This Growth Hack Will Help Your Company Win in 2022 It all comes down to creating exposure and credibility.
By Max Muir Edited by Jessica Thomas
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Have you ever wondered why some individuals and companies grow at such an increased pace? Other than pure discipline and a strong work habit, one of the biggest hacks for growing your company is the ability to create exposure and credibility. Having trust with your audience and being easily recognizable eliminates doubt in the mind of your buyer.
Building your online credibility will increase sales and make you much more valuable if you're a company or individual that wants to dramatically grow.
You have a website, Instagram, LinkedIn page and blog. You might have even run a few very expensive ad campaigns, but nothing seems to stick. The traffic comes, but then it dies off quickly. What can you do? Why is this? Work on building up your online credibility.
Related: 10 Secrets to Building Trust and Credibility With Your Customers
What is online credibility?
According to its definition, credibility is "the quality of being believable or worthy of trust." So what makes an online reputation credible? Your online reputation is more credible when people find things about you or your business that they believe to be legitimate. When people see legitimate or honest things, such as featured spots in publications they respect and awards, it positions you in a good light.
The status of your online credibility revolves in large part around what people find when they search your name. Try searching your name or your business' name. What comes up? Then ask yourself, would you trust and make a purchase from another company with the same search results?
Related: Why Content Is the Cornerstone of Brand Growth
Building credibility to win more business
There are many ways to build online credibility, but most require work and time. A more efficient way to build trust with consumers is to reach out to them through outlets they already engage with. Get a spot on a well-known podcast, TV show or news channel. Consumers tend to trust people they see featured or presented on the major media outlets they already trust. When they see someone featured, they understand that this person must be doing something right to be presented on one of their favorite platforms.
But what if you don't have established relationships with journalists? This might seem impossible from the vantage point of the average person, but there are ways to access trusted media outlets in the absence of already being famous. Many companies or individuals do this through creating content on social media consistently, pitching themselves to writers at publications, and through networking with the right people.
With that said, there isn't a complex formula to creating credibility and growing a brand, but it does take intentional effort. Even the most famous brands and people in the world — Google, Apple, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates — didn't have credibility at first. At one point nobody knew any of them. It took years of successes before they became household names.
You'll also notice that your favorite companies and entrepreneurs are unapologetically themselves. When I say this, I just mean that the folks with some of the best engagement and followings are the ones who do two things really well:
1. They create a substantial amount of success/results for their clients.
2. They own their personality and allow their values to stand out.
The businesses and individuals that let their actions "flex" for them and use the internet to share their personality are the ones who inspire us. They inspire us because we like to know that the folks who are seemingly successful are also real, relatable and go through the same daily life occurrences that we do. We connect with those that seem similar to us.
Related: Don't Be Fooled by Your Number of Followers: How to Really Wield Influence
Clarity creates confidence
Having a powerful brand comes from clarity and defining who it is that you want to appeal to. The biggest businesses and entrepreneurs in the world also tend to have a message or an offer that resonates deeply with their audience. These companies have figured out exactly who they are marketing to and what that audience's pain points are.
Once you know who you need to help and what solution you can give them, then it's a matter of consistently creating messages, products and services for them. The goal should be to connect with your audience on a friendship-like level while helping them fulfill their highest potential.
You might ask yourself, where do I start? To put it simply, the answers are:
1. Get clear on who your target market is and what they need from you.
2. Create content on as many platforms that serve your target market as possible.
3. Be consistent on a weekly and monthly basis with the quantity and quality of content and conversations you have.
When you do those things, you'll be well on your way to establishing true online credibility.
Related: Why Living Alongside Your Customers Can Help You Develop Credibility
