How to Avoid the Credibility Paradox and Build Real Trust on Your Website

Establishing credibility can be the holy grail of audience engagement, but are your achievements, embellishments, and "as seen in" highlights having the opposite effect?

The reality is your customers won't trust you just because your website says you're qualified, and they won't care about your achievements unless those achievements directly benefit them.

Read on to understand when and how attempts to build credibility can backfire and some sure fire ways to build trust instead.

Table of Contents

1. How Good Intentions Can Backfire

2. When Accolades Work In Your Favour

3. The Things That Can Do More Harm Than Good

4. The Right Time and Place to Share

5. Building Genuine Trust With Your Online Audience

   
   

How Good Intentions Can Backfire

Trust is built not by what you say about yourself, but by what your customers (and potential customers) experience and share. The credibility paradox is when efforts to establish credibility on your website unintentionally end up having the opposite effect.

Things can go south when your attempts to build trust:

• Focus on the wrong person (that wrong person is more than likely you),

• Are presented out of context

• Bury or block the more important info your website visitors really came to see.

At best, you might leave your audience thinking "That’s great, but how does it help me?". At worst, they’ll assume you prioritise self-promotion over addressing their needs.

When Accolades Work in Your Favour

If you're a high-ticket business or specialist in a high-trust field, then it's likely your accolades hold real value for your audience.

Licences build trust, prestigious awards are persuasive, and esteemed publications can allow potential customers to relate to the success of the people who have come before them.

Don't fall under the high ticket/high trust umbrella? That doesn't mean you should discount showing how you earnt your stripes.

An award for customer satisfaction when presented the right way would show potential customers the excellent service they can expect to receive and a client logo showcase with a title of "See how we’re helping X professionals achieve [their goals] if you've worked with some industry hard hitters could be just the thing your audience needs to see.

The Things That Can Do More Harm Than Good

If you're an Entrepreneur or Small Business Owner, you've worked damn hard and have every right to be proud of all you've accomplished (and want to give yourself credit where credit is due.)

But a media feature that's maybe more of a claim to fame than a value builder for your audience? That one is likely a better fit for your socials than your website.

The 6 year old press release your Mums been encouraging you to hang on to that doesn't really hold the test of time? It's probably one for the history books.

If it isn't really about the audience and you can't easily answer their question of "what's in it for me" it might one to put aside to make space for the content that shows your customers why they should want to work with you, and gets you the results you need.

Building Genuine Trust with Your Online Audience

Trust is a fragile and nuanced thing.

It's not about flashy awards or trying to prove to your audience you're the best, but connecting with the thoughts and feelings that make us all human.

You build trust and credibility through a combination of expertise, transparency, and genuine care for your customers needs and experiences, here's how you can tap in.

• Get really clear on your ideal customer

  This doesn’t mean you won’t attract anyone who isn’t this exact person, it just makes it that much easier to write copy that hits the mark and when you can create a sense of belonging by showing empathy, understanding, and that you're really on board with their wants and needs your audience feels confident they're engaging with the right brand

• Make sure your website looks and functions like a pro product.

  Know how long it takes for someone to form an impression when they land on your website for the first time? Less than a second. Stanford’s Persuasion Technology Lab found that almost half of people say a website’s design is the number one criteria for determining website credibility. Aesthetics and responsiveness absolutely come into play, but your website layout also needs to be strategic and provide a clear path to the most important information on your site and make it easy for your audience to take the actions you need them to.

• Show Social Proof

  Let your satisfied clients do the talking! Social proof and customer success stories that mention experiences (not just praise) are some of the most persuasive content you can have on your site. Better yet, try to highlight reviews, testimonials, or case studies that answer potential objections and questions you expect your website visitors will have.

• Show Behind The Scenes Content

  Whether it's your work with me page or your Instagram feed, BTS content is a fantastic way to give your potential customers a sneak peek into what to expect when they work with you. Showing the human side of your brand and the effort that goes into it.

• Use Great Quality Images

  Generic stock images seen on every second website aren't doing anything to convince your audience you're worth what you claim. Hiring a professional photographer will be your best bet or if it's not quite in your budget try one of the high quality paid stock image sites like The Vault Stock, Haute Stock, or Death to Stock, for imagery that'll help you present a polished, powerful brand. Take it up another level and increase your sites visual authenticity with images that show the emotions your customers will experience when they choose to work with or buy from you.

• Create Value for Your Audience

  Offer insights, tips, or resources that genuinely help your audience and organically position your brand as an authority.

• Write Transparent Copy

  Drop the jargon and kick the fancy buzzwords to the curb in favour of authentic, concrete statements that are clear and easy to understand. Explain exactly how you achieve results and what outcomes your customers can expect to achieve. Oh and this one's a given, but don't forget spelling and grammar.

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