A couple iPhone snaps from Methodist Hospital in Omaha

We talk a lot about using relevant stories to earn trust in as we move into a new “human business” ethic. If companies are going to build trust by acting like humans online, I think they should act like humans in their ads and in their traditional marketing stories too.

A quick example

In honor of the Great American Smokeout on November 19, Methodist Hospital in Omaha put up a number of “I Quit” posters to inspire smokers to quit, if only for just one day.

If you look at the two posters above, I can bet which one you connect with more—the one with the person on it.

The fact of the matter is, any product or service you attempt to sell is at its core designed to make someone’s life richer or easier (even if you manufacture nails, those nails make a carpenter’s life easier by giving him/her an easy way to fasten boards together).

Since your product is inexplicably tied to humanity, your ads and other traditional marketing communications must also weave into the story of humanity.

Including a human face with a human story is a great way to do that.

Building Trust in Ads through Human Connection

David Spinks recently wrote on thelostjacket.com:

Instead of asking your audience to trust your message, show them what you’re doing to earn it. Create an opportunity to earn that trust and then follow through by living up to the promise.

Simply put, instead of, “Our car is the best quality”, say, “This is why you should trust in our quality”. [Read the rest of the post]

But it’s more than just giving a list of product benefits for why you should trust in quality. Good copywriters have been explaining “why” people should trust your brand for decades. The point is to make sure those “why” elements also explain why benefits matter on a human level (which, I suppose good copywriters have also been doing for a while).

Instead of saying, “You should trust in our quality because we do 1000 quality tests on every new model,” say “We spend time completing 1000 quality tests so you won’t spend time on the side of the road.”

Because at the end of the day, we’ll trust your brand if you prove to us you can add value to our lives.

What do you think? Has marketing communications been trending this way for a while, or has the new impulse to tell stories and build trust accelerated it?

I’d love to know how you see it.

-Andrew

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