Your Marketing Budget

The most recent figures on consumer trust from Nielsen show that 70% of consumers trust your website most — that’s second only to recommendations from friends and family. Over 80% of respondents said they completely or somewhat trust recommendations from people they know. Ads, however, still have the lowest levels of consumer trust. So where does your marketing budget go?

Does your marketing budget reflect where consumers place their trust?

Consumers don’t trust ads

Many consumers immediately put their guard up when they come across an ad. Some people ignore advertisements, or immediately disregard them, not because they aren’t interested in the goods or services, but simply because they don’t trust ads. After all, advertisements only exist because a business is trying to sell you something, right? There’s no possible way anything in an advertisement can actually be true!

There are lots of honest, trustworthy ads out there, but the fact remains that consumers are skeptical of traditional advertisements. They don’t put the same level of trust in ads as in websites, recommendations, or even social media. Is this fair? No, it is not, but that’s the way it is.

Investing in your website

If your marketing budget goes mostly to traditional advertising, you may be wasting money. People trust your website more than they trust your advertisement. So it makes more sense to invest in your website than spending money on traditional advertising. But how should you invest in your website?

Your website’s appearance is important, for sure. If your website looks like it was made in 1999, people might not trust it the way they trust modern sites. They might immediately bounce and find a nicer, safer looking site. Imagine you pull up to a hotel with a neon sign on the fritz, bars on the windows, and a couple of dangerous looking gentlemen shooting craps in the alley. You’ll probably keep moving. Appearance matters.

Of course, functionality of your website is important, too. Your website shouldn’t just look the part; it should be easy to use and easy to navigate. Your users should be able to find the information they’re looking for quickly and without any difficulty.

The benefits of blogging

Blogging is a great use of resources, and probably provides the biggest bang for your buck. A well-written blog with regular, frequent content makes your website look more credible, but it does much more than that.

• A blog gives people a reason to come back to your site.
• It allows you to communicate your message the way you want to communicate it.
• A blog improves your organic search traffic.
• A comment section allows people to contribute, communicate, and share.
• Blog posts are great for link-building, sharing on forums, sharing on social media, etc.

In other words, a good blog can help generate business as well as trust in a lot of different ways. Let us help you establish a digital marketing plan today. Contact Haden Interactive or call 479-966-9761 today.