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Authentic. It’s one of marketing’s biggest buzzwords. Time and again, we hear from thought leaders and illustrious brands on social that what brands should be striving for – a social marketer’s North Star, if you will – is authenticity. “Be human.” “Be real.” “Show up like a user.”
That’s because social is unlike any other marketing channel. It's a world people increasingly live in. A world where people learn, create, react and protest. Most of all, it’s a space they expect to be entertained. And if brands aren’t prepared to meet that expectation, they’ll struggle to bridge the disconnect – finding at best, apathy and at worst, mistrust on the other side.
What brands are trying and failing to do is realise that authenticity doesn’t have a handy formula that’s tried and tested. And somewhere in between every brand trying to be authentic on social – or saying they want to be authentic when they really mean something else – we’ve lost the true meaning of the word.
In fact, what brands need to do is stop trying to be authentic. They need to be accountable to the values and the causes they claim to represent. They need to be transparent about their own imperfections. They need to be self-aware about exactly who they are as a brand. And they need to be connected to the conversations they should be a part of – and know which ones to sit out.
When brands do all those things, authenticity becomes a natural byproduct of their social output. Because being authentic means being true to your brand. And there’s no blueprint for that.
So while you shouldn’t expect any pointers on how to write an authentic post, you can expect clever commentary and actionable tips and tricks from the brightest minds on our strategy and creator teams. In the first chapter, we’ll cover accountability, and give you guidance on how to walk the walk and talk the talk. Next, we’ll explain why transparency matters, and why mistakes aren’t a bad thing - if you’ve read our tips to be smart about it.
In this playbook’s third chapter, we’ll tackle the complex art of being self-aware on social: what it means, why it’s important, and tips to execute that self-awareness. Our fourth chapter will give you the courage to connect to the communities you have a right to be part of, the serenity to accept those you don’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Finally, we’ve tapped into our inner social sleuth to bring you examples from the brands killing it on all four fronts, be it those we admire from afar, friends of the SocialMinds podcast or our own client partners.
So buckle up for the only social playbook that tells brands not to be authentic.
Authentic. It’s one of marketing’s biggest buzzwords. Time and again, we hear from thought leaders and illustrious brands on social that what brands should be striving for – a social marketer’s North Star, if you will – is authenticity. “Be human.” “Be real.” “Show up like a user.”
That’s because social is unlike any other marketing channel. It's a world people increasingly live in. A world where people learn, create, react and protest. Most of all, it’s a space they expect to be entertained. And if brands aren’t prepared to meet that expectation, they’ll struggle to bridge the disconnect – finding at best, apathy and at worst, mistrust on the other side.
What brands are trying and failing to do is realise that authenticity doesn’t have a handy formula that’s tried and tested. And somewhere in between every brand trying to be authentic on social – or saying they want to be authentic when they really mean something else – we’ve lost the true meaning of the word.
In fact, what brands need to do is stop trying to be authentic. They need to be accountable to the values and the causes they claim to represent. They need to be transparent about their own imperfections. They need to be self-aware about exactly who they are as a brand. And they need to be connected to the conversations they should be a part of – and know which ones to sit out.
When brands do all those things, authenticity becomes a natural byproduct of their social output. Because being authentic means being true to your brand. And there’s no blueprint for that.
So while you shouldn’t expect any pointers on how to write an authentic post, you can expect clever commentary and actionable tips and tricks from the brightest minds on our strategy and creator teams. In the first chapter, we’ll cover accountability, and give you guidance on how to walk the walk and talk the talk. Next, we’ll explain why transparency matters, and why mistakes aren’t a bad thing - if you’ve read our tips to be smart about it.
In this playbook’s third chapter, we’ll tackle the complex art of being self-aware on social: what it means, why it’s important, and tips to execute that self-awareness. Our fourth chapter will give you the courage to connect to the communities you have a right to be part of, the serenity to accept those you don’t, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Finally, we’ve tapped into our inner social sleuth to bring you examples from the brands killing it on all four fronts, be it those we admire from afar, friends of the SocialMinds podcast or our own client partners.
So buckle up for the only social playbook that tells brands not to be authentic.
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