Building An Authentic Brand
Establishing a clear brand is important for any business, online or not. However, building a business in a digital space especially requires authenticity and a recognizable brand. Building your online brand is actually fairly simple – be yourself and interact with your followers regularly in an authentic way.
Authenticity is self-explanatory; show your audience your true self without giving a false impression of yourself or your business. This is important on social media where most users try to only show the highlight reel of their lives. Comparing yourself to others on social media and feeling that you don’t measure up is a common occurrence, and you want to avoid making your audience feel they will never be able to achieve the life you lead. That isn’t relatable and can put someone off. While showing your real self and real life, be sure to include a little of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Along the same lines, try only using your own images on your social media account. They won’t be perfect, and that is okay (it’s actually a good thing)! Users will enjoy seeing your face with products you offer or seeing that your images are true to the life you’ve shared with them all along. It’s often a relief to see a normal photo that hasn’t been professionally taken or photoshopped to perfection. Sharing a blooper reel where your cat put her tail in the frame of the photo or your dog is squeaking his toy in the background of your stories can be an endearing interaction for your followers.
Being authentic means being real with your followers in your responses. Avoid canned responses to their comments and inquiries about your business (or personal details that you have shared). Your followers want to know that you are reading their comments and feel that you value their thoughts and opinions. Providing a genuine and human response to them creates a relationship and community feeling that will keep your audience coming back.
To sum it up: there’s no need to be perfect! No one is perfect, and it’s nice for your audience to see your imperfections. Perfect social media accounts feel disingenuous and unrelatable. Your followers want to give opinions on new product packaging and see the newest product sample that was a complete flop. When they see that you aren’t trying to portray absolute perfection, they trust you to be up front and honest with them about your business. Integrity is a great selling point for customers!
Business owners and social media personalities are normal people, but sometimes it is hard to view them that way. It’s important to create an authentic brand for yourself and your business to help your followers feel a connection with you. People tend to purchase goods and services from people they have a relationship with, and the best way to build a relationship with your audience is to provide an authentic reputation.
Have you ever felt a personal connection with someone on social media?
What is a negative social media trait in your opinion?
