In today’s world, marketing is often seen as shady and even manipulative. For the companies that use marketing to sell non-valuable and unhelpful products or services, this may be the case. This is why, more than ever, we need to practice authenticity in marketing in order to build trust with the audience and customers we serve.

This blog post is the final post in a series of five [Online Marketing 101] –

1. Online Marketing 101 [Beginner’s Guide]
2. The Practical Guide to Relationship Marketing
3. The Practical Guide to Value-Focused Marketing
4. The Practical Guide to Consistent Marketing 
5. The Practical Guide to Authentic Marketing [this post]

My goal with this series is to break down the key theories and practices that the most successful online businesses use. Oftentimes, buzz words like “value”, “relationship”, “consistency”, and “trust” are thrown out without any significant guidance on how to implement these into your own businesses. I hope this series can be used to bring meaningful changes to our online businesses and better serve our audiences.

Why is authenticity important in marketing?

In this section, I want to explore several reasons why authenticity is vital to successful marketing efforts. Among these, we will see a resounding focus on human connection and trust and its effect on online marketing. Let’s jump right in!

It makes YOU unique in the midst of vast competition.

The online business landscape is getting more and more crowded everyday. More websites go online, more content gets published, and more people are selling their goods and services. This increasing pressure often forces marketers to use new tactics to gather the attention of their audience; often these new strategies are focused on the short-term, sacrificing quality, value, and relationship for revenue.

When you zoom out, the big picture is quite ironic: we have new tactics and tools to give YOU the competitive edge, all while the industry follows and leaves the FEW marketers that value authenticity and relationship with the long-term competitive advantage.

Don’t get me wrong, automation and efficiency is important – but should never inhibit your core purpose of effectively serving your audience.

Humans connect deeply with other humans.

Countless studies have shown the human preference for doing business with other humans, especially when trust has been developed by both parties.

This fact is being suppressed by the desire to “Do More, More Quickly”. In today’s world, we can buy almost anything without directly interacting with another human. We are even moving to where services (which were previously completed by humans) will be done without human interaction.

Sometimes, the increase of efficiency can be good for your business or you personally. But other times, we reject the very foundations of many businesses which is serve our customers – by solving their problems, and connecting with their need.

Customers will support you and your brand on a personal level.

When you have successfully embraced authentic marketing and building trust with your audience by providing them quality and value, it will make you unique in a world full of others trying to do the same as you. After this, we devote time and energy into developing and maintaining the connection we have with our customers.

And it is here, and only here, when you have successfully built trust with your audience and provided them with massive value, that they will support you and your brand on a PERSONAL level.

This is the key – not only do you have a model that focuses on serving the needs of your audience and building trust with them, but the model itself brings support (repeat customers, word-of-mouth, social media support, and many more). And we do this, without any special or newfound strategies.

How to be authentic in marketing?

In this section, we will discuss five practical ways that we can build trust and focus on authentic marketing. Many of these practical applications require you to be vulnerable, to share some of who you are and what you do. Some or all of the following may be applicable to your business, just remember – these are only tools.. the goal is relationship and trust.

#1 – Tell your story.

We all have a story. Whether it be “how you grew up” or “how you got started in business” your story is powerful. Sharing your past with your audience gives them insight and context to the person behind the business – the face behind the product or service.

Your story is something that people can connect with. Shared experiences tend to bond people, either through similar childhoods, educations, work lives, or relationships.

A great way to share your story is by creating an “About Me” page. Here you can write out your story and provide the framework for others to connect with you and your story. A special application of this is to invite your audience to join your story, letting them in on being a part of the narrative.

#2 – Develop your voice.

One mistake I see quite often on blogs and business websites is the mismatch of real-life and online voice. This is minimized more with the introduction of video and other content mediums but is key to establishing trust with your audience. You want to have your audience able to read the blog post and hear it read (in their head) in your voice.

If you tell jokes in real life, tell them in your blog post (where appropriate, of course). If you are a more serious, data-driven, and fact focused personal in the real-world, write that way. It is so important to leverage your strengths and talents to BUILD and GROW your business.

#3 – Update your audience on life events.

Keeping your readers in the loop of what is going on in your life – both business and personal, is key to bringing them along through the process. When we do this, the audience can quickly piece together some of the “why” behind the “what” that we do. With a more complete picture of who we are and what everyday life looks like for us, they can often value the transparency and respond with some degree of trust.

This can be accomplished in many ways. The list below is just several that can help “bring your audience along for the ride”:

• Sharing photos on Social Media
• Brief life updates by Social Media or blog post
• Video content of a family vacation or a day “behind the scenes”
• Live video to connect with your audience in real-time
• A quick Instagram Story or Snapchat of your day
• Many more…

#4 – Share your mistakes.

All of us make mistakes and often there is something to learn from the mistake we made. By sharing the mistakes we make, we do a couple things for our brand:

First, it takes ownership of the mistake. Some mistakes are small and others massive, but the one thing in common is that it is always better to own up for mistakes that you cause. This may hurt in the short-term, but will build trust with your audience in the long-term.

Next, it provides value to your audience. Because there is often a learning moment when mistakes take place, sharing those with your audience can provide a unique insight and value that would be otherwise unavailable.

Coming from a place of humility and continuous improvement, your mistakes can often be leveraged to support the trust with your customers and readers.

#5 – Publish user-generated content.

You are a content creator. You write, create videos, photos, and share those creations with your audience. But what if you allowed your audience to create some of your content? The effects of “user-generated content” can be fantastic. 

You not only invite them along for the ride, but you give them some capacity to “steer the ship” this is huge to creating and fostering community around your brand. Nothing says, “I support my audience and value their input!” more than allowing their work to be showcased within your business.

Okay, sounds great… but how does this actually work? It can be quite easy actually. Create a giveaway where users send in their creations with the assistance of your particular product or service. Encourage your audience to post their own content while tagging you in the post. This functions to make you not only the provider of a product or service but also a platform to share their experiences with your business.

Just getting started? Check out –

The Ultimate Guide to Starting a WordPress Site

The Ultimate Guide to Blog Images