Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap

by Margot Bloomstein

In today’s economy, marketers need a new strategy to earn trust, act with transparency, and help consumers and citizens make confident decisions. But undermining confidence is it erodes trust in the media, government, public institutions, and consumer brands. To regain the trust of consumers and citizens, marketers talk about empathy and authenticity. But how do you get beyond those buzzwords? Give more control to your audience—and they’ll put more trust in you.It might be a scary proposition, but trading control for confidence fuels a surprising range of high-performing organizations. Airbnb, Zoom, the FBI, TED, the United Kingdom Government Digital Service, The New York Times, America’s Test Kitchen, local election commissions, and other organizations have all embraced strategies of content and design that transform their audiences into empowered decision-makers. Smart organizations teach their audiences to evaluate product options, engage in continuous self-education, and make more informed choices.Examining what works among these teams of all stripes and sizes, content strategy expert Margot Bloomstein casts a broad net to capture the experiences of copywriters, designers, creative directors, and CMOs—people who work to build trust through imagery, editorial style, storytelling, and retail design.In an actionable framework focused on voice, volume, and vulnerability, this book will teach you how to employ concrete tactics to help your brand regain trust, respect, and customer loyalty. Lead your organization and audience from cynicism toward something far more hope.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Design

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2021

Reviews

[Rich Yavorsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

...to get trust, you need to give trust. And this isn’t a game of counting to three and then speaking at the same time; you have to go first.

Daring Greatly for businesses.

So -this- is why my company (ni.com) rebranded ("Engineer Ambitiously") in 2020. Gotcha. We needed a rebrand--I can see that now. (To be sure: I heard similar internal messaging during the rebrand. To hear the messaging from a third party seals the deal.)

Understand the tone of your language ("voice") and be consistent. Choose the right amount of detail ("volume") for the use case at hand. Leave room for humility, and listen to feedback ("vulnerability"). This is legit advice for many realms (parenting, freshman orientation, you name it) because at its core this message is about respect for other people and their priorities.

Trustworthy passes its own litmus test. Its voice is neutral/encouraging. Its volume is a one-week read (clearly you're not the type for elevator summaries if you pick up books). Vulnerability is the trick: how to be humble when a presumed purpose of a book is a record of authority? Here's where Bloomstein Margot (just use her first name: more relaxed, less ostentatious formal) wins: she's just the messenger. So much of this book's content is examples/interviews/case studies of organizations other than her own. Trustworthy illustrates the gestalt.

Early in my software engineering career I felt the need to be heard, to illustrate my knowledge, and to be perfect. Suffice it to say, I failed at voice/volume/vulnerability often. It is refreshing to see the trend towards progress-over-perfection in recent years in my field (due in part to internet bandwidth's enabling). Certainly other fields vary. A smattering of excerpts below.

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Calcified language preserves our ivory towers; plain language flings open their doors.

“People say the main obstacle to cooking is time,” [Jack Bishop, America's Test Kitchen] continues. “I don’t believe it. The main obstacle is failure."

But to build self-confidence—that belief you can make good decisions because your information is current, accurate, and actionable—“more” isn’t better. It’s exhausting. To act on critical information with financial, health, and civic impact, users need to know their knowledge is complete.

“What is believed overpowers the truth,” wrote Sophocles. Today, perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that what is believed is the truth.

Consider the landscape and how we got to a moment where expertise is both invaluable and under suspicion.

[Alex Sprenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest studies from the fields of marketing and business show that it is becoming increasingly difficult for companies to be credible and trusted. In a disruptive world with fake news and manipulative media content, it has become difficult for users to distinguish between right and wrong. And there is a thing about content, primarily written content, which is hard for the reader to define: some words we trust and some we don't. So, what does it take to enhance trust? In her book "Trustworthy", Margot Bloomstein gets to the heart of the matter. She describes how content can help businesses and organizations gain trust and credibility and what it takes to (re-)position itself. The author is giving actionable guidance on how to apply communication goals effectively.

I valued how Margot Bloomstein provides detailed and relatable examples that enrich and explain her views. As an online marketing manager, I found helpful advice on "how to create better content". As a graduate student in content strategy, this book is my inspiration and guidance for the finals.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloomstein demystifies the persistent questions we content professionals have, not just about what content to create, but how to write it. Her case studies provide a trip down memory lane (hello, safari-era Banana Republic!), with fresh insights on how brands and organizations are able to truly break through and earn their audience’s trust and respect. This is a must-read for anyone tasked with steering their message towards a better and more authentic representation of their brand.

[Samantha Kolb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not my usual read, but it was refreshing to dive into the various marketing techniques of well-known brands and corporations. There's still plenty of work to be done moving forward, but in an age where trust is not easily earned, it's good to know honesty is the best policy for reaching consumers from all generations.

[Julie Strothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was tremendously valuable for me as a UXer in civic tech. Over and over, the rich examples reinforce ways to build connection and trust by meeting your users needs: give them clarity and just enough info to make good decisions. In this way, you'll empower users which will drive satisfaction. Bloomstein gives writing tips for earning loyalty, building confidence, matching tone to context, and clarifying responsibility.
Whether you do content design, UX, service design, or brand marketing, this book's a great read.

[Danielle H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Verbose. I really wanted to like this book. It took too long to get points across and the data points are a bit outdated. A great read for entry-level marketers, content creators, marcom partners or anyone who has an interest in communicating with an audience effectively. If you’re experienced in marketing or comms, this book is regurgitating common knowledge.

[Rob Fitzgibbon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trustworthy is a must read for marketers and content designers. In an era of generative AI slop, scammy marketing techniques and cynical greed, this book reads like an honest breath of fresh air. Margot Bloomstein’s well-written insights include valuable, practical tips on how to create trust-generating messaging. Don’t shortchange your brand messaging; build it on a trustworthy foundation.

[Carnegie Mellon University Alumni Association]

Margot Bloomstein (CFA 2000), author

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart, practical and down to earth advice.
Lots of great case studies - rendered in a lively and fun to read way.

[Mike Hales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic walk-through with sound ideas, well written and easy to read. Thoroughly enjoyed it and copiously made notes, which is always a good sign.

[Andrew Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, but more importantly captures a great spirit. We all share responsibility for whether cynicism flourishes.