The landscape of marketing is changing, and many of the principles you learned a few years ago no longer apply. Indeed, in just a few short years, the entire internet could look very different from how it does today. One of the biggest differences is that you can’t just sell customers on the problem-solving aspects of your solution anymore. You have to make them choose you by convincing them you’re a trusted source of information that will help them succeed.

This may be even more true for B2B customers than it is for individual consumers. Top decision-makers need to know what makes your brand the strongest possible partner. You have to persuade them to choose you by winning their trust. Read on to learn more about three powerful ways to establish yourself as a reliable source and a stellar brand.

1. Host a Podcast

Podcasting is one of the most accessible formats for B2B marketers who want to establish brand credibility. This is in part because, unlike building a website or creating video content, podcasting requires little technical expertise. You can get started with as little as a smartphone and a quiet space like a conference room, garage, or home office.

With podcasting, you don’t need to know how to craft a flawless paragraph or equip your site with the right codes and widgets. If you can talk about your product, most of your work is already done for you. You can then get deeper into the tech aspect of podcasting, tweaking sound levels or adding advanced effects. 

Podcasting is an ingenious method of connecting on a deeper level with your customers and gaining their trust. People who regularly listen to your voice will feel personally invested in your brand. With the right podcast marketing strategy, you’re not just producing and sharing content with your listeners. You’re getting into their kitchens and cars, becoming a confidante and an important part of their weekly routine.

That relationship with your customers is a key part of establishing your brand authority. But so is the content you curate and how you choose to present it on your podcast. For podcast marketing to succeed, you need to share helpful, expert content on the right subject matter. This can include following and analyzing breaking news in your industry and offering your customers practical insights and recommendations.

2. Up Your Social Media Game

You doubtless already know that social media is a good way to build trust and authority with your customer base. As in podcasting, your followers can come to feel close to you and rely on you for important content. Research shows that most people trust influencers more than they trust information coming directly from brands. This is likely because of the relationships they build mentally with these creators. Partnering with an influencer to represent your brand can help foster this closeness.

One way social media and other forms of brand content can establish greater credibility is through the use of experts. This could mean hiring an expert to represent you as the face of your company on social media. Let’s say you own a tech solution that analyzes supply chain data to help big retailers with inventory management. You could hire a shipping and logistics expert to speak on social media about common problems your product could solve. 

Besides influencer and expert content, there are other ways to use social media to build brand authority. One huge one is being available — 24/7, if possible — to respond to mentions and DMs from customers. Being able to answer customer questions accurately and immediately can establish customer trust and satisfaction. Doing so in a friendly, casual tone also makes your brand seem more accessible.

One important caveat about a social media brand authority strategy: It raises the stakes. Screwing up can cause you to hemorrhage brand authority, and fast. If you’re wrong about a fact, accidentally post something offensive, or commit another social media faux pas, own up immediately. Every second you waste defending an online mistake can cost you thousands of followers — and your reputation.

3. Don’t Neglect Email and Onsite Content

One of your most important brand authority tools is the content you share on your website and in regular emails. Providing useful, newsworthy, informative, expert content can get your customers to your site (or opening your emails) again and again. The more well-researched and engaging your content is, the more effective it will be.

If you’ve performed any kind of internet search lately, you might have noticed results have been looking a little different. Increasingly, large search engines are turning up trustworthy blog content rather than other educational resources to answer user questions. More often than not, the snippet with an answer will turn up a B2B blog post over a Wikipedia entry.

Not only that, more and more companies like Google and Microsoft are experimenting with AI search. This conversational search format is designed to discover content with well-packaged, useful sentences and paragraphs more readily than SEO keywords. What that means is, developing truly useful content on your website or blog is no longer optional. You’ll need to be a topical authority in your industry if you want to stay relevant in the AI world.

One highly effective strategy for using blog, website, or other content to establish credibility and a following is called newsjacking. In newsjacking, you take a timely topic or search term and post an in-depth, newsworthy analysis piece on your blog. To use the supply chain solution example again, let’s say a major shipping company’s workers are about to strike. A thoroughly researched post on the potential consequences of the strike could help your customers see you as an expert on the topic.

Inform and Engage

In plotting your podcasts, social media efforts, and written content, think about interactivity and connection. How can you make the experience feel less like work and more like fun? Some examples are running polls or Live Q&As on social media or podcasts, where customers can participate in real time. You can also include game-like tools on your website, like cost calculators or interactive demos.

To establish brand authority, you do need to be a solid source of industry insights, facts, and stats. You want your customers to have total trust in any data or other details you share. That said, it’s just as crucial to keep your audience entertained and interested. Getting them to come to you because it’s useful and enjoyable will keep your brand image positive.