Build Trust by Being Consistent with Your Content

Consistency is key to your business’ success.

I know there are other important factors, but consistency is what will create name recognition. And trust me, you want your name to be recognized! Consistency is what will build your audience so you can develop a trusting relationship. More importantly, consistency is what will showcase your expertise to new followers.

Let me give you an example. You go out to dinner at your favorite restaurant and you fall in love with your entrée.

Quick personal note: This happens to me. All. The. Time. It may show a lack of originality, but when I find a favorite dish it becomes my go-to choice for that restaurant. Walking in knowing that I have an easy choice and that it is always going to be excellent helps me avoid overwhelm.

Back to you. You’ve found the perfect meal and you want to share the experience! The problem comes when you take a friend to the same restaurant, order the same meal, but it tastes completely different and leaves something to be desired. You might send it back to the kitchen or just eat it and comment to your server that the quality wasn’t quite up to par.

However the meal ends, they’ve lost something—your trust in the meal. Their lack of consistency in preparation leaves doubt in your head about that particular dish and possibly about the whole restaurant in general.

Consistency Builds Trust

This is a direct correlation to building trust with your audience. Like you, they find something they like, and they tend to stick with it until something forces a change. In this case, what they like is the product or service you are offering. They trust you because you’ve built a brand with a consistent message. If you suddenly become inconsistent, doubt creeps in and that’s not good.

Doubt generally means you have to rebuild trust again to show why they should continue doing business with you. It’s not impossible to earn that trust, but you’re basically starting from square one. Working your business consistently and focusing on superb content and excellent customer service will help to keep your clients happy and trusting in you.

Why Trust and Consistency Matter in Marketing

Have you ever had this occur? You opt-in to an email list that has great potential. You receive a few weekly emails and then nothing. Crickets. Then a month or two later you receive an email from that person again, making an offer to purchase their product.

How does that lack of consistency make you feel? I’m guessing your first reaction would be, “Who the heck is this person?” The second would likely be the desire to immediately delete the message because they skipped the relationship-building and jumped right into selling.

Lack of consistency will cause you to forget who they are and why you signed up for their list in the first place. Lack of name recognition generally leads to, “I don’t know who you are so why would I give you my money?” Again, this business owner just created a much harder task for themselves to win you over again.

Consistency with Your Brand Image

So how can you be consistent? There are a million gurus out there, each proclaiming to have the answers to earning 6- or 7-figure incomes? If you tried implementing every strategy, you’d be exhausted from keeping up with it all and your audience would be very confused about your overall message.

When it comes to branding and content, consistency and repetition are the keys to developing name recognition. If you always wear clothes that match your website colors, people will make the connection. If your trademark is a purple stripe in your hair, don’t go changing it to fire engine red; your followers won’t recognize you! Be consistent with your brand image, colors, and message, both online and offline so you’re always recognized.

Content is the other area where you need to be consistent. Develop a brand voice and stick to it consistently. Make sure any written or spoken message that represents your brand does so in that voice.

Create a brand guide that includes key phrases, tone, and specific words that represent your brand. And train your team. Train every team member who interacts with your audience in any way. If they answer emails or calls, train them. If they write copy or update your social media, definitely train them!

Consistency Leads to Engaged Audiences

Engaged audiences are those who already trust you, like what you have to say, and are eager to have a conversation with you. These are the people who will sing your praises to others, thereby growing your business. And being consistent is a simple way to keep that audience engaged.

If you’d like to learn more about how to create a consistent brand voice, or if you need a consultation on developing your brand voice and training your team, connect with me today!