Authenticity = Transparency + Vulnerability
Not because it has become omnipresent since the pandemic, serving as both the #LifeGoals and bane of marketers everywhere.
It’s because we humans are tired.
Stressed out, burned out, bummed out. We’re tired in a way that proactively discourages the business-as-usual brand bullshit.
No more pretending you care and then aggressively peddling your wares—life is too short and precious for you to act without considering the human condition.
Which is…that we have access to more. More stuff, more demands, more knowledge as well as more fake news, scams, deepfakes, etc. It’s exhausting (did I mention we’re tired?).
It’s also likely to make us a bit more skeptical. Which makes it that much harder for your brand to break through.
Unless…
We jump back (quite) a bit further for inspiration. Before the Internet or AI, tracking cookies or algorithms, mobile, social, or digital natives. Back to a time when Where’s the Beef? captured our psyche for its cheeky realness.
If you want to be authentic in your brand, keep these gems from 1984 in mind:
* Cum on Feel the Noize. Personality. We tell people not to dim their light for others—to be true to what makes them unique. Yet all too often brands fall in line behind the market leader, adapting their voice, look, and feel to ride in the wake of that success. Don’t chase someone else’s dream. Define yours, then put on your blinders in pursuit of it. It’s good to know what’s happening in the market and how your competitors are reacting. It’s folly to change who you are at the risk of confusing or alienating your audience.
* I Just Called to Say I Love You. Audience. Outreach shouldn’t always be transactional. It shouldn’t be done on a tit-for-tat basis, either. Give people (good) reasons to remember your brand. Educate them, entertain them, ask them questions that show you care about them. We all know what happens when we ass-u-me things. How well is what you provide meeting the needs of your audience? Honest dialogue and feedback might just make things better, or it might just inspire the next evolution of your brand.
* Break My Stride / Here Comes the Rain Again. Story. Whether you like things upbeat or introspective, your brand story should reflect this. Diving a bit deeper, give people insight into WHY it’s one way or the other. What’s your vision? Your founder journey? How well does your story carry across your brand touchpoints? If you think of yourself as warm and witty but your marketing materials sound like what AI *thinks* marketing materials should sound like, your prospects are unlikely to make it far enough along to get to know the real you.
* If Ever You’re In My Arms Again. Lessons Learned. Standing up a business is hard enough. Reaching milestones and realizing your vision is harder still. Your audience doesn’t need to know all the gritty details, but they do need to know that there’s someone human behind your brand. We all have our successes and our failures, and that makes us relatable. If you want to forge connections, you need to be open about sharing what you’ve learned—or are still learning—from what has worked and what hasn’t.
Fun playlist aside, here’s the most important thing to remember: Don’t regard this as a literal equation. Formulaic outreach is the antithesis of authenticity.
Think about it. Wendy’s has the same maverick personality it had 40 years ago. It persists because the company has remained unapologetic about who it is as a brand and simply adapted to the media available to tell its story.
So, instead of thinking about how to “craft” an authentic brand, think of these as the elements to guide you in the pursuit of your brand truth.
When you find it, good things will follow for you and your clients/customers/stakeholders for many years to come.
Image © Brett Jordan courtesy Unsplash
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