“Just be authentic. Authenticity is key,” one C-suite says to another, like they’ve just had a moment of enlightenment. Everyone nods in agreement, and wry smiles fill the room. But deep down, everyone is saying – “what else you got?”
So writes Eve Young, Manchester-based Senior Creative at SocialChain & Host of the SocialMinds Podcast.
The problem is, brands don’t always understand what they want to say. After all, authentic is an easy word to hide behind when you haven’t done the work to define a specific brand strategy.
Let people in
It starts with letting people peek behind the curtain. That in itself is an argument for why brands ironically can’t claim authenticity with integrity; having a curtain to peek behind in the first place is counterintuitive. Companies inevitably hide some things. Or at least don’t actively advertise them. So, unless you’re prepared to be disliked in some capacity or risk your shareholders’ wrath (which, let’s face it, most brands aren’t) true authenticity is off the table.
Instead, pledge accountability. Live those values currently gathering dust in a deck. Turn words into action. Provide proof of your promises and how you’re improving. And if you fudge up, face up to it. It’s sort of unavoidable; on social, especially. Here you’re held accountable whether you want to be or not. You might as well beat them to it and do it on your own terms.
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Transparency over perfection
Transparency plays an important role. It’s true, businesses are held to high standards, but businesses are made up of real people that make mistakes.
Consumers are okay with that, if you’re transparent about it.
But it’s not just admitting mistakes. It’s taking consumers on the journey with you – sharing your thought processes, manufacturing details, carbon offset promises, and the diversity of your senior leadership team. Admitting imperfection is ok if you also explain your plan to betterment.
In short, let people in. Maybe you’re afraid of what they might find. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’ll help you make sure that you do what you say – if that’s what you actually mean when you say you want to be authentic.
Self-awareness is the new brand currency
It’s also important to make your brand personality, tone of voice, and content feel *enter that word here*. Being yourself is inherently subjective; it depends on your brand only – hence the lack of applicable advice out there. But a few traits and behaviours can be the difference between being just more corporate noise and feeling like fresh air. I’m talking about the brands whose social content is wonderfully unexpected, and leaves people wondering how it ever got signed off. The one thing great brands have in common is self-awareness.
There’s pleasure in seeing brands say and post things that you feel like shouldn’t be ‘allowed’ to. Most brands are too attached to who they’re trying to be that they’re missing the opportunity of being who they already are in their customers’ eyes. Take Duolingo for example. Its notifications were always a bit intimidating, so the brand crafted a social media strategy around the character.
You don’t have to admit to the bad stuff you want to change if your hotels are dirty, it’s not “yeah our rooms stink, so what!” – instead, maybe it’s “if it’s the Hilton you’re after, we’re not for you and that’s okay.” It earns respect and makes people feel like they’ve played a part in your personality; it vindicates and validates them. And it’s enjoyable to see a brand playing up to the role you’ve assigned to them.
Less ‘authentic’, more connected
Finally, instead of being authentic, be connected. Ultimately brands are doing nothing except trying to resonate with a community. Often that attempt misses the mark or feels a bit ‘off’, because the effort hasn’t been made to truly connect first. To join a new group, you need to learn their ways and their culture. If you want to speak to any minority group, spend some time talking to those you’re targeting before you talk about them or on their behalf.
But the main problem with overusing a word like authenticity, is it inevitably gets misused – causing an epidemic of empty advice and unclear direction in our industry. That leads to weak ideas, diluted creative and confused brand marketers.
Eve Young is the Senior Creative at Manchester’s SocialChain & Host of the SocialMinds Podcast.
