Trust signals in PR and how to leverage them
29 Apr 2025, Deya Bhattacharya
29 Apr 2025, Deya Bhattacharya
Picture this. You’re catching up with a fellow founder and talking about ways to promote your brand to the right audiences. Then she leans back, sighs, and mentions something surprising.
“No matter how much we invest in PR, it doesn’t seem to be working,” she says. “We publish press releases in the right outlets, maintain an active social media presence, but none of it seems to generate any buzz. And journalists don’t seem to be responding to our coverage requests either.” And as you digest her words, you come to the uncomfortable realisation that your own PR campaigns have gone a similar way.
Now this could happen for any number of reasons. But if your brand has a solid offering and a consistent presence otherwise, there’s a key ingredient you could be missing — trust signals. Today’s customers are far more skeptical of branded communications than they used to be — according to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, only 46% of customers trust businesses to do the right thing. Before you can win their loyalty, they need concrete (and non-sponsored) proof that you are true to the values you stand for and that you will always put customers first.
So how do you demonstrate the right trust signals? In today’s blog post, we tell you all you need to know.
Trust signals can be described as tangible proof points that communicate credibility, authenticity, and reliability to your audience. Essentially, they’re shortcuts that help your potential customers and media contacts quickly determine whether your brand messages are worth listening to. Trust signals in PR can include:
The stronger your trust signals, the more likely your audience is to heed your communications and act upon them.
As is perhaps evident from this, trust signals are different from targeted marketing communications. The latter is entirely under your control, and is designed to portray your brand and your products in the best light. However, trust signals stem from third-party validation of the content you put out and the work you’ve done to meet your customer’s needs. As such, you cannot control trust signals the way you can a marketing campaign — although you can certainly take actions that boost your credibility.
Trust signals are like beacons of authenticity in today’s saturated communication landscape. They give you the kind of stamp no promotional activity can ever equal — here’s how.
Attracting media consideration
Journalists receive hundreds of pitches from brands every week, and can only ever respond to a fraction of them. Given this, if your brand already has established credibility, it helps your pitch stand out and predisposes the journalist in your favour.
Converting interest to action
Trust signals can serve as the tipping point that take your audience from consideration to actual conversion. Be it a customer who chooses to buy from you, or a journalist who decides to cover your story, trust can achieve what any number of creative campaigns might fail to.
Building lasting relationships
Earning the loyalty of customers and the media is a long-term journey, and having strong trust signals gives you the foundation you need. Even when the market fluctuates or competitors vie for attention, trust keeps you in good stead with the people who matter the most.
Withstanding times of crisis
Despite your best efforts, you will almost certainly come up against challenging times. Trust signals help your brand reputation weather such incidents and stay intact — a valuable asset in an age when even a single negative comment can derail everything a company has worked for.
As we’ve already indicated, it’s possible to generate trust signals through thoughtful action designed to garner stakeholder trust. Here are five strategies we consistently recommend for our clients.
1. Invest in thought leadership
Thought leadership is one of the best ways to establish your brand as a reliable authority. Every month, set aside time to converse with your key executives and subject matter experts for their perspectives on relevant industry topics. Focus on insights that are unique to them, such as personal experience stories or customer case studies, and shape them into in-depth pieces. Always choose quality over quantity — one or two value-packed blogs per month can do much more for you than more frequent content that’s surface-level.
2. Secure third-party validation
Getting featured by trusted industry publications and online platforms gives you immense credibility. Understandably, these platforms can be picky about who they choose to mention. You can improve your chances by building relationships with the relevant journalists, rather than selling yourself from the get-go, and taking the time to understand the kind of perspectives they’re looking for. Then, craft thoughtful pitches that are in line with their editorial expectations, and include real-life examples and numbers that validate your story. This will help you stand out from the templated pitches that most brands go for.
3. Substantiate everything with data
Speaking of numbers, ensure that every statement you make can be backed up with verifiable data. Have a process in place for collecting data around the work you do, such as on-ground surveys or structured audits by a third party, and maintain a library of statistics that you can update as relevant. Whenever citing your data, be sure to specify the source and the collection method and to acknowledge any limitations in the process. If you use third-party data, be sure to thoroughly check for credibility and industry relevance.
4. Be consistent in your messaging
This is a simple yet powerful trust-building strategy that far too many companies overlook. Every communication you put out needs to be true to the core values and brand identity that you uphold. And this extends to more than just your company website or socials — from customer calls to product docs to media events, it’s important to stick to a central narrative. You can facilitate this by crafting a messaging architecture document with clear guidelines for different kinds of channels. In addition, conduct periodic audits of your public-facing content to ensure that you’re always sticking
5. Practice transparency at all times
The more transparent you are with your customers, the more they will trust you to do the right thing. Particularly during crisis times, it’s important to be truthful about the motivations behind your actions and how you plan to respond to the crisis. Some tips to keep your communications transparent include:
How do you know if you are generating the right trust signals? While you won’t see results overnight, there are certain indicators to watch out for, such as
Be sure to track these indicators over time and pay attention to when they come in, e.g. after the release of a thought leadership piece or a media feature. This will help you understand which actions are most likely to have a positive impact.
Trust-building exercises have become key to generating PR coverage that translates into business success. While building trust is an organic process, you can help it along by investing in communication and outreach strategies that position your brand as a credible entity.
At Star Squared PR, we believe that every external interaction is an opportunity to build trust. Our PR strategies uphold this by centering authenticity and credibility, with every message designed around meeting customer expectations rather than pushing a corporate agenda. Want to know more about how to boost your trust signals? Schedule a call with our team today. We’d be delighted to help.
