I know that was a clickbait-y headline but I truly believe this is the secret to blowing up your business. The secret? Credibility; proof that you’re the real deal, an expert, not going anywhere, the go-to person in your industry.
How do you build credibility, especially if you are new to this whole business thing? I think there are two key ways to build credibility: Results and Consistency. Results prove that you are good at what you do. Consistency proves that you’re here to stay, this isn’t something you’re going to dabble in and then quit.
Here are a few ways to build credibility through results:
- Testimonials – Do you have clients and customers who would be willing to share their experience working with you? Maybe they already sent you that in an email or something. Go back and ask if you can copy and paste that into a social media graphic or on your website. I have a whole page dedicated to client testimonials because I know how powerful they are. I also turn them into Instagram stories for a highlight.
- Personal Results – The easiest example of this would be if you are a weight loss coach and have personally lost weight. What personal results have you seen with your product or service? Talk about those!
- Numbers – You know how they say that jeans don’t lie? Numbers don’t lie either. Do you have analytics or stats that prove you are good at what you do? I actually prefer taking screenshots rather than making fancy reports for this. I think having a screenshot proves even more that you didn’t make up those amazing numbers. Unfortunately we live in a world where people aren’t always honest so be as transparent as possible.
- Photos – Back to the weight loss analogy, do you have clients with before/after photos? You can also do these with those analytics reports. Take photo screenshots of stats before working with you and then after! Better yet, have your clients send them to you.
Here are a few ways to build credibility through consistency:
We all know someone who joined an MLM, posted about it constantly for a month, and then fell off the face of the earth. Maybe you weren’t ready to buy in that first month, but 6 months later, you’re ready to buy and you aren’t sure if that person even sells the product anymore….awkward.
- Post regularly but not obnoxiously. If you post regularly about things related to your industry and also promote your products and services in there, you are training your audience to know you for those things too. But for the love, don’t take a selfie with your product, have a caption full of company-jargon, and expect people to care.
- Use the products and services you sell in real life. So often we take a social media approach to promoting who we are and what we do, forgetting that there are people physically around us who might be interested in it. Use products/services and talk about it in real life!
- Prove that you’re in it for the long haul. No, you don’t have to say something cheesy like, “This isn’t a phase. I’m going to do this for the rest of my life.” Instead, don’t quit. Keep showing up year after year after year and people will naturally see that what you talk about/live is the real deal.