How to Achieve Authenticity with Your Brand Marketing
It seems odd that the words “authenticity” (being genuine or true to one’s self) and “brand marketing” (often seen as something strategic) can go together; however, in today’s world of nonlinear marketing, achieving authenticity with your brand marketing is exactly what you want to do. How? Throw out the Betty Crocker cake mix (you know, the one that gives everyone the same buttery cakey results they’re promised) and make up your own recipe.
Be Uniquely You
You, your company, the people helping you run your company are all individuals. Even if your company does the exact same thing as 10 other businesses in town, you’re still different somehow. When you reach out to your audience, show them in what you say and how you say it. It will help you stand out.
Tell Your Truth
So many businesses say what they think audiences want to hear, but what audiences really want to hear is the truth. They don’t want to be spoon-fed clichés and lines to win them over because eventually, the truth will come out, and when it does, you’ll lose your audience’s trust.
Note that in telling your truth, the worst thing you can do is tell the audience to trust you or that you’re telling the truth. Let them be the judge of that; after all, rarely do people who are telling the truth need to say, “I’m telling the truth.”
Show Your Brand’s Human Side
Your brand has personality and humanity. Sometimes things go wrong; sometimes things get weird. Whatever the case, let customers see that side of you. Show your imperfections and your quirks, so audiences feel like they know a person. If you’re real with them, they’ll want to be real with you. Remember, this isn’t a gimmick; this should be what comes naturally as a part of relationship building.
Engage Audiences with Instant Content
In order to be authentic without looking like a total clod (we realize it’s difficult to look like you’re dancing to the beat of your own drum while hoping you look awesome doing it so everyone will want to be your friend), engage users via platforms that allow you to be spontaneous. Use Instagram Stories, Snapchat, and other quick-and-dirty platforms that don’t permit editing, which can make your content look rehearsed.
Let User Generated Content (UGC) Help Tell Your Story
Another way to achieve authenticity is to let the users do the talking for you. User’s stories, content created by users, and other forms of UGC are great because more than anything, audiences trust their peers. If you’re given the authentic-okay by your audience’s peers, then you have a hall pass to keep being you.
Authenticity in brand marketing is all about genuinely being genuine, not trying too hard to say or do the right thing, and telling the truth. You do you, as they say.
To be authentic with your brand marketing, you first have to know what your brand’s identity is. Contact The Storyteller Agency and let us help unique you meaningfully engage audiences and market your brand.
