I was commenting on a blog about building a personal brand, when I realized that the Brand Called Me is fickle. Back in the day, a handshake was the contract. The hand-to-hand touch cemented agreement at a deep, personal level.

In a virtual world, trust is much harder to attain. Yet, we expect social media to deliver instant gratification. Sustainable trust relies on augmenting good communicative practices with technology—not the other way around.

How to augment good communication with technology

• Focus on the one or two channels that will provide you the greatest reach and impact. Often the "experts" get overwhelmed trying to keep too many channels current--and then the messaging gets sloppy. Would you trust 

Mr. Sloppy

or Mr. Got It Together

• Leverage, leverage, leverage content across channels. Balance against which channels your target audience views. Tell me once or twice in a way that resonates, I'm excited. Tell me the same thing, the same way multiple times, and I'm disengaged.
• Be sincere. Your target audience is thinking. Would I buy a used car from that woman?
• Engage through storytelling. If you can, use serial storytelling. If you're really good, add cliff hangers. Think: Who shot JR?
• Be fluent in the languages of twitter, blogs, FB and other channels. Understand the nuances of each; otherwise, your messaging will sound like a "Tower of Babel."
• When commenting, add value. Show that you absorbed the writer's advice and sentiments by building onto his or her thoughts. Whether you agree with the writer or not, respect the person's time and effort by commenting respectfully.

In an Internet moment, how do you build trust? Let me know in a way that will persuade me to trust what you say. It’s the first step toward the valued Trust Relationship.