11 factors that make or break trust and credibility in social environments

See on Scoop.it – Health Care Social Media Monitor

1. Establish authority.
First and foremost you must establish authority. Your must know your stuff. Faking it online will not get you far. 

2. Social proof.
Yes, even though you may have spent far too much money on that beautiful Twitter background, custom Facebook page and blogsite, you still need to prove to me who and what you are. 

3. Walk the walk.
Everything about your online persona, website, blog and social profiles must not only talk the talk but your actions must walk the walk of whatever you say you do. 

4. Be consistent in both life and business.
The days of separating online and offline personas are over and done. You can’t be one person offline and a better, different person online. 

5. Hang with the right peeps.
If you hang out with 9 brokes, chances are you are going to be the 10th! Hang out with people you learn from, people who build you, empower you and make you a better person. 

6. You had me at first tweet.”
Don’t be negative Nelly all day. Give your Twitter and Facebook readers good nuggets of information that help them, inspire them and enable them to get to know you better. 

7. Take time for relationships.
If you are finding it hard to build real relationships online then chances are you are not taking the time to get to know someone. Take time to truly connect with others. 

8. Build a platform that invites conversation.
If your platform reads like a billboard or corporate collateral from the 1980′s then chances are you are not going to inspire much conversation. Ensure that everything from your content to blog share buttons, commenting systems, opt-in forms, contact forms, colors, and lanugage are all inviting.

9. It’s not about you!

As much as you want to think that your Twitter profile, tweet stream, Facebook business page and blog are all about you, they aren’t. Yes, you can use these platforms to establish authority, build community and trust, it is not a walking billboard of YOU. Your online personas should scream helpfulness, content that inspires, conversation that engages.

10. Author content.
Chances are you are in business because you know something. You hopefully know something that is going to help a business or individual otherwise you probably won’t be in business long. Make certain you establish your own content.

11. Be honest.

If you have an issue with a product, service, software, network, Twitter feed, Facebook post, blog post or other just be honest and acknowledge the issue. Hiding from it is not going to do anything that will bring benefit to you or your business. Don’t under estimate the power of your community and relationships. They are much more resilient when the relationship is built on trust and credibility.

See on socialmediatoday.com