Written by Aaron Swain, freelance writer at Best Writers Online
Do you know that brand trust drives brand loyalty 75% of the time and influences 8 in 10 consumers buying decisions? Also, as a brand, you can earn your consumers’ trust by how you brand your company during events.
Until now, companies have used events to create brand awareness, get new leads, or drive consumer loyalty. Very few brands have propelled their branding to earn their consumers’ trust.
However, we will share with you key ways you can plan an event, and earn the trust of your attendees through branding for that event.
Let’s get into it.
To create trust, be trustworthy
Firstly, don’t fake ‘it’ till you make ‘it,’ be ‘it.’ There are a lot of brands faking a brand event with the sole purpose of making sales. While this might work at first, eventually it will catch up with your brand. So, instead of faking a brand experience aimed at building trust, start by creating a trustworthy brand.
Here’s how you can do that:
- First, don’t plan any brand event if you don’t have your priorities straight.
- Define the value of your brand, what it stands for, how it can genuinely help your consumers, your brand vision, etc.
- Map out steps to create a brand culture built on trust.
- Ensure all members of staff know your brand identity and what it stands for.
Once you have all these straightened out, you can now go on to plan your brand event.
Take your branding seriously
Next, the event you are planning represents your brand and company in every way. So, make sure you take it seriously. A careless attitude towards event planning, branding, and management can influence attendees’ trust.
Make sure:
- You have a dedicated team working on designing a flawless experience for your attendees.
- The environment you choose to have your event represents your brand in every way.
- Your event attendees don’t have issues getting to and from the event location.
- Ensure you prepare all event workers based on your company’s culture. These are the people your event attendees will relate to, they speak for your company.
Find the right people to attend your event
Your brand won’t appeal to everyone; it will appeal to the right one. So, for a brand event aimed at building trust, find people who:
- Can relate to your brand identity.
- Will benefit from your brand.
- Connect with your brand’s vision.
People who already have these traits will connect stronger with your brand during your event. An event like this will build a stronger foundation between you and them.
Branding for the right people will help you focus on the right branding strategy, and it will also help you center your brand energy towards the right people.
Use digital & social media
A vital tool you should use in any brand event you do is social media. It doesn’t matter if you are using Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn. We are in a digital age, where it is practically impossible to connect on a higher level with consumers without digital media.
There are various strategies to use social media in your event’s branding to build trust with your event attendees. Some ways are:
- Live Streaming will help your brand connect with consumers on a human level. People need to know that actual people run your company; it makes them feel more connected. Live Streaming will also show all the effort that goes into bringing your event to attendees. You can Livestream on your most engaged social media platform.
- Use event hashtags on your social media. Creating a brand event hashtag and using it, leading to and on your event day, will help both attendees and your social media followers follow your event. Building brand interest is a great way to get people connected to your event and brand and ultimately trust your brand (if they like what they see).
- Personalize interaction on social media. Interact directly with your followers. Like their content, respond to their comments, and you can even reach out to them. Make them feel connected to your brand.
Using digital media before your brand event can include press releases, blog articles, etc.
Create a valuable brand experience
Another way to earn trust with your event branding is to create a valuable brand experience. Experiential marketing garnered popularity a while back because it focused on creating experiences rather than selling products.
Here are a few ways you can set up a valuable brand experience:
- Plan a fantastic event that involves your attendees’ senses in the show. You might have to put some effort into this, but it will be well worth it.
- Make sure your brand event is more about your attendees and what they stand to gain, and less about your brand and what you stand to gain.
- Ensure your brand event is answering your attendees’ burning questions.
Remember, no one wants to be sold something, especially during a brand experience event. People are seeking real solutions to their problems, so provide them with this. Doing this will build their trust in your brand.
Help your attendees, don’t persuade them
Lastly, leveraging on our previous point, do not manipulate your event attendees into buying your products. That may work initially, but it won’t help you build solid trust from your attendees. It will also show your attendees that you don’t care about them, thus turning them away.
What you can do instead is help your attendees get the best from your event. Engage with them, help them engage with other event attendees, and give them space to co-create their own encounters during your event.
Wrapping up
Creating a brand event where your attendees can leave trusting your brand and what you stand for isn’t a one-day thing. It will also involve a lot of work on your part. But this will give you a chance to propel your relationship with your (future) consumers to a different level. So, follow each of the steps in this article when planning your next event. Build trust and the rest will come.
About the Author
Aaron Swain is a writing specialist who is currently working in the writing service reviews company Best Writers Online (bestwritersonline.com). He is passionate about marketing and SEO. He expands and improves his skills throughout the writing process to help and inspire people.