2 minute read

Most business executives would tell you what they want from public relations is visibility. But what they’re really seeking is credibility. They want third party validation. They want trust.

In our latest Shoff Chat, we spoke with author and agency CEO Scott Baradell about his latest book, Trust Signals, and its important lessons for brands and their PR teams.

Key takeaways from the chat included:

PR is about building trust at scale.

The most important thing for brands to do is build relationships with customers, and relationships are built on trust. Trust is created by demonstrating a clear understanding of customer audiences. It’s never about directly selling products or services, but intentionally creating a relationship and providing valuable interactions. And PR is an ideal tool to build trust at scale. At any given time, customers may not be ready to buy but they are open to developing a relationship.

Establishing trust is both challenging and critical.

With the fragmentation of traditional media sources and the growing number of social media and digital platforms, people are unsure who to trust. But they still want to place their trust somewhere. PR can play a significant role in coordinating all the different sources of information to help customers find the validation and reassurance that they need – ensuring these “trust signals” are evident to audiences.

PR is key in delivering the right trust signals.

Consumers’ attention is spread across many sources of information and influence. Researching audiences is critical to understanding the media outlets that matter to them, the influencers that affect their decision making, and the review sites they visit and trust. This research often reveals things customers care about that go beyond the product, including social purpose, company values, CEO visibility, user experience and a host of other factors. PR can address those issues in a way that paid advertising cannot.

Want to know more? Watch the replay here. You can also order Trust Signals or listen to the Trust Signals Podcast.

Need a partner who can help you develop trust signals and build trust with your key audiences? Let’s talk.

Listen to this episode or past Shoff Chats episodes here.