Whom do you trust? Your friend vs. the expert - and the winner is…
- Tue, February 01 2011
- Filed under: Social networking and web 2.0
Well, all the buzz has been you trust your peeps. But now, perhaps due to the avalanche of unfiltered flotsam on the Internet, people are turning to more credentialed sources for trusted information.
At least that’s the gist of some interesting new research that Richard Edelman just released at Davos.
Here’s what Edelman says:
•There’s been a decline in trust in “a person like myself” and regular employees, arguably because of “over-friending”
•Trust in credentialed experts (70%) is soaring
•Informed publics (media consumers) need to hear things three to five times for it to effect a behavior change
•To stand out and build trust, businesses must activate internal thought leaders across several spheres of media
Here’s what I believe to be true: people trust your organization less than an expert AND less than their friends. If you want credibility, get a third party doing the talking. Use a combination of trusted authorities (who don’t work at your organization) and your biggest champions, who are great spokespeople for their own circles of influence.