Trust in Friends Declines, Trust in Experts Rises - Social Media and PR Still Win

Last week Edelman, my employer, published our tenth annual Trust Barometer study. You can read the full report here. One of the more juicy statistics that Advertising Age and others noted is that trust in peers surprisingly dropped dramatically from 47% to 27%.

Tom Foremski says this is bad for PR:

"This is bad news for PR agencies because social media has been the ‘point of the spear’ for so many firms. This is what brings in new business."

While he's right that social media has been a big business driver, I respectfully disagree with Tom that this is bad news for the PR agencies. It won't make the PR industry's case for social media budgets any less compelling. In fact, it's awesome news. Here's why...

If you dig into the report, you'll note that the Trust data shows that we're desperately seeking out experts. This is unsurprising given the torrent of information we're all contending with. We're self-curating and in the process seeking out higher authorities.

Taking this a step further, this is where PR agencies shine. We have decades of experience positioning companies, NGOs, execs and employees in the ranks as subject-matter experts. So what does this have to do with social media? A lot. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, you name it are by far the fastest and most effective ways for an any individual or a company to build a thought leadership footprint. So, if you think about it, this isn't 2012 scenario as Foremski suggests. All it means that we'll have to work harder to build credibility through online thought leadership. If you're doing this with scale, you will win.

In addition, beyond that, we will have to do it all to break through the noise. So I don't see this as bad news at all. Richard Edelman, our CEO, sums this up best with his quotes in Advertising Age:

"The events of the last 18 months have scarred people," Mr. Edelman said. "People have to see messages in different places and from different people. That means experts as well as peers or company employees. It's a more-skeptical time. So if companies are looking at peer-to-peer marketing as another arrow in the quiver, that's good, but they need to understand it's not a single-source solution. It's a piece of the solution."

Bingo. All this means is less fluff more substance. And that's a good thing. 

Comments

[Rob Ungar]

Steve,I agree with your assessment. I've been saying for a while that you need to be an expert in what you're talking about. Just because you have a blog or a Twitter account, doesn't mean you know all about your industry/field/topic. You actually have to have the chops. If you have those, PR agencies and professionals can help you tell your story in a way that lets everyone else see that you're an expert too.

[Steve Rubel]

@Rob you are right. And being an expert is more than just about being a talking head - it's about what you do, as well!

[Nakeva Corothers]

Great information & perspective. Talking plus record of action is key. We're not all "experts"

[Steve Rubel]

@Norbert that's handled automatically via Feedburner,

[ImpactLearning]

In the past, we'd trust our friends with the most expertise. Nowadays, we "friend" experts. :)

[jeremy morris]

Very interesting Steve. This clearly serves PR agencies well - but it's also grist for companies that have a well developed thought-leadership approach to content generally - and those content marketing agencies who help them execute.

[Jeff]

Reminds me of the ole saying, "you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can;t pick your friend's nose."

[Bernard Dahl - Presentis Publi]

Great insight into the results. Quick note: Tom Foremski didn't say it was bad for PR, he said it was bad for PR agencies. He might have said "bad for agencies who may or not be specialized in PR, whose main focus is selling Social Media services." . Without being elitist, the lower trust in peers is possibly the result of many abusive social media practices - in the search for that elusive KPI for clients who demand it...

[Steve Rubel]

@Bernard - good point.

[Stephanie Sammons]

Great post Steve. People are seeking out experts. Are you building an online thought leadership footprint to attract the right clients and rise above the noise? As Steve Rubel says, "Get on the Bus or Go Home"

[joshdruck]

It's funny I was talking to my sister about this yesterday. Very cool indeed. something more people need to research and really make it count.Onward & UpwardJoshDruckFollow me I follow back twitter.com/joshdruck

[Diane Stein]

I couldn't agree more and have been promoting that PRs should use social media as part of any strategic campaign for their clients for years now. There always seems to be an application of social media that works in any industry. The trick I find is not only remembering the tools of traditional PR that I have in my arsenal but also staying up-to-date on the changes going on in the world of social media. It is a fast paced world out there so you can't be an "expert" if you aren't staying informed.

[Not sure]

This report certainly does come off as self-serving in giving back the reigns to PR firm and/or 'experts' and taking them out of the hands of ordinary people via social media and those wacky YouTube videos..Experts have been definitely marginalized in the online space over the last couple of years. I can't remember how many times I've read angry posts from PR veterans complaining about the clout of the Mark Zuckerbergs out there vs. dealing with the same old old, slow and clueless PR people that fumble around with online and social media.Trust in experts over your friends.. No thanks Steve, not everyone has followed you as long as some of us have and may not be aware of the stunts that Edelman has tried to pull over the last couple of years. Not that you were directly involved in any of that, but then again you didn't write the report either.For example, Google "Edelman and Fake Walmart Blog", amongst others... Now we're to expected to take this report as impartial.. sure..Kinda priceless telling us to trust experts again, not everyone forgives or forgets that easy... We trusted in the banks too and they stole everyone's money...Steve - You are still my favourite reads despite some of Edelman's tactics and questionable track history in misleading the public ...Interesting report, just can't bring myself to trust so easily again...