Want people to trust you? Buy from you? Believe you’re the real deal? Then they need to see you, hear you, and binge on your content like it’s their new favorite Netflix series. Enter the 7-11-4 rule, a framework (attributed to Google research) that says before someone makes a significant investment (like buying a franchise or hiring your company), they need to: ?? Spend 7 hours engaging with your content. ?? Have 11 interactions with your brand. ?? Find you on 4 different platforms. Now, 7 hours might sound like a lot – until you remember how fast you crushed that last podcast series (or how long you doom-scrolled through LinkedIn?) Here’s the kicker: this doesn’t just apply to selling franchises or high-ticket services. It’s just as relevant for building your personal brand. If you’re a CEO, CMO, founder, or anyone trying to position yourself as a thought leader, people need time and touchpoints with your insights before they trust you. So, where should you be showing up? (This applies equally to brands AND personal brands.) ?? On your website: Publish deep-dive blogs, case studies, or even a personal leadership philosophy page. ?? On other people’s platforms: Get featured in interviews, contribute guest articles, land media mentions. ?? Multimedia everywhere: Start a podcast, post videos, write LinkedIn posts. ?? Social proof matters: Testimonials, case studies, and success stories don’t just build credibility—they hijack people’s brains (see my post from last week on this). If your brand isn’t getting traction, it’s probably not because people don’t care. It’s because they haven’t spent enough time consuming your content to trust you. So, are you giving your audience enough content to build that trust? Or are you expecting them to make a big decision based on an ad and a call-to-action?
