How To Use Website Content To Display Expertise & Gain Trust ( +Examples)

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Today we are going to discuss how to use website content to display expertise & gain trust. In order to achieve any sales or marketing goal, you need to establish your brand as a trustworthy, honest entity that is truly great at their job. Customers and clients won’t want to do business with you if they don’t feel safe in your hands. 

You can do this by creating website content that demonstrates your expertise and experience in a natural, non-pushy way. 

Let’s look at eight ways to utilize content to build trust and credibility. 

Use Words That Inspire Trust

The first thing you can do to gain the trust of your target audience is to use words that will naturally inspire it. What these words are will depend on the context. In the most general terms, they are adjectives, nouns, and verbs that are meant to trigger a specific emotional response in the reader.

Related Links

• Key Marketing Tactics For Connecting With Your Target Audience In 2021
• Digital Content Strategies In 2023 And Beyond
• Different Ways Of Using SEO To Sustain Your Business During The COVID-19 Pandemic
• Why Should You Use A Radar Chart?
• What Is The Connection Between SEO And Photo Editing In The Modern World

Let’s look at an example to better illustrate this point. Moto Machine’s Hepco & Becker page features a short description of the manufacturer itself and their collaboration. Notice some of the terms used:

• Exclusive importer and distributor
• High-Quality luggage and protection systems
• One of today’s largest aftermarket suppliers
• Proudly offer
• Happy to be your headquarters

This seemingly unimpressive choice of words is actually a demonstration of copywriting at its finest. The terms used are carefully chosen to demonstrate the quality of the products without pushing a sale. They also highlight the exclusivity of the range. 

Take a look at your current website copy. Is there a way to rephrase it and include more power words? Carefully consider every sentence and how you can make it more impactful. 

Cater To Your Audience’s Specific Needs

In order to show your audience that you understand their needs, create content that addresses them as specifically as possible. 

Your content marketing strategy will involve various types of content for various stages of the sales funnel. You will need to cover more general topics and very specific ones, targeting bottom- and top-of-the-funnel leads. 

Approach all of them with the same determination to be helpful and of use. Ask yourself what the key issues are before you start producing content on any topic. What does your audience want to know?

What do they find confusing? Don’t just cover a topic well. Align it to the specific, unique issues of the leads you want to convert. 

Take a look at Academic Influence and the topics they cover and how. For example, they have lists of universities and colleagues that fall into a specific category, targeting the most general audience. They explain what you can do with an MA in a certain field, significantly narrowing down their audience and addressing their needs specifically. 

The one thing all of their content has in common is that it takes into account the exact pain points of the reader, whether they’re just applying for college or struggling to study efficiently. 

Offer Unique Insight

Another great way to both display your expertise and build trust with your audience is to leverage the unique insight you have into your niche and industry. No matter how new your business might be, you are privy to information and experiences you can put to good use. 

Here’s an example again. This article about becoming a real estate agent in Dubai provides specific and valuable information about the process itself. It’s written in a knowledgeable tone of voice. Plus, unique tips are peppered throughout (i.e., choosing only one specialization as opposed to several). 

The post concludes with recommendations and advice from the company’s own real estate agents. This advice alone is worth a lot more than what other posts on the topic can offer, as it comes from first-hand experience. 

Talk to your staff when writing content. What do they know about a product or service that you haven’t already spoken about on your website? How can you utilize their knowledge to tell better stories and provide more valuable insight?

Demonstrate Hands-On Experience

A straightforward and simple way to prove your expertise is to demonstrate it first-hand. 

One way to do it is with visual content. Take photos or film videos of yourself and your employees doing the things you claim you are good at. 

You can also provide examples of achievements. For example, if you’re a writer, creating a portfolio of published work will help you establish yourself as an expert. If you are a designer, showcasing your work will achieve the same effect. 

All brands can apply this tactic – you can do it even if your product is content. 

Check out this review of the best golf launch monitors. The author clearly demonstrates his expertise by featuring videos of himself actually using and reviewing the items he’s talking about. This proves that he knows what he’s talking about and that he hasn’t just amassed the opinions of others and repackaged them as his own.

Notice how he also links to other relevant posts and reviews, showing readers that he has been a golfer for a long time and that his opinion is valuable and relevant.  

Understand The Importance Of Formatting

Don’t forget that how you present your information is just as important as what you say. You need to format your content so that it’s easy to read and understand and that the key elements can be taken in at a glance. 

Use bullet points and numbered lists. Don’t be afraid to use bold and italics, and make certain fonts heavier or larger if you need them to stand out. 

This page on an OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER training is a good example of how you can use formatting to your advantage. Along with the description of the course itself, the page features a checklist of the topics that are covered. 

There’s also a useful section that explains why you should choose this specific course provider instead of others. It’s short and to the point, and the clear formatting makes the information easy to take in. 

Ask Your Customers And Clients For Input

Don’t forget that you have another incredible resource that can demonstrate your credibility and expertise effectively: your current customers and clients. 

Testimonials are a great social proof format. They are considered trustworthy and genuine, and the majority of your leads will check them out before they decide to convert. 

You can leverage customer experiences in numerous ways. For example, you can do what Alexander Tutoring has done and film a short interview with a customer. In their case, it’s the parent of a child who has enjoyed the company’s tutoring. 

They also display some written testimonials from Google and showcase some of their third-party ratings. 

Don’t be afraid to incorporate customer stories into other relevant content formats as well. You can drive a point home better if you reference a client who has achieved a specific goal or solved a certain issue with your help. 

Publish Relevant Case Studies

Case studies are another content format that can significantly boost your perceived expertise and credibility. By demonstrating real-life results, you will reassure your target audience that you can deliver quality. 

It’s important to remember that case studies need to be tailored to the reader just like any other piece of content. Use a language your audience will easily understand. Highlight the issue and show the solution. Use facts and figures as often as you can instead of vague terms. 

Case studies can be used to demonstrate the abilities of your solutions as well, without having to reference a specific client. Ahrefs does this well for example. Their search traffic study is a good example of content that answers a specific question and showcases the power of their tool. The purpose of the study is not to show what you can do with it per se, but the variety of applications it has, and its potential for massive data gathering. 

Be Radically Transparent

Finally, you can amass trust by being 100% honest and transparent about everything you can possibly be. Keep no gates and give up on all secrecy and proprietary information. Share details with your leads that most other brands are not willing to. 

This doesn’t mean you need to share the secret sauce, although even that’s not out of the question. The more you share and teach your audience, the better your reputation will be. 

Note that you still need to clearly communicate why someone should buy your product or service. 

Buffer is perhaps one of the most open companies in the SaaS space you can think of. They share everything from their team’s salaires to the way they spend subscription revenues and exactly what features of the product they are currently working on.

This radical candor is a great way to foster clear communication with their leads and prove that they stand by their values and claims. 

Wrapping Up 

Have you already started implementing these content-creation tactics? Which one do you think would resonate with your audience the most? 

Consider which of these content formats would have the most impact and map out a plan to start producing it. Always take into account your brand personality and the unique pain points of your audience.

We hope this blog post was able to help you learn how to use website content to display expertise & gain trust. Please contact Matchbox Design Group by using the form below or calling us at 314-849-6969 to start a project today.