More and more, potential customers are checking out your company’s website and your social media pages before they consider doing business with you. While that’s not exactly earth-shattering news, it is something that many business owners tend to ignore. Make sure your online content is modern, clean, and demonstrates your expertise. You can also use your online content to build your future customers’ trust in you and your products or services.

How can your website and social media efforts help your customers trust you? A modern, up-to-date, fast website and frequent posts on social media are seen as a sign that you are actively involved. Simple touches, like updating the copyright symbol at the bottom of your pages, can go a long way. You should also make sure that you provide plenty of free information on your area of expertise. By providing high-quality free content, you can encourage return visits.

You can also integrate “freebies” into your website, and accomplish multiple goals at the same time. Offering one (or more) of your eBooks for free on your site can get people coming back to your site, and can be very helpful in demonstrating your level of expertise to your potential customers. You can also use the free business eBooks to grow your email list: By offering the free eBook (on a very useful topic in your industry) in exchange for a visitor’s email address, you can get your information into the hands of those who need it, and grow your mailing list at the same time.

By giving your website visitors and social media fans valuable information to get to know and trust you, you’re making it much easier on yourself to convert them into customers.