Social media is one of the first places consumers go to discover and research brands and products to buy. In fact, social media ads rank fourth among all brand discovery channels (following search engines, TV ads, and word of mouth). Nevertheless, it remains a highly distrusted source of information.
Research shows that people don’t necessarily believe the content they see on social media.
A survey from January 2025 found that 41% of adults in the US often distrust information from social networks. Another report discovered that 26% of consumers don’t trust influencer marketing. And 81% of people say that a brand using influencer content is likely to have either no or a negative impact on their perception of that business.
With this in mind, it’s clear that successfully using social media as a platform for creating product and brand awareness necessitates a careful approach.
A solid method to generate positive results is to focus on credibility. Using social media signals to generate trust can help you reach and engage your target audience while earning their confidence. Plus, it’s a marvelous tactic to attract leads into your sales funnel without coming across as sketchy, forceful, or unreliable.
So, without further ado, here are the eight social media signals that can add a layer of trust to your online presence, along with examples of how to use them correctly.
A Consistent Presence
Although often overlooked — at least from a credibility perspective — brand consistency is a key element of consumer trust.
After all, people don’t just have a higher likelihood of believing (and actively choosing) brands or products they recognize — with 82% of people picking a familiar brand name for their first click on a SERP page. They’re also more likely to recollect and seek out familiar brand names when entering the buyer’s journey.
But what does consistency have to do with familiarity and trust on social media?
The simple fact is that having a consistent online presence actively builds familiarity. And this doesn’t just pertain to your brand’s visual identity. Your posting schedule also helps create consistency via predictability, which, in turn, allows your audience to perceive your business as a brand they can rely on for stability.
With this in mind, one of the easiest social media tactics to boost brand and product credibility is to maintain a predictable posting schedule.
An automated scheduling and content creation tool like is an exceptional method to achieve this. It allows you to stay consistent and can also make it easier to keep up with your audience’s expectations. That’s especially important in a digital setting, where standing out requires several posts per week to ensure you can engage your prospects’ attention and cut through the ever-growing noise.
To see a solid example of what a consistent (but not overwhelming) posting schedule looks like, check out Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on TikTok, where the business shares updates, menu hacks, and inspiration with followers without bombarding them with commercial content.
Source: tiktok.com
Authentic, Non-Branded Content
Another effective method to add a layer of trust to your social media presence is to intersperse branded content with authentic user-generated content.
Although UGC is well-known for being a trustworthy and credible format — with scientific research even proving it elevates purchase intention — many marketing professionals still forget to include it in their social media presence.
The good news is that righting this wrong doesn’t have to be difficult. Content tactics as simple as reposting user-submitted feedback or visuals are more than enough to add a dose of authenticity and credibility to your social media presence and to make your brand feel more trustworthy and relatable on your mission to convert more customers. For example, take a look at how Cocokind does it on Instagram.
Source: instagram.com
Meaningful Third-Party Collaborations
Naturally, the fact that consumers trust their peers and fellow buyers more than public personas doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t include well-known industry names in your social media presence. But it does signal that choosing who you associate with your brand can and will impact your brand’s ability to engage and convince consumers to consider buying.
One strategy to boost brand credibility via social media is to align your brand with spokespeople whose support is meaningful to your target audience.
For example, Edelman’s research has found that scientists and industry experts stand out in their ability to lend credibility to businesses, with approximately 60% of consumers saying they trust these influencers to provide solid purchasing advice.
So, if you’re looking to boost credibility — or simply position your products as genuinely effective solutions to remove a particular pain point — consider working with third-party collaborators who can generate trust through their social media presence.
Check out how Rosie does it on YouTube. By having a well-regarded industry expert review its product on their (widely-followed) channel, this brand doesn’t just gain valuable exposure among its target audience. Much more importantly, it receives a positive introduction to potential customers, making it far easier to engage and draw them into its sales funnel down the line, because they’ll already perceive the brand as credible and competent.
AI Answering Service for Websites?! 🤯
Source: youtube.com
Perhaps the most common application of this tactic is celebrity or influencer endorsement. If your brand is in the enviable position of counting recognizable faces amongst your clientele, you’re already halfway towards executing this tactic.
Tasteful media showcasing famous people purchasing or using your product injects your marketing message with an aspirational angle that is an exceptionally valuable conversion-driver.
Take a look at how men’s jewelry brand Icecartel ensures these posts don’t get lost amongst their regular social content. By pinning high-value celebrity interactions on their TikTok and Instagram profiles, they maximize the chances of a new customer engaging with these videos.
Source: tiktok.com
The Professional Credibility of Employees
Alternatively, if collaborating with influencers, content creators, or your existing customers isn’t something you can do (yet), then harnessing the professional expertise of your employees could be the way to add credibility to your social media presence.
Essentially, this tactic works because trust consists of three layers: ability, integrity, and benevolence.
By proving your team’s ability, that is, their competence to handle and remove consumer pain points, you can effectively position your products and brand as the best choice in your niche.
An easy method to do this on social media is to keep your company’s LinkedIn profile populated by a properly updated people section.
If you check out RE Cost Seg, you’ll see that it does just this, knowing full well that its ability to prove its trustworthiness largely depends on potential customers seeing that the company employs experienced industry experts who know what they’re doing and can deliver a high-quality service. Furthermore, it’s also a good idea to include links to your employees’ (professional) social profiles on your website, especially as this can add a much-needed dose of credibility to your online presence outside of your social channels.
Source: recostseg.com
Brand Mentions via Social Listening
Another commonly overlooked social media strategy that could help your business build trust is the practice of social listening.
Simply put, monitoring the conversations happening about your brand, products, or niche doesn’t just provide opportunities to engage potential prospects and create awareness about your offer. Perhaps more importantly, it offers a chance for you to develop rapport with your audience, show your dedication to customer satisfaction, and build strong relationships both with potential and existing clients.
What’s great is that social listening doesn’t have to be complex — nor does it necessitate a high-end solution to make it work in your favor. By following a few core best practices — monitoring relevant platforms, being prompt with responses, and analyzing consumer sentiment to optimize your social strategy — you can transform this tactic into a powerful tool for brand and product positioning.
For instance, if you check out Business for Sale, you’ll notice that it regularly reposts content about available businesses in its relevant region. The approach allows it to deliver more value to its social media followers and build valuable relationships with fellow industry names. Plus, it helps the brand position its platform as a trustworthy and extensive database of available businesses for sale in Australia.
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Helpful Product-Focused Content
As you explore tactics for boosting brand and product credibility via social media, it’s important to understand how consumers use these networks during the buyer’s journey.
In addition to treating social platforms as search engines, many consumers rely on these apps to evaluate potential solutions to their pain points.
Data from Hostinger reveals that 82% of people use social networks for product research, with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram ranking highest for this purpose in 2025.
Thus, knowing how likely your target audience is to seek out product evaluation content on social networks before considering becoming your customers, it’s crucial to populate your profiles with valuable, product-focused content that will aid the process.
The Bay Alarm Medical YouTube channel, for instance, comprises a ton of insightful, product-focused resources that help new buyers get the most out of their purchases. These videos also act as wonderful introductions to how these solutions work, successfully elevating product understanding, building brand credibility, and increasing viewers’ purchase intention.
Bay Alarm Medical – SOS All-in-One 2 – Medical alert system with location tracking
Source: youtube.com
Interesting and Insightful Social Media Interactions
Investing in brand and product credibility isn’t just about your company’s reputation. Yes, being perceived as a trustworthy organization is a good thing. But the reason it’s so important is that it directly affects purchasing behavior.
Recent research suggests that 87% of people would be willing to pay more for products from brands they trust. Moreover, a 2023 study found that trust drives loyalty and engagement, with 79% of people demanding brands demonstrate their user-centricity before considering a purchase.
Now, we’ve covered several social media tactics that boost credibility and drive conversions by guiding your content creation. But the simple fact is that just interacting with your audience — in a meaningful and helpful way — does more than enough to encourage consumers to trust your business.
If you look at Classical Guitar Shed, you’ll find that the brand is exceptionally generous with advice on its Subreddit. What stands out is that it takes time and effort to answer all questions with care — even those that don’t necessarily pertain to its services and that aren’t indicative of a potential conversion. Nonetheless, this approach effectively emphasizes Classical Guitar Shed’s benevolence and user-centricity, making it one of the most trustworthy brands in its industry and a logical choice for people looking for a caring and knowledgeable guitar teacher.
Source: reddit.com
Real-Life Stories
Lastly, when it comes to incorporating trust-driving social media signals into your online presence, it’s always a good option to share real-life stories about your brand and products.
After all, enriching your posts with narratives doesn’t just make them more engaging and attractive to your target audience. It also elevates your brand’s presence with an added dose of authenticity, transparency, and (especially if you’re telling stories about successfully removed customer pain points) credibility.
So, as you explore methods to earn your prospects’ trust, consider ways to use storytelling tactics in your social media presence.
This can incorporate something elementary, like showing your followers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how your business operates to maximize their product understanding. Or, you can create an entire series about your satisfied customers and the role your products or services have played in allowing them to reach their goals.
You could also use storytelling to show your brand’s dedication to its mission and values (both of which are important for building consumer trust). That’s what United By Blue does on Instagram. This brand regularly updates followers on how its trash cleanup meetups go and shares inspiring behind-the-scenes photos and videos of what these events look like.
Source: instagram.com
Final Thoughts on Social Media Signals
Incorporating trust signals into your social media strategy can be quite simple. In fact, you may already be using some of the tactics above to boost brand and product credibility and nudge your followers into your sales funnel.
But the simple fact is, there’s no such thing as sufficient brand trust when running a business. Emphasizing reliability, expertise, and user-centricity are all effective methods to encourage potential customers to put their faith in your organization. But what’s even more important is to do these things consistently and with a genuine focus on helping your prospects — not just turning them into buyers.
