“It goes without saying that a business has to get the word out—it’s the rare company that can sit back and wait for the customers to come. But how do you create meaningful marketing content that rises above the self-promotional to connect directly with a target audience?

In an age of constant noise and information, how can anyone expect to cut through and reach consumers in a meaningful way to become a trusted brand? With more information. Yes, more information.It may seem counterintuitive to fight clutter by adding to what’s already out there, but information is the most valuable tool in any marketing arsenal. And in order to deliver effective information, you have to listen first. In fact, listening is the basis of trust in all relationships, be they business or personal. Listening enables you to determine what information will be most valuable and relevant to your customers. That information, then, becomes the key to building trusted relationships.”

Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today’s Savvy Consumers - By Joe Pulizzi Founder & Chief Content Officer of Junta 24.

Perhaps the art of listening is not lost. Perhaps the web, email and social are ushering in a renascence. Many in business have been too busy worrying about what consumers might say about them online, that it was forgotten what might be gained by listening. While some might bemoan today’s fractured media landscape or fear the accessibility of the web, Joe points out the opportunities.

You can now engage people in a two way conversation. Your relationship and more importantly, the consumer relationship with your brand can fundamentally change for the better if you are open to listening and having and sharing information with them. If you don’t participate, they’ll talk about you in any case so, you really should be in the conversation.

Marketing today requires business to open up and take a different view regarding informing and educating consumers. In today’s world business has to provide value and information is very valuable if it educates consumers. If you inform and educate and stay away from blatant self promotion, consumers will appreciate it. You can’t build trust by trying to sell something every time you interact.

How to listen: there are many ways, here are two obvious ones:

• Monitor the web, email, twitter and every channel out there that your customers use
• Start a blog, set up a Facebook page or LinkedIn group and simply start asking people

It’s vital that when someone does mention your brand, you respond and engage them. The response time can depend on the channel, but the general rule of thumb is the sooner the better. You might be able to get away with next day service via email, but you should respond to tweets almost immediately and blog comments and Facebook messages almost as fast.

Listening, engaging and asking will help you understand what consumers want from you. If you want to build trust, a cornerstone is listening.