When you want to find out something about an organization, where would you look for credible information?
According to the 2010 Trust Barometer, the annual trust and credibility survey of global public relations agency Edelman, most people consider articles in business magazines to be one of the top sources of trustworthy information.
This is particularly interesting during a time when social media is advancing by leaps and bounds across the communication landscape. Yet, while 44% of survey respondents* cited articles in business magazines as credible sources of information about a company (stock/industry analyst reports were rated highest at 49%), social media sites ranked second lowest, at 19%. Corporate/product advertising, at 17%, was rated the lowest of all sources.
Moreover, credentialed experts (and academics) were ranked as the most credible sources of information (64% of respondents) – above financial/industry analyst, NGO representative, “person like yourself,” CEO, government official or regular employee.
While new influencers will continue to gain a voice and new communication channels will emerge and evolve, right now it would seem that if you want people to believe what you have to say, developing expert spokespeople and encouraging them to share information about your organization through articles in respected business magazines could be a very effective way to communicate.
* Informed publics ages 25 to 64 in 20 countries
You can find more information about the value of expert articles here.
