I don’t need to tell you how big trust in business and marketing is.

Trust is everything.

You can pull every clever trick in the book, invest thousands of dollars in slick, sexy advertising and work tirelessly on conversion optimization tactics.

But at the end of the day, it’s trust that leads to sales.

That’s probably why word-of-mouth marketing is just as important as it’s ever been.

A new study from Ogilvy, Google and TNS found,

word of mouth is the most powerful factor when it comes to consumers’ relationships with brands.

According to that study, 74% of consumers cite word of mouth as being the most powerful factor.

And this totally makes sense.

I’ll trust the input of a friend or family member over some hotshot salesman any day of the week.

So, when it comes to your Twitter profile, trust-building should be given top priority.

You obviously want to grow your following.

But more importantly, you want your followers to trust you and take your opinion seriously.

Which elements should you focus on to build trust?

In this post, I share 16 essentials mandatory for creating a trust-boosting Twitter profile.

1. Use a branded background image

What’s the first thing Twitter users see when landing on your profile?

For most, it’s your background image.

Of course, it needs to look great and have the right pixel dimensions.

But it also needs to incorporate the same branding elements you use in your logo, on your website, other social accounts and so on.

Here’s a good example from Burt’s Bees:

Here’s another from Mashable:

Both incorporate a color scheme, style and message congruent with their overall brand.

This is important because it typically takes being exposed to your brand five to seven times before customers will buy.

2. Add an appropriate profile picture

Equally important is your profile picture.

Again, it needs to be appealing and be in line with the rest of your branding.

Here’s the image I use for my Neil Patel Twitter profile:

It’s simple yet professional, and visitors can instantly recognize me.

Here’s the profile picture for The Art of Manliness:

It’s matches the central theme of the Art of Manliness website.

3. Get verified

I’ve mentioned before that adding a trust seal to your checkout page can increase conversions.

Twitter has its own version of a trust seal, which is a blue check mark.

It looks like this:

Although it’s just a small, simple icon, it can pump up your trustworthiness considerably because Twitter users instantly know your account is authentic.

I know I always look for the blue verified badge when I’m searching for a celebrity or major brand.

To get verified, you’ll need to submit a request, which you can learn about here.

And here are some of the basic elements you must have in order to be approved:

4. Highlight your credentials (without being obnoxious about it)

Twitter allows you to include some brief biographical information on your profile.

This is the perfect place to explain your credentials and what you bring to the table.

Use this space wisely.

Here’s the info I include on my profile:

Here’s the info Chris Ducker includes:

Just don’t go overboard tooting your own horn to the point of being annoying.

5. Connect your website

Twitter also allows you to include a link to a website in your profile.

This is great for driving referral traffic and can also serve as a trust-booster.

6. Pin your best content to the top

Just like Facebook, Twitter gives you the option of pinning a top tweet to the top of your profile.

At the moment, I’m using this feature to promote my podcast.

See?

Pinning a top tweet is a simple way to maximize the visibility of a particular post and is great for increasing trust.

Pick what you feel is your absolute best tweet, and pin it to the top of your profile.

Ideally, it would have already received plenty of engagement (e.g., retweets, likes, etc.) because this will make you seem more legit to first-time visitors.

Keep in mind this is the first post they will see.

Pinning a top tweet is simple.

Click on the downward arrow on the top right-hand corner of your favorite tweet.

Then click “Pin to your profile page:”

That’s all there is to it.

7. Stay away from garbage content

This is a no brainer but definitely worth mentioning.

At the end of the day, you’re only as credible as the content you tweet.

If you post genuinely insightful, relevant content, people will trust you more.

If you post garbage content that’s worthless, spammy and overtly self-serving, it’s going to kill your trustworthiness.

That’s why I always try to make sure my content hits its mark and matches the interests of my audience, which fall under the umbrella of digital marketing.

8. Retweet credible sources

Retweets are a big part of Twitter’s appeal.

With just a couple of clicks (or taps) you can retweet interesting content and share it with your audience.

But here’s the thing.

People will assess your legitimacy based on the type of content you retweet.

If you’re retweeting epic content from a credible source, you’re good to go.

This is going to enhance your image and increase your followers’ sense of trust toward you.

But if it’s crap, it’s going to diminish that sense of trust.

In other words, don’t retweet posts from spammy, irrelevant sources.

9. Link to major sites

Again, the content you associate yourself with can help or hurt your brand.

Sprinkle in a few articles each week from major publications such as The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, The New Yorker, etc.—whatever matches your industry or niche.

It needs to be relevant to your audience and cover a topic of genuine interest to them.

And here’s another thing.

It’s best to include the URL of the publication so that people can instantly recognize it.

Like this:

The idea here is you can inform/entertain your audience while benefiting from the trust people have in an established, trusted site.

10. Stick with a consistent theme

A big component of gaining trust is being seen as an expert or an authority on a particular subject.

To achieve this status, you have to be selective about the type of content you post.

For instance, you won’t catch me tweeting about interior design or cooking.

You’ll find me posting content strictly about digital marketing.

That’s my MO.

Be clear about what your niche is by sticking with a consistent theme.

11. Maintain a steady posting schedule

Of all the social networks, people tend to post the most frequently on Twitter.

According to a recent study from CoSchedule, “15 tweets per day is recommended.”

Don’t be afraid of going a little crazy with your tweets.

The most important thing is to be consistent and not have any major gaps between posts.

12. Pepper in some videos

I’m sure you know how huge video marketing is right now.

Brands that use video report more traffic, more leads and a higher ROI.

I also find video to be perfect for breaking down walls and making deeper connections.

Why not throw in a few videos on your Twitter page?

I’ve been doing this recently and am seeing some great results.

Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income does the same.

Just link content from your YouTube channel or website.

13. Don’t flood your tweets with hashtags

Hashtags are an effective way to increase the visibility of your tweets.

Their overuse, however, can backfire, especially on Twitter.

While it’s fine and even encouraged to use 10 or more hashtags on other networks, like Instagram, it’s considered best practice to use a maximum of three hashtags on Twitter.

However, two hashtags is ideal and is the number I typically aim for.

Recent research shows that

engagement drops significantly once any more than two hashtags are used, on average.

“Loading the box” with hashtags looks spammy and can be a trust killer.

14. Strive to hit the perfect ratio of followers

Let’s say someone has 100k followers.

That’s great.

But what if they’re following 500k people?

All of a sudden, they don’t seem as legit and trustworthy.

But let’s say someone who has 100k followers is following only 50k people.

You’re probably more likely to take them seriously because their number of followers outweighs the number of people they’re following.

It may seem like a popularity contest, but you should try to reach a favorable ratio of followers.

I would like to think I’ve got a nice ratio:

According to Kred Stories,

it is essential that you get at least 20% of the users you follow to follow you back before you move on to the next group of followers.

In other words, don’t follow a ridiculous number of accounts unless you’ve got a sizable following.

It just looks bad if you’re following thousands of people and you have only a handful of followers yourself.

15. Be a stickler for spelling and grammar

There’s evidence that indicates poor spelling and grammar costs businesses millions each year in sales.

Just like you should double-check your blog posts and emails, you should always look over your tweets before publishing anything.

Otherwise, blatant errors will make you look amateurish.

16. Reply to (valid) complaints

More and more businesses are using Twitter as a platform for handling customer service these days.

You’re likely to receive some complaints at some point along the way.

The worst thing you can do is ignore them.

Your followers will see them, and you’ll look bad.

The best approach is to respond as quickly as possible and try to resolve the situation.

Here’s a good example of Domino’s pulling this off perfectly:

Conclusion

Psychological studies have found that we have an innate desire to connect with others.

Researchers found,

based on perceptions of trust, people reported positive interactions with a ‘close friend’ to be more rewarding than interactions with a stranger or a machine.

They also found that two specific brain regions—the ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex—were actively engaged when someone thought they were trusting a close friend.

Your goal on Twitter is to maximize your trustworthiness and create more positive interactions.

You want to bridge the gap and make people feel a sense of camaraderie with you.

The essentials I listed in this post should help you accomplish this in a variety of ways.

This should make first-time visitors more willing to follow you and help you strengthen your rapport with your existing followers.

How do you decide whether or not you trust a person or brand on Twitter?

Source: quicksprout

16 Essentials to Creating a Trust-Boosting Twitter Profile