How to Build Awareness and Trust for Your Service-Based Business

For the past eight years, I've had a front-row seat to the evolution of digital marketing. I've created and managed over 8,000 paid campaigns for businesses of all shapes and sizes. I've seen what works, what fails, and what makes a brand truly stand out.

I've learned a crucial lesson along the way: the rules are entirely different for certain service-based businesses. Do people "like," "follow," and "subscribe" to a funeral home? Probably not. You are not trying to be a social media influencer. Your brand doesn't operate on fleeting trends or impulse buys. If you have a business that operates on credibility, empathy, and integrity, your marketing strategy must reflect that.

People don't wake up in the morning wanting to hire a lawyer or plan a funeral. When they need your services, they often face a stressful, emotional, or crisis-driven situation. Because of this, a traditional "buy now" marketing approach simply doesn't work.

Your social content can't just be a sales pitch; it needs to be a source of calm, clear, and reassuring information. Your goal is to build long-term trust and credibility so that when potential clients need help, they will remember and turn to your business.

You Are Not a Social Media Influencer

It's easy to look at the marketing world and think you need to follow the models of fashion brands or social media influencers. But for a service-based business built on trust, that approach might not be the right one. Your business doesn't operate on urgency, trending hashtags, or aspirational imagery. It operates on credibility, empathy, and integrity.

Your marketing goal isn't only to sell; it's to build a relationship that will last long after the initial post has passed.

From Selling to Educating. Be a Resource, Not a Salesperson

Your audience isn't looking for a "buy now" button; they're looking for answers. If you're working on brand awareness, your audience might not be looking for anything. The most effective way to build trust is to provide genuine value that demonstrates your expertise and empathy.

Instead of writing a post that says "Hire Our Law Firm," consider creating a guide titled "5 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Commercial Lease." For a funeral home, a blog post about "How to Talk to Your Family About the Death of a Loved One" is far more valuable than a list of service packages.

This approach positions your business as an authority and a helpful guide, showing that you care about your community beyond just making a sale.

Your Visuals Are Your Promise

People subconsciously judge a business based on its visual identity. A professional, consistent brand builds confidence and gives potential clients a sense of stability when they need it most. Your design needs to reflect your business's core values.

For example, a law firm should communicate professionalism, authority, and clarity. This means high-quality professional headshots and a colour palette that conveys integrity.

Consistency across all platforms, from your website and social media to your brochures and business cards, is key to building a reputable and memorable brand.

A Strategy with No "Buy Now" Button?

So, what does this look like in practice? Here's a simple plan for creating and distributing valuable content without being salesy:

1. Identify the Pain Points: What are the most common questions people ask when facing a specific challenge you can solve? Use these questions as the foundation for your content.

2. Help people understand what you do and the services you offer: you don't need to list them, but you can share real-world examples of what you do. Tell them about cases you've won or beautiful flowers from a funeral you arranged.

3. Choose Your Medium: Your content doesn't have to be just long blog posts. Consider creating a variety of content types that are easy to digest and share:

4. Distribute with Intention: Use social media to share your educational content, not to sell. Share your blog posts on LinkedIn to target professionals or on Facebook for a wider audience. You can also use social media to ask open-ended questions and invite conversation around your content, further establishing your expertise.

For businesses that thrive on trust, success isn't measured in immediate sales but in long-term credibility. A professional, empathetic brand combined with a genuinely helpful content strategy ensures that when clients are in a moment of need, your business is the one they remember and turn to.

These concepts are pretty straightforward once you start practising them, but the hardest part is finding content every week and actually posting it.

If you think your business needs help getting the message and visuals right every week, get in contact—we're always happy to talk.