Brand trust is important for every company. Any brand that wants to succeed must gain and maintain the trust of people – and the blockchain space is no exception. But given the relative nascence of this industry, as well as the relentless (and often unexplained) hype around certain brands, it’s even harder to stand out in the competitive world of blockchain.
It’s understandable to want to focus all your marketing efforts on making as much noise as possible about your brand in the short term. So much so, that it’s easy to forget one of the fundamentals of brand awareness – trust. Knowing how to build trust and transparency into your blockchain project will play a crucial part in its long-term growth.
When it comes to building a blockchain brand that people can have confidence in, trust needs to be embedded from the very beginning. This means being honest, reliable and delivering on promises. This doesn’t just happen overnight – and nor should it. Instead, it takes time to build trust and even longer to maintain it.
Here are some of the main ways you can craft a blockchain brand people can trust.
Communication and trust go hand in hand
Communication is crucial. If there’s a lack of readily available information about your brand, you run the risk of potential clients jumping to their own assumptions about who you are and what you stand for. So, it’s important to establish this from the outset. Make sure that what you’re trying to say is digestible and concise. It’s important to remember that not everyone is a blockchain expert! Therefore, try to avoid long-winded pieces of communication that are riddled with jargon.
The next step is communicating directly with your audience. Creating informative and engaging content will get your brand seen and help to develop trust with potential clients. There are a whole range of communication formats and tools on offer, from social media to blog posts to podcasts. There’s no harm in experimenting with different formats, but once you find something that works well, stick with it!
Though you don’t necessarily want to lead with the finer detail, blockchain experts and potential investors are often interested in the nitty gritty of your business. Having an FAQ page on your website that provides answers to common business questions, as well as the niche technical areas that are specific to your business, helps to provide a degree of transparency.
Above all, communication needs to be consistent. Keeping your target audience up to date with the latest company news and finding ways to include your community is essential to developing trust. If you have prolonged periods without communication, people will start to ask questions and it could damage the trust you’ve already built with them.
You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?
It’s all well and good communicating about the general benefits of your blockchain project, but it’s equally important to have real life examples of customer stories. One of the best ways to earn people’s trust is to demonstrate that others trust your brand. The expression “word of mouth” didn’t come from thin air! With case studies, you can demonstrate the different sectors you work with, how your solution or project adds value and how it addresses problems. Case studies help bring your brand to life and capture the attention of your target audience. By doing so, readers can start to imagine what your brand could do for them.
Be transparent
If you’re really going to gain people’s trust – and this goes for any brand – transparency is essential. In the world of blockchain, there have been a fair few questionable ICOs and businesses with exciting whitepapers, but no solid roadmap to make their plans a reality. To avoid the risk of damaging your credibility, don’t make promises you can’t deliver on. A better approach is to regularly share company updates and developments as they happen. This way, your community and target audience can see the momentum of your business and feel part of its growth. After all, actions speak louder than words.
Remember, creating a brand that people trust won’t happen overnight. You wouldn’t trust a stranger straight away, so why would people trust your brand immediately? It takes time to build a brand that people have confidence in, so be patient.
Learn more about how we’re supporting companies operating in the blockchain space, or get in touch at hello@rlyl.com.
