How Data Centers Leverage Content to Educate and Build Trust

It’s a simple idea. If you give your prospects and clients the right content at the right time, you will catch their attention, keep it, and hopefully close more deals as a result.

That’s part of the value of inbound marketing for IT companies. Another key factor is that it also gives you the opportunity to educate these audiences and build trust with them, which is a highly important goal. Without trust, no relationship can progress past a certain level, especially in business.

Here are the ways that your IT company can leverage content to educate people and built the trust that can inspire a long and mutually beneficial business relationship.

Be Transparent

Business owners and leaders have hesitated to embrace the concept of transparency, but social media, in particular, is slowly but surely hammering down the invisible barrier that has traditionally existed between companies and their customers. Today, people want to actively engage with those they do business with.

By being open and sharing educational information without trying to sell something, you can give people a sense of investment in your data center and achieve the transparency and trust that buyers today are looking for in a service provider.

Become a Thought Leader

Too many businesses use social media and email to spam their audiences with purchasing opportunities and fail to offer anything that delivers real value. Valuable content is content that educates, entertains, inspires, and genuinely helps the buyer make an informed purchasing decision.

When data centers use content to answer questions, address needs, and provide useful information, it can gradually acquire a reputation as a thought leader in the industry. Becoming a default source of authoritative information can inspire the trust that turns a casual buyer into a loyal client and brand ambassador.

Be Engaging

Entertaining people is an excellent way to both educate and build trust. Not every social media post or blog article has to be exclusively about your data center and its offerings. Provide value in a creative and engaging way via infographics, videos, apps, and other interesting mediums.

The opportunities are endless. Are you launching a new hosting package that includes innovative or unique features? Give it an equally special name or, even better, encourage clients to suggest names. They’ll want to know more about the service before submitting a suggestion, turning the content into an educational exercise.

Respond Quickly

Once you distribute educational content, you must be open to receiving comments. Companies that have a built-in system for responding quickly to comments will quickly acquire a reputation for attentive customer service. Even complaints can form the basis for trust if you address them head on and resolve them in a way that demonstrates a commitment to client satisfaction.

Bottom Line

Each interaction you have with current and potential clients is an opportunity to educate them further and strengthen trust. Over time, educational content can prove your expertise in the field and commitment to service, both of which create a solid foundation for a solid client-provider relationship.

Does your data center use content to educate people and create trust in the brand, or does it still focus strictly on purchasing opportunities? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments box below.

To learn more about how you can leverage content to build trust, watch our webinar recording, IT Sales Has Changed. Is Your Team Living in the Past?