Why Is Building Social Trust Important Online for Relationships?
You might be thinking...
"Harrison, I have read a bunch of your blogs and taken some of your free training, but it doesn't make sense.
None of it does. I spent time, energy, and effort on all of this learning, but no one is going to buy from me."
Let's get into some core principles of human nature that I love to think about when someone says, "No one is going to buy from me."
There are a few exceptions that happen when people buy.
People Buy From People They Like
I know this sounds silly, but it's true. If you are involved in the business world and have spent money with a vendor, chances are pretty good they know, like, and trust you.
People need to feel this because even if the deal isn't the best, they want to know that whoever is selling it is attached to a real person.
Trust me, I know. I am the biggest skeptic when it comes to buying things, both in-person and online.
Let me share with you a personal story that happened just shortly before this blog was written:
One of my clients at my digital marketing agency flat-out told me he doesn't care how excellent the produce of services is, he won't buy from them unless they are in person.
Now, this blew my mind. I couldn't believe that he thought that way. I thought he was ridiculous.
His reasoning was he wanted to know the person selling the goods or services.
He said, "I'm a face to face kind of guy, and if I cant have an in-person meeting with you, and then I'm not interested."
I couldn't believe it, but he is dead set on his ways.
So, this brought up a thought that if it's not just him, there has to be more.
Thankfully if you're reading this, I figured out a loophole. There are ways to get around this, but you have to think about it with an open mind.
There is only one instance that people will buy from someone they don't like.
You could hate the person with a burning passion, but you will take your wallet out and pay them every single time.
There Are A Few People Who You Will Buy From, Even If You Don't Like Them
Ready to hear who you will buy from?
The two clearest ones that come to mind are doctors and lawyers.
You can hate their guts, but if they are the best in the business and you can afford them, you will happily break out that checkbook (or credit card or apple pay...) and give them the money you need to.
Why?
You want the best best of the best with your health and your legal troubles, and there is no amount of money they could charge that you won't pay to get the help you need.
Good lawyers and doctors go for big money, and its never a question of how they get paid.
They charge what they charge, and you smile, giving them your hard-earned cash.
So what does that mean for everyone else?
Know, Like, & Trust Are Huge Factors For Business
Now that we got the important stuff out of the way, you're wondering how social selling and making sales on social media is possible.
Have you ever heard of OxiClean? Maybe Flex Tape?
Either way, they are masters creating an environment of know like and trust. They prove it to you in as little as 30 seconds. How?
You get to know Billy Mays.
Every single infomercial that man does, hey says verbatim, "Its billy mays here with…"
That's how he starts.
Now, are you going to buy the first time you see the commercial? Maybe... but more than likely not.
See it 100 times and you're like, "Oh that's Billy Mays talking about OxiClean!"
Then, he gets you to like him.
He tells you about the product he is representing with a massive smile on his face. Then, he goes as far as telling you how the products work and why they are fantastic.
It seems simple right? This is all done in 30 seconds or less.
Take a moment to think about that.
He just got you to like him and trust him in 30 seconds.
That is faster than your Keurig. That is crazy fast, and now you know and like him, so what about trust?
You might be thinking...
"Harrison, I don't trust anyone that quickly. Heck, even I don't trust people that quickly, so why should you trust Billy?"
Glad you asked. You believe Billy because he makes a deal so good that you have to trust him.
Buy Oxiclean, and we are going to throw in an extra tub of products just for buying. If you don't like it, send it back and keep the extra container on us.
We guarantee you will like it. How could you not trust such a good deal? It would be silly not to.
It's so good that even if you risk your own money, you still end up a winner!
"Yea, but Harrison, I don't have a product I can make a guarantee as Billy can."
I understand, and I don't think everyone is going to have that.
That's fine. Not everyone can do that.
But the best part of the "know, like, and trust model" is if you have 2 of the 3, it can outweigh the third pillar.
How?
If someone knows you well and likes you and your product, they don't need to trust your product.
"Harrison, that's the silliest thing I have ever heard. They have to know like and trust me, or I'm not going to get the deal."
Let me explain...
If Someone Knows You And Your Product And Likes Both You And The Product, Trust Isn't Essential
At some point or another, people are going to go all-in like in poker.
They don't know what cars other people have and they can't trust them. But if they get good at knowing someone and like the game enough to get good, trust isn't as important.
Ok, great, but how do I get someone to understand and to like me so much they are willing to take a chance on my products or services?
Make sure you get as much exposure as you possibly can.
Let's take a minute and think about our friend Grant Cardone: master marketer, sales coach, and real estate investor.
You seem him all over.
That man is literally everywhere.
He has gotten millions of people to know about him and like him enough that they would be willing to risk their money with him because they trust he is going to do an excellent job with it.
He has done everything from speakings on TV shows and so much more.
So, why do people do business with him if they don't trust him?
He has gotten so good at getting you to like him that it would be silly not to give him your money.
The same goes for Billy with OxiClean.
You have seen him so much on that infomercial and others that you feel compelled to provide him with your money to get the products.
"So Harrison, how do I do that?"
I don't have millions of dollars like Billy and Grant.
You, and I are in the same boat.
Trust me, I wish I had millions of dollars to invest in marketing, but that isn't the case. The truth of the matter is that you have to network.
Leveraging your network is going to be paramount for building trust.
If you're reading this blog, you should have some kind of established network or, at the bare minimum, a couple of followers online.
Those people are your assets.
They have the ability to do three of my favorite things on social media.
They can like, comment, and share your stuff.
This allows you to get more eyeballs on you, and you can start to get more and more people to know and like you.
The beautiful part of this is you can use things such as photos and videos to help build trust. I'm not going to hide the fact that I offer a free 40-minute training here.
This is to get you to trust what I tech because it works.
If you watch it and walk away, I won't be mad. I want to give it away for free. I am building trust with you.
You got to this blog because you either saw me, heard about me, or found an ad. Either way, you ended up here. And that's awesome!
Now that you're here, I have a significant goal.
I want to develop a trust between us. Think about it, you're reading written works, and you don't even see me.
But yet we are having a conversation. It's crazy to think about, but its how it works.
You find this blog. I am giving you free training and education to help you know and like me.
If it works out well, you might even share my content out with other people, and that would be awesome.
"But Harrison, how does this relate to me?"
It really doesn't. I don't have a product like that.
Chances are pretty good, if you're reading this, you have something you can sell or make money on.
Start Building Content On Social Media
I like all the content, and I am a content machine. I try to produce content all day and night.
Want to know how addicted I am? I wrote this blog on a flight from long island to Florida before vacation because I thought it would help someone.
Yep. It's that addicting to me.
I love teaching and giving away free information so much, that I spent years and thousands of dollars learning.
You have a network even if it's as small as a few hundred people. That's powerful.
Leverage those people. You can create photos, videos, and blogs to get the attention of your ideal customer.
This is tremendous for people because just like Grant and Billy. It helps people begin to know and like you.
If you are in the fortunate position to be able to show people your product, this will help build trust, and you can leverage that time and time again.
How do I know this? I have a YouTube channel.
Yep, that's a shameless plug, but I get to have people see me over and over again. I share my insider knowledge and experience with others.
This allows people to develop trust in not only me but my process as well.
I love seeing people that have a product or service pumping content out on social media or YouTube.
It only helps people trust you more. I do my best to release at least one, if not two, pieces of content every single week on YouTube.
People will begin to trust me and know that I'm an expert.
For others, it's solidifying my skills with them and reassuring them that not only am I an expert, I'm willing to help teach them the nitty-gritty details no one else likes to talk about.
So, let's do a quick recap of this whole blog before you go. After this blog, go and check out my free 40-minute training here.
People need to know, like, and trust you. People only buy from people they don't like if they are a doctor or a lawyer.
You need to have more leverage in 2 of the 3 pillars to get people to buy from you.
You can leverage content creation, such as photos, videos, and blogs to build any of the components.
Thanks for checking out this blog. I hope you enjoy the training and check back soon to read more!
Thanks,
Harrison Baron