be jam-packed full of useful resources that will help people solve their problems. This means going beyond the company description and contact details into an area where you are known as a provider of highly useful information.

This is where we really build up that “Expert” status.

When people come to your site and see that they have access to a thoughtful and interesting blog, white papers, reports, podcasts and useful videos, they can’t help but notice. When you focus on creating and delivering valuable resources to your visitors you will be highly elevated in their eyes. Remember that content is still king. If you want to become an expert, you have to create some killer content.

Social Proof

Having social proof is one of the absolute best ways to build trust. What is it? Here’s one definition from Wikipedia:

Social proof, also known as informational social influence, is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.

Basically, if people see that others are doing/using something, they assume that it’s a good thing. Knowing this, it’s crucial to have some sort of social proof on your site to ease the minds of your visitors.

Testimonials are a great form of social proof. Every site that is selling something should have them. To really pump up your testimonials, it’s a good idea to put a photo next to it of the person who gave the testimonial. This shows that it’s an actual person, adding another layer of credibility. If you want to go a step further, get the testimonial on video. Nothing beats straight from the horses mouth! I think it’s good to scatter these throughout your site, and have a dedicated page of testimonials as well.

Success Stories

This goes along with social proof. Success stories, or case studies go a long way in building credibility and expert status. Nothing says you know what you are talking about better than a real life example.

A good way to present case studies is to turn them into stories. Having characters facing a problem and then a hero that solves the problem is a much more interesting way to present a case study. Another good idea would be to include a relevant testimonial in the case study. This will add a tremendous amount of credibility in the minds of your users.

Interact with your users

Having a way to interact with your users is huge in building trust, credibility and an expert status. When people ask you questions, respond in a timely manner. Get involved with the comments on your blog. Address any issues that people may have in a kind and understanding way. This is a great opportunity to show that you are a real person who cares about the people that are interacting with their brand. Always make sure that you give your users a significant amount of attention.

Conclusion

It is more possible to become an expert in your industry than ever before. All it takes is some focus, hard work and dedication. If you use the 9 items listed above your website will help you tremendously in positioning yourself as an expert to your audience.

Have any other ideas or tips? List them below in the comments section.

Oh, and why not follow me on Twitter!

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