Trust is The Real ROI for B2B Leaders
According to input from 1,500 B2B marketers on how to create a winning B2B brand, the real driver of success is trust.
Confirmation from the Be Category-Famous and Accelerate Social Trust report.
Trust is the pulse that moves people to action. It’s the reason someone says yes in the boardroom or visits a website after reading a post. You might not see it, but it’s the oxygen of influence. If you’re in tech, finance, e-commerce – you name it – B2B brands that need more visibility, retention and conversion with your ideal audience, then you need to focus on trust building marketing activities.
What B2B Marketers Can Do to Build Brand Trust
Trust isn’t just part of the marketing mix anymore; it is the strategy. In LinkedIn’s 2025 B2B Influence Report, 93.7% of B2B marketers said trust is the single most important factor in driving brand success. But trust doesn’t happen because you run more ads or publish another “company update” on LinkedIn. It’s built when real humans create connection, share insights, and advocate for your brand.
1950’s Coca-Cola Ad (Source via Google)
In the 1950s, it was impossible to determine how many Coca-Cola sales resulted from a TV commercial, but today we know exactly how many people saw a digital ad, clicked, and made a purchase. But with all our digital marketing data and insights, how do we know what builds brand trust? Here’s how to make that happen:
1. Peer Validation Matters More than Price
In B2B, decision-making rarely rests on one person’s shoulders. Today’s buyers operate in large, complex groups, often involving 6–10 stakeholders with different priorities and pain points. For marketers, this means the challenge isn’t just building awareness, it’s creating collective confidence across diverse decision-makers.
A LinkedIn report found that peer and customer recommendations are 3x more influential than being competitive on price. Why? Because trust is contagious. When buyers see that their peers have had a positive experience with your brand, it reduces their sense of risk and creates a sense of safety around choosing your solution. This is especially critical in high-stakes B2B purchases, where the wrong decision can impact careers, not just budgets.
In a world where trust of leadership is at an all time low (as reported in Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer report), building trust should be a top priority.
And let’s be clear: logos and taglines don’t build that kind of trust, people do. Seeing a customer share their story, watching a team successfully deploy a new system, or hearing an authentic testimonial has far more impact than any product brochure ever could. In Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer, 70% of respondents said they trust a company more when they see relatable success stories from people like them.
For marketers, this means investing in programs that elevate customer voices is no longer optional. Case studies, testimonial videos, peer-to-peer referral programs, and even informal LinkedIn shoutouts are powerful tools for social proof. Think of it as building a chorus of advocates who validate your brand and make it easier for new prospects to say “yes.”
B2B brands that embed peer validation into their marketing efforts see higher deal velocity and stronger long-term loyalty. It’s not just about winning the sale, it’s about making buyers feel confident they made the right choice.
2. Market Through Human-Centered Storytelling
Marketers love the idea of going viral. Viral is cute. Selling out is cute. My daughter, Ava, is cute. Everyone loves cute. Then everyone wins, the boss is happy, and the board is doing backflips. But in my controversial opinion… when it comes to B2B, being popular to the masses is LESS important than being trusted by the right niche.
Posts with authentic stories outperform product-heavy content by up to 75% (Richard van der Blom’s LinkedIn Algorithm Insights 2024 Report). Why? Because buyers crave connection. They want to see real people, real outcomes, and real stories that feel relatable, not polished ads with stock photos and jargon-filled messaging.
This is where “human-centered storytelling” comes in. When brands lead with narratives about the people behind the company and the customers they serve, they stop sounding like faceless corporations and start becoming trusted advisors in their space.
Think about it:
✔️ A short video showcasing how a customer solved a big challenge using your solution.
✔️ A post highlighting a behind-the-scenes team win that reflects your company values.
✔️ A narrative that shares lessons learned from a failed initiative and what changed because of it.
Edelman’s 2025 Trust Barometer called this “Category Famous” when your brand becomes deeply known, respected, and recommended inside your niche market. It’s not about being a household name across industries. It’s about being the brand that decision-makers in your category think of first, talk about with peers, and confidently recommend.
Pro Tip for B2B marketers:
🟣 Audit your content mix. How many posts focus on people and stories vs. products and features?
🟣 Shift your messaging from “Here’s what we sell” to “Here’s how we help.”
🟣 Invite customers and employees into the narrative. Their voices build credibility faster than any campaign.
In a digital world overflowing with noise, the brands that win aren’t shouting louder, they’re building trust through stories that resonate.
3. Thought Leadership Builds Credibility with Customers
In today’s B2B landscape, buyers are not simply evaluating products, they are evaluating people. The data is clear: 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to engage with a company when its senior executives are visible as thought leaders online (Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Trust Report). And yet, many organizations continue to hide behind templated campaigns and company logos, hoping brand awareness alone will create trust and influence.
The reality is this: if marketers want to attract customers, grow revenue, and build long-term brand advocacy, they must activate the influential voices inside their company. Thought leadership is no longer optional; it is a critical lever for building credibility in a market where relationships and reputation often outweigh price or features.
The first step is identifying the strongest, most credible leaders for your audience. These individuals may include the CEO, COO, CRO, Head of Sales, or other senior leaders who are deeply connected to the company’s mission and vision. Once these voices are identified, marketers can begin positioning them as trusted advisors within their category, not through self-promotion, but by aligning their perspectives and insights to the needs and aspirations of the company’s target audience.
Bringing these voices to market requires a multi-channel approach. LinkedIn remains the most powerful platform for executive visibility, but it should not stand alone. Marketers can amplify credibility by:
✔️ Securing guest spots on podcasts that their customers already listen to and trust.
✔️ Publishing co-branded articles in respected industry publications that align with the company’s narrative.
✔️ Encouraging executives to share lived experiences, lessons learned, and customer-centered insights that demonstrate both expertise and humility.
This is not about creating thought leaders for vanity metrics or personal branding in isolation. It is about leveraging the authentic voices of senior leaders to build trust at scale and position the organization as a credible, relatable, and forward-thinking player in its market. See how this works in action.
Examples of Trust-Building LinkedIn Posts for Executives
✅ A story about a challenge the company faced in the market and how it overcame it, highlighting leadership insights.
✅ Sharing customer quotes or feedback that illustrate the company’s values in action.
✅ Spotlighting team members and partners to demonstrate a culture of collaboration and excellence.
✅ Thoughtful commentary on relevant industry trends that invites discussion and positions the leader as a trusted voice.
Marketers who invest in executive thought leadership are not just creating content; they are creating trust. And in B2B, trust is the strategy that drives connection, influence, and growth.
Trust Is the New Power Move for B2B Brands
Our customers are real people, and we’re all experiencing a trust recession. There’s a ton of noise online, with AI, politics… you name it, so the best move you can do is focus on trust building marketing activities with some of these recommendations.
If you’re thinking about implementing a thought leadership strategy with your company, I’d love to connect with you more. And if you’re ready to focus on your own personal brand and thought leadership strategy that reflects your truth and builds real impact, I’m soooooo excited to open up space in our brand-new LinkedIn Brand LaunchPad.
The ROI on being SEEN by the RIGHT audience is impossible to calculate. Want to know our current investment level?
Together, we’ll uncover your voice, clarify your message, and build the foundation for a brand that is fully you, online and offline. BONUS 1-day photoshoot (in your city) included (worth $5000+ alone).
Let’s talk. No pressure. No BS. Just a real conversation about where you are and where you want to be. Go from invisible to undeniable in just 30 days. 👉 CHECK IT OUT HERE
P.S. The special bonus is for the first 3 people only (once it’s gone, it’s gone).