Building Trust & Credibility in a World of Fake News

With so much fake and misleading news on social media (even Google Ads), who do you believe? Better yet, how do you, as a small business owner, build trust and credibility, promote your business, and stand out amid all the online chatter? Furthermore, how do you avoid or workaround when Google or a social network block you because of what you’re posting?

I try not to get into politics on my business accounts and keep my views to my personal accounts. However, an article came across my newsfeed that stopped me in my tracks and prompted me to write this piece.

Not to get political, but I am aware of users — businesses and nonprofits — that have been banned or blocked on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. I tried pinning an article from one of their sites on Pinterest and was blocked with an error message saying it was inappropriate content. Who are they to judge what is appropriate or inappropriate content? (Note: I’m not going to get into a free speech argument here or what’s fair and not fair.)

Google and the Social Networks are Privately-Owned Platforms

Let’s say you owned a theater and you wanted to open it up to anyone to use it for free to stage plays, concerts, or lectures. One day, you pop in to see who’s rehearsing and find that they are presenting something you find offensive. Or a neighboring business owner sees a poster and is offended and complains. Now you need to start interviewing and vetting people before you let them use your space. Are you discriminating? What about free speech? Well, it’s your privately owned theater. You can decide who can and cannot present there.

The same goes for social media networks. Look at it all from their shoes. They have the right to censor posted content. They all have user agreements. (You know, the thing that you agreed to, without reading, when you set up your account.) That means terrorists can livestream bombings, massacres, and shootings. Or can they? They can try, but their posts will be taken down as soon as the network is made aware of them.

How does this affect your business?

Now, you might be thinking, “I don’t fall into these categories.” Sure, but then you are competing with everyone else for users’ attention with all that’s out there. People buy from those whom they know and trust. That’s a problem with all of today’s fake news.

The networks and Google are cracking down on fake reviews and fake accounts so you always want to look authentic and above board.

How do you stand out and not look like fake news?

1. Make sure you are transparent in all your social media profiles.
   • Have an updated website with a complete About Us page that tells your story.
   • Your LinkedIn personal/individual profile has a good, recent, professional-looking headshot so people can see who’s behind the business.
   • You have a LinkedIn company profile page with a link to your website. They have a call-to-action button. Choose “Learn More”.
   • Fill out your Facebook about section completely. They recently made changes to the business pages, so make sure you’ve covered all the areas.
   • Don’t automate EVERYTHING on social media. You can’t forget the “social” part of social media. It’s about building relationships with potential and current customers, as well as referral sources.
2. All your branding should be consistent throughout your social media profiles and website. You’ll look fishy if you have some fuzzy pictures on some and your picture where your logo should be. It’s your online image. Make it look professional.
3. Get real customers to provide you with real testimonials, recommendations, and reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and LinkedIn. Encourage them to do so in a thank you email or when they’ve made a purchase. Don’t give them an incentive. That’s the same as buying reviews.
4. Before you share someone else’s content on your social networks, verify that it’s from a trusted source and it’s not “clickbait”.
5. Don’t create clickbait headlines on social posts. Clickbait is when you write a catchy, enticing headline that has nothing to do with what the article, offer, or page is about. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Obviously, you don’t want to be labeled fake news or a scam artist.
6. Watch which hashtags you use. Always check to see WHY something is trending before you try to spin your marketing message around it.
7. If you or your business supports or are passionate about a politically sensitive cause, and that’s what you write and post about, be aware that you may be banned from some of the networks. If you are, let’s schedule a free 15-minute phone call to go over your options.

How May Your Business Be Affected by Fake News and Censoring?

It depends. It may not affect you at all. However, be careful that you’re not following accounts that may be fake. You can’t do much about the fake accounts that are following you. (Furthermore, NEVER BUY fake followers or reviews!) On most of the networks, users can see who you’re following. They should see themselves represented there, as well as influencers in your field or industry. That is, people you respect and whose content you’ll share. Those are trusted sources. (Related: How to Build Your Following Organically).

New Social Media Alternatives

With all the censoring going on, here are new networks that tout free speech. Check them out…

• Gab – an alternative to Facebook
• MeWe – an alternative to Facebook
• Rumble (A YouTube alternative)
• Telegram – messaging
• Frank Speech
• Gettr – an alternative to X
• Truth Social – Donald Trump’s Network

Since these came out, the ones that have stood out as most popular are Rumble, Telegram, and Truth Social.

Should you be on ALL of these?

That depends on your target audience. Download my free Define Your Target Market Workbook, then schedule a call when you’ve completed the task.

Can what you’re publishing can get you in trouble? Were you banned or suspended from a network? Let’s do a free 15-minute phone consult so I can evaluate the situation and see how to overcome it.

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