"Trust" is a fun word in the online world. You can't be entirely sure who is behind the keyboard when you're online, making it harder to connect and trust others.
It doesn't mean you can't build trust. It just means you have to put a little more work into it.
When it comes to building trust on Instagram, you need to keep both the platform and the audience in mind. Instagram assigns trust scores to accounts. The trust score is used to determine if the account is spam, trustworthy, or somewhere in between. You can't see your account score, but if it goes down you'll notice that your posts aren't getting as much reach. This is a good reason to build confidence.
You also need to think about your audience. You want your followers to trust you, so they'll stick around and buy products.
Fortunately, when you build a relationship of trust with Instagram, you also create a relationship of trust with your audience, and vice versa. Let's see what you need to do to show humans and technology that your account is trustworthy.
Increase your engagement levels
Social proof goes a long way in building trust on Instagram and other social networks. If your posts get a lot of likes, people will see this as proof that you are trustworthy. They'll be more likely to follow your account, like your posts, and buy your products when appropriate.
Unfortunately, Instagram creates a bit of a catch-22 situation regarding engagement. You need to have a high level of engagement to expand your reach. However, you have to reach a lot of people to get a high level of engagement.
That hardly seems fair, does it?
Fortunately, there is a way around this problem. You can use a similar sharing system. Then you'll like other people's posts, and they'll do the same for you. The extra likes will help you gain some trust and Instagram will notice that your account is popular. Then the site will expand your reach. Once that happens, you can get likes organically.
Add value
People use Instagram to connect with others and follow the brands they like. It's no secret that brands and entrepreneurs use the site to interact with customers and increase their revenue. It’s absolutely perfect. However, these page owners can quickly lose confidence if they spend all of their time marketing without adding value.
When posting on Instagram, think of your followers rather than yourself. What do they want to see? What will bring them value?
If you are only trying to sell them, they won't trust you. They will see you as a capitalist trying to take their money. However, if you show them what they want to see, they'll feel connected and trust you. Then they won't mind parting with their tastes or their money.
Be transparent
Transparency and trust go hand in hand. When you are transparent, you will immediately gain the trust of your subscribers. While there are different ways to do this, giving a behind-the-scenes look is the easiest and most effective.
Pull the curtain back and show your followers what's going on behind the scenes. They'll see the human side of your brand and instantly connect with you. This connection will immediately manifest itself in confidence which you can use to strengthen your presence on Instagram.
Spend time on your biography
When you first set up your Instagram account, you were probably so excited to dive into it that you didn't spend a lot of time on your bio. Sure, you added your name and maybe even included a profile photo, but did you get past that?
If you've just thrown your bio together or ignored it completely, it will be difficult to build trust. Go back and fill it. Use the 150 full characters in the bio section to introduce yourself and showcase your personality. Also add a website and contact information.
It might sound basic, but it gives people a window into who you are and what you stand for. Instead of just being another Instagram user, you will be a real person when you create your bio. It will put you on the path to gaining some serious trust.
Post user generated content
You can also build trust by posting user-generated content. People are more likely to trust your page if they see other subscribers' posts on it. You can run a hashtag campaign and encourage your followers to share content. When you find an article you like, ask the original user if you can share it on your page. Then add it to your feed. Your page will look authentic and instantly gain trust points.
Don't be afraid of negative feedback
Ignoring negative comments will make you lose all the trust that you have already established. If you don't respond to comments, people will assume that you don't care about your customers or followers. They will also assume that the negative feedback was justified.
This is not what you want when running an Instagram page.
Keep negative comments on your page and respond to them. Try your best to solve the problem. If you are unable to resolve it, at least let your followers know that you are working so that it does not happen again in the future.
There is one exception to this rule. If the comment is abusive, delete it. You don't need to keep comments with offensive language on your page.
And then repeat
Building trust is an ongoing process on Instagram. You need to repeat the process so that you can continue to attract people to your network. Then, of course, once you've established trust, you have to work to maintain it. These strategies will also help you maintain the trust you have established.
Start by increasing your engagement levels and then work your way through the additional strategies. It won't be long before you send trust signals all over Instagram. At this point, you'll be on top of your Instagram game.