Column: Social Networking

Who and how do you trust?

By: Emily Medvec
Published online: Sunday, February 05, 2012
Appeared in: Home, Santa Fe Real Estate Guide
Edition: February 2012 Vol. 14 No. 11

Today, it is a fact that people are social- networking online. Not only are we talking to each other, we are engaging in conversations with local businesses, organizations, and newspapers. Did you know you can FOLLOW The Santa Fe New Mexican on Twitter or LIKE it on Facebook? A recent look at Facebook statistics reveals over 800 million people are active users and they upload over 250 million photographs on average per day! These numbers alone represent a staggering shift in how people communicate and trust each other online.

Social business has always been about people, whether it is online or offline. Social-media sites are only tools of communication. What matters is trust and customer experience. Yet the focus is often about being “on” social media sites or “how” to use them, rather than being trustworthy. Often people see sites with a large number of “followers” or “likes” as a barometer of trust, but numbers do not always translate into trust. Look what happened to the word “trust” in banking when Bank of America chose to increase fees without understanding their customers were connected online. Trust more than numbers is the new currency in social media.

Building trust the old-fashioned way, face-to-face with a handshake, is not easy to translate into an online expression of trust. Think about brands, organizations and small businesses for a minute. Often what is missing online is a consistency of experience or a failure to put a human face in the picture. How can you LIKE your wireless provider on Facebook if you do not know there is a person listening or engaging you in a conversation? Yet the company expectation is that you LIKE your wireless company because you “use” the brand. The end result with this attitude shows the goal is market by numbers rather than building a trusting business relationship.

To gain any competitive edge in today’s online marketplace, the focus must be on the customer experience of YOU, your brand, company or organization online. Do you interact and share insights and information? Or do you blast marketing messages? Are you acting like a concerned human who listens and acts? Or are you indifferent and slow to respond? It does help to act like a real person rather than a marketing machine. Why? People do business with people they know, like and trust.

Here are some tips to build trust. First, be open and transparent when you communicate. If you are tweeting about a new real-estate listing, provide the price. When you ask people to LIKE you on Facebook, walk your talk. Broken promises lose business in a nanosecond. Go beyond customer expectations by giving accurate and timely information. You will stand out when you make a difference with customer service. Be honest and avoid trashing your competitors. What is online is there forever. Keep client information secure. Everyone is concerned about privacy.

Lastly, focus on being authentic. The best way to create trust online is to engage in positive interactions one conversation at a time.

Emily Medvec is an associate broker with Santa Fe Properties on a team with Ulla Allyn. Emily’s passion is how social networking online changes how we communicate and make decisions in real estate and every other marketplace. Follow her at www.twitter.com/ emilymedvec or call her at 505-660-4541.