When was the last time a new computer, stereo or other electronics were purchased without the buyer first getting recommendations from friends and family or checking online reviews? Hotels are now booked only after checking what other travelers had to say.
It’s no different for businesses. It’s been called the “Reputation Economy” and the “Trust Economy”; it could be called the “Review Economy”. The bottom line is that what the customer cares about is not what you say about you, it’s what they say about you.
As consumers’ trust in advertising has declined, trust in recommendations from friends and family, online sites, and the media, have increased in value according to the latest Nielsen study.
People like to do business with those that they “Know, Like and Trust”. Recommendations can help form the basis of that trust. They can also inspire sufficient trust between strangers to make them comfortable handing money over to other strangers across the Internet; it’s the driving force and what has been responsible for the success of sites like eBay and more recently Airbnb.
Seth Godin recently wrote about this on his blog stating, “The digital asset that matters is trust.” For most businesses, trust can take time to build and maintain. It is often multiple touchpoints over time that increase “know, like and trust” until a prospect feels comfortable enough that they are ready to do business with a company.
The process can be shortened when two factors are in place simultaneously: trust and authority.
Authority is the power to influence others, especially because of one’s commanding manner or one’s recognized knowledge about something.
The best way to accomplish this accelerated process is by leveraging the media. Done right, instant trust and authority can be created, which can immediately transform cold prospects into warm, pre-sold ones; this in turn closes sales more quickly.
Here’s why:
Trust
Coming in a third on the Nielsen study on consumer trust, behind recommendations from friends and family, and online reviews, is the media. Being mentioned or featured in the media is perceived like an endorsement from them, the equivalent of a 5 star review, even though it technically isn’t. People trust the media and that trust is transferred to the media subject.
Instant Credibility
The media are trusted in part because they research and vet their sources. Once someone had been mentioned in the media, they are instantly credible.
Third Party Credibility
The media mentioning a person or singing their praises bestows third party credibility. Remember, consumers care more about “what they say about you than what you say about you.”
Authority Status
Once featured in the media, a person is seen as an authority in their niche. Given that the media selected them over their competitor, they are seen as a top expert.
Celebrity Status
Being in the media immediately elevates one’s status to that of an instant expert and celebrity. Our culture is obsessed with celebrity and fame; people want to be associated with celebrities. This bodes well for businesses because people will seek out and want to work with those who have been featured in the media.
Those Three Words That Close More Sales
As Seen In – are the three words that close more sales. By showcasing one’s media mentions, they are able to harness all the points outlined above, invoked simply by using those 3 words.
It’s not just those three words, they are typically accompanied by the names or logos of the media outlets that have cited a person or company.
The media can be defined as any newspaper or magazine, radio and TV, as well as high profile portals, blogs and social media, online or tablet magazines, podcasts or online influencers.
To get the biggest impact and instant trust, its important to use the graphic media logos, not just the names of their outlets. Using instantly recognizable media logos on a webpage, in social profiles and in marketing capitalizes on society’s current visual marketing preference, and sends important information to prospects or site visitors, rapidly and on multiple levels.
According to a recent Social Media Examiner article, “When it comes to marketing your business, pictures speak volumes. Not only do they make a bigger impact, but also they do it in a shorter amount of time.”
With a 2 to 7 second window of opportunity to grab someone’s attention when they land on a site or profile, one of the best ways to garner their interest is with visual content. Use visual content that has a built in trust factor and can pre-sell visitors on working with a company.
That is why, “As Seen in,” accompanied by media logos, are the three words that close more sales, quickly.
About Jane Tabachnick
Jane Tabachnick is the author of Publicity For Introverts [December 2014]. To find out more about her, and to see how your brand and authority measure up, take her Personal Brand Quiz here.