REPOST: 3 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR CREDIBILITY

How to become credible and what is its significance to your brand identity? Read the details from this John Morgan article.

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Credibility is under-rated. Yet, your brand identity is greatly defined by it. The marketplace is crowded and the vast majority of people taking up oxygen have no credibility whatsoever. There’s a blogger in my town for example, who writes about ‘how to make a living blogging’. He has a 9-5 day job and should be arrested for lack of credibility.

Sadly, even the most credible entrepreneurs in the world do a poor job of showcasing that credibility. You deserve better and so do your prospects.

Your audience wants to know that you practice what you preach. It gives them confidence in doing business with you. Remember the Hair Club For Men ads where the dude says “I’m not just the president, I’m also a client”? As much fun as it is to laugh at that, it was also brilliant. If you’re not willing to use your product, then how can anyone confidently do business with you?

On the flip side, you can’t try to increase your credibility by making a big claim and not being able to back it up. Todd Davis, the CEO of Lifelock a company designed to protect your identity, decided to make a huge statement of credibility by running ads where he displayed his social security number. His identity has been stolen 13 times. I can hardly type this for laughing.

So, how do you showcase your credibility? Here’s 3 quick and easy ways to do just that:

Share Your Results. This is especially important for those of you selling information (authors, bloggers, speakers, coaches, consultants, etc) Prove that you know what you’re doing and that you walk the talk. The reason it’s a joke to be considered a social media consultant is because so many of them are taking money for social media advice when they barely use social media themselves. Showcase your results! The fact that I’ve worked with some of the largest brands in the world adds a certain level of credibility to my business BUT the fact that I’ve owned multiple businesses, sold successful businesses, and actually use the strategies I teach, adds a HUGE element of credibility. Don’t keep your results to yourself.

Where have you been featured? Have you been in a magazine or on TV? Let your audience know! It’s like having a third-party endorsement for your business. If you haven’t been featured anywhere then don’t panic. It’s really easy to get PR when you try, especially in your local media outlets. It just takes a little effort. Do something worth talking about and people will talk about you.

Testimonials & Praise I’ve written about this before (click here to read). Don’t collect testimonials and then do nothing with them. Use them anywhere and everywhere you can. Testimonials are ALWAYS effective. The other day I was humbled by some praise I received from Chris Brogan and Jason Falls on Chris’s show Kitchen Table Talks…

This is great because A. it was nice of them to say, especially since I didn’t pay them to say it. B. It adds credibility to my brand. and C. I was able to use it in this post as an “example” so you’d watch it and now think I’m more credible. Aren’t I sneaky? 

These are 3 easy ways to boost your credibility. But I’ve actually got a BONUS method for you! I know what you’re thinking: “Sweet mother of mercy John! You just smacked me in the face with 3 doses of awesome and now you’re giving me a bonus shot!”. Yep. Consider it an early…or late birthday present.

Your Current Paying Clients Your past may be full of credible things you’ve accomplished. But the world thinks in a what-have-you-done-lately mentality. Show your audience you’re making things happen by showcasing your current clients. This works especially well when your current clients are credible in their own right. But even if your client list is fairly unknown, they still add to your credibility. Plus they love it when you give them attention in public.

Of course, this entire post assumes you have some level of credibility. If you don’t, then you need to focus on establishing some! But if you are credible then it’s up to you to showcase it for the world. Don’t assume people will see it for themselves.

Credibility makes it easier for people to trust you and your brand.

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Get more tips on how to build a better brand identity from this Lou Habash blog site.