Confidence and trust have taken some hefty hits in the last year and the public’s reponse is clearly visible in the 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer.
Trust in corporations is down around the world. The country hit hardest is the US, where 77% of the repondents say their level of trust is lower than last year. At an overall 38%, trust in US business is at its lowest figure in the 10 year history of this survey – even worse than after Enron and the dot com bust.
And we don’t trust the media much either. Indutry analyst reports and business magazines, which held the top spots last year, have lost ground. Trust in TV News dropped from 49% to 36% and trust in newspapers went from 47% to 34%.
Why is this so important? Money is an idea backed by confidence. Research shows that trust is a pivotal component of company reputation and consumer spending – 91% of the 25 – 64 year olds polled say they buy from a company they trust and 77% refuse to buy from one they distrust. Being able to trust a company is one of the most important factors when determining reputation.
PR Lesson:
“If businesses are to regain trust they will need to adopet a strategy of public engagement.”
60% of those polled said they need to hear information about a company 3 – 5 times before they believe it.
One bright spot in all this gloom is that outside experts are still seen as a credible source of information about a company.
The message has to be stated by the company and then echoed by outsiders – experts, academics and the general public.
Mainstream media is no longer the only way to reach opinion leaders and influencers. You need to commit to getting your information, speedily and regularly, to the new influencers – bloggers and power users in online communities.
Every company can be a media company. Create and syndicate interesting useful content that can easily be saved, shared and improved by your public.
