It’s the second quarter, and that means it’s time for an important annual release: the Edleman Trust Barometer. This survey is an essential indicator of who the general public trusts…
As well as those they don’t.
If your business has an element of marketing or communicating to the general public — and all of our clients do, or else they wouldn’t need us! — then the Trust Barometer is an absolute must read. But if you click on that link and are hoping for unicorns and rainbows, you’re going to be disappointed.
This year’s Edelman Trust Barometer results show that the Financial Services industry once again ranks as one of the least trusted industries on a global scale… second only to social media.
Ouch.
Using the Edelman Trust Barometer Results
However, there is some good news — a way out, if you will. As content creators and professional communicators, we understand the most effective way to reach your audience is to understand what they find believable, authentic, and relatable. The Edelman Barometer clarifies what drives those perspectives.
Here’s our conclusion: As an industry, we spend too much time telling investors what we think they should know or trying to prove how smart we are. Maybe there was a time when that kind of chest-thumping was effective, from a comms point of view, but that approach is rapidly becoming outdated.
The best communicators in the field – the Warren Buffets and John Bogles – were always honest and human in presenting themselves to investors. They were effective because they were willing to speak in an authentic way to investors’ needs and concerns.
How can you be more authentic? I’ll tell you what – pour yourself a drink and head over to our LinkedIn page and drop us a comment. We can go over the Edelman Trust Barometer results and come up with a plan for you!
Cheers!
KP
