Talk Business contributor Emily Reeves, Director of of Account Management & Research at Stone Ward, joined us for a conversation about online trust on this week's show.

As firms compete harder for consumer attention in this information age, building a trustworthy brand online and offline is an increasingly valuable commodity.

Reeves pointed out that honesty is clearly the best policy, but how far and how quickly businesses jump into the online world requires a lot of planning and forethought. 

"The biggest thing with trust is sharing information, being open and honest, which is difficult for a company to do when they're just starting out" she said.

Reeves said that companies can adopt a go-slow approach by allowing for comments on a blog or an "Ask the Expert" feature about products or services. She also said video can be a powerful tool as some consumers interpret information differently when they see it being explained versus reading it.

"So there are some things you can do without just all of a sudden baring your company's soul online," she said.

In recent years, with the rise of social media and online reviewing systems, surveys on trust indicated that the public was more inclined to trust “people like me” over corporate entities.

However, the economic recession has led consumers to become cynical. In turn, there has been a swing from consumers to place their trust in credentialed experts and the very corporations and companies from which they purchase products and services, according to Reeves' research sources.

You can read more of Reeves' thoughts on the subject at this column from her blog, Ms. Adverthinker.com.  And watch the video of our interview from this week's show below.