The New Imperative: Building Trust in a Low-Trust World
In today's B2B landscape, the old playbook is broken. Institutional trust is at an all-time low, and decision-makers are tuning out polished corporate messaging. They seek connection and credibility not from logos, but from people. This is the strategic imperative for founders, CEOs, and executives: to become the trusted voice of their organisation.
This playbook is your guide to navigating this new reality. It’s built on a simple yet powerful human principle—the Know, Like, Trust framework—and supercharged with the most potent trust-building medium available today: video.
The KLT Journey: From Stranger to Advocate
KNOW
Before anyone can buy, they must know you exist. This stage is about earning attention with valuable, low-friction content that makes you a familiar presence in their feed. It's about being consistently visible and helpful.
LIKE
Familiarity evolves into affinity. People do business with those they like. This stage is about connecting on a human level by sharing your values, your mission, and your unique perspective. It’s where personality builds preference.
TRUST
This is the most critical stage. Trust is earned when your audience sees you as a credible authority who can solve their problems. This is where expertise builds confidence and commercial conversations begin.
The Founder's Mindset: Seizing the Trust Opportunity
Adopting this strategy requires a shift in mindset. You are not creating ads; you are building relationships. You are not chasing virality; you are building a predictable content engine. This section highlights the massive opportunity for leaders willing to embrace authenticity and systemisation.
The B2B Trust Gap is Your Opportunity
Data shows a clear preference for human-led, authentic content. This is where you have a competitive advantage.
Key Principles for Success
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Authenticity > Polish
B2B buyers respond more to candid, insight-rich video than to slick corporate ads. Prioritise message clarity over cinematic production. Sharing lessons from mistakes builds more trust than pretending perfection.
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Systems > Virality
Sustainable success comes from a systematic process, not chasing one-off viral hits. Frameworks like the StoryBrand Narrative Arc provide repeatable structures for creating consistently valuable content that drives measurable outcomes.
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Distribution Multiplies Impact
The value of your content is multiplied when it's leveraged by your entire organisation. Employee networks have a larger, more trusted reach than corporate channels alone. A great video must be paired with a great distribution plan.
Navigating the Pitfalls: The Traps That Kill Trust
Many leaders start with good intentions but fall into common traps that undermine their credibility and waste their time. The most dangerous of these is the obsession with vanity metrics. True influence is not measured in likes, but in genuine engagement and business impact.
The Vanity Metrics Trap
Focusing on the wrong numbers leads to the wrong content. This chart shows where your focus should be.
Other Common Mistakes to Avoid
The fix: Commit to a realistic schedule (e.g., 2-3 times per week) and plan content in 90-day sprints.
The fix: Invest in a simple external microphone (£50-£150). It's the highest-ROI equipment purchase you can make.
The fix: Even a simple CTA like "What are your thoughts?" or "Save this for later" encourages engagement and signals value.
The fix: Mandate accurate, human-reviewed captions for every single video. It's non-negotiable.