The global pandemic has taught us many lessons. At this point, it seems unlikely that things are simply going to go back to normal. If we go back to where we started, that also means that the value of the lessons we’ve learned during this crisis is going to be lost.
One of those lessons is the importance of trust in content marketing when we’re working with one another. We’ve seen that when a patient withholds information about their medical history, other people are put in danger.
The lesson we should take from this crisis is that concealing the truth rather than facing difficult facts puts people in harm’s way in one way or another. This lesson is a personal one, but it also resonates across several industries. Not following it can also lead to severe consequences.
These consequences can be both in terms of injury and legal liability, as is the case when pharmaceuticals release drugs to the public without fully disclosing the side effects. People who are injured by bad drugs end up having to answer to pharmaceutical malpractice lawyers like the ones at the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP.
Transparency and accuracy reflect the trustworthiness of a brand as well as its degree of social involvement. In the digital age, information is so easily accessed and shared. Considering how hard it is to keep any information under wraps, being honest is practical as a business practice.
The content that you're brand creates represents its principles and its goals. The themes that you use on your website, in your advertising, and in your client communications show what you value.
More often than not, people are attracted to ideas rather than the brands and symbols that represent those ideas. Now that trust in content marketing has become such a pressing issue, more people are likely to look for trust in the brands that they purchase.
Considering how the internet enables us to communicate easily with each other, brands are now expected to be more personal and personable. Nobody wants to deal with a deceitful person, much less with a brand that has a tainted reputation for sugarcoating and concealing the truth.
Content speaks about its author as much as its subject matter, and while people may not immediately notice it, the quality and message of a brand’s content help draw people toward the brand, even when they don’t know the brand very well (yet).
Building honesty as a staple of your brand is a long process. One way is to be more transparent when communicating with your audience. Let them follow along (in limited ways) in your process of developing new products or services. Share with them when you hit roadblocks rather than quietly changing release dates.
This gives them a chance to identify with you rather than be frustrated at a faceless response. Honesty can start with your own team. Trust your employees to be able to handle hard news. Confront difficult truths and meet them head-on.
