I stared down towards the bottom of the black diamond run my sister had assured me I could handle and tried vainly to see through the blowing snow to the bottom of the gondola run. The run had a name reminiscent of death and destruction and it was not much comfort to me that there was a First Aid Station located conveniently at the top of the lift, some metres behind me now.

I was not a great skier, although I liked the sport very much. I hadn’t been on a pair of skis in about four years. My sister, by contrast, was an avid skier who spent every minute of every winter weekend on the slopes, and she was further blessed with no fear and even less caution. Somehow we had grown up in the same household, and our lives had taken us down different paths. Hers seemed to have been littered with black diamonds and mine had seemed to have been littered with work deadlines.

As I took a tentative slide down the hill, my bottom ski almost immediately hit a patch of slick ice and I tumbled down, skidding perhaps 10 metres before coming to a crazy stop with my skis pitched in opposite directions. I was not off to an auspicious start, but my sister hollered, “Way to go, Susie,” from her perch at the top of the hill. I gathered myself up and tried again. And again. And again. It seemed to take hours to get down this mountain.

The information I had read about this particular resort was that it had lots of big vertical, steep terrain and plenty of powder. I hadn’t realized it was the steepest vertical in North America and was THE choice for advanced skiers.

Fortunately for my sister, she had spent a lifetime developing a large well of trust within me and I realized that if she said I could do it, I could probably do it. Plus she would never be able to face our mother if I returned from the ski trip we had neglected to mention we were taking replete with a broken limb or two.

Trust is a key factor in content marketing, as well. You can use your online content to build your credibility and deepen trust and understanding of your business among potential clients. It takes time and consistent effort. Here are some ideas for doing that:

1. Through a blog. You want to develop an editorial calendar that lays out a plan for writing regular blog posts that enhance your website content with stories about what you do and how you do it. Make sure you post your blog to LinkedIn “Pulse.”
2. A series of case studies. Case studies allow you to send potential clients a PDF, or a link to a case study on your website, that shows how you help people.
3. A Q and A video about your area of expertise. You will want to answer the most burning questions people have about your field. And you can send a link to the video out to people to support them in their process of finding out more about what your business does and how you can help them.
4. Develop a publicity program. Create a schedule that sees you developing press releases several times a year about important trends in your industry, regulations that affect your customer base (with some of your own commentary included) or big wins for your company (e.g. the publication of a book, winning an award, etc.). You’ll want to submit these to the websites of relevant associations in your niche. And/or pay for a news service to distribute them. Either way, post the press releases to your website and when you get published in a respectful venue, feature that in a blog post, along with a link to the honourable mention.

Not unlike the relationship between siblings, it can take years to create the type of reliable reputation that leads people to trust you and feel you are a credible part of their world. But it does pay off.

Interested in learning more? Contact one of our team members at info@crossmancommunications.com to book a complementary call with us!