Authenticity, authenticity, authenticity… I bet you’re sick of reading that goddamn word. I know I am. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

It’s everywhere at the moment.

You can’t spit without hitting somebody telling you that your brand needs to be authentic. ⁣⁣

⁣⁣(The irony of the fact that I’m telling you pretty much the same thing isn’t lost on me…)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

But what the hell does “be authentic” mean?

It’s about as helpful as telling you that your brand needs to sound yellow or act spicy.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣That’s because, out of context, authenticity means nothing. What’s authentic for your brand would be inauthentic for another, and vice versa. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

But making sure your brand is authentic to your audience is preeeetty important: 80% of customers say that they like, follow and buy from brands that they think are authentic.

So, in a very real sense, being authentic = money.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣But how do you make your brand authentic?   Here are a few things you can do to be authentic right off the bat:

• Stick to language that comes naturally to your brand. Nobody likes that person that tries to fit in with everybody by mimicking their language or trying to hard to be cool. 
• Be transparent. Own up to mistakes if you make them, give your audience a peek behind the scenes, be honest about postage and packaging…
• Don’t try to be something you’re not. (This goes without saying, really.)

⁣⁣The Two Beer Challenge I posted a few weeks ago will help too.

Talking like a real person is waaaaay more authentic than talking like a marketing weirdo.

(How do you know if you’re being a marketing weirdo? If you’re hyphenating words or turning nouns into verbs, you’re in marketing weirdo territory. Grab a beer, imagine you’re talking to a mate and start again.)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

But the real essence to this whole authenticity thing, without sounding like a crappy motivational poster, is to just do you. ⁣⁣

Ignore what your competitors are saying for the moment and just focus on working out what your brand is about and who your ideal customer is (and how they talk) and then find a way to talk that lines up nicely with both. ⁣⁣ (That said, if you can find a way to express yourself that does both of those things AND sounds completely different to your competitors too, then you’ve hit the sweet, sweet brand voice bullseye.)⁣⁣

But don’t overthink it. Overthinking and editing everything you say to within an inch of its life is the quickest way to castrate your authenticity.⁣⁣