Are you authentic?

November 07, 2012 at 11:00 PM
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Professional or authentic? Which is the best marketing tone for your business? The answer is that a highly polished, professional approach can feel as if it has been created that way for a reason. A highly professional, features-based approach can feel to a consumer as if it were created to mask something. It's inauthentic. This is why most brochures and website copy are rarely read. The more finely crafted your marketing materials, the more it seems as if they were created to sell someone something, and the more it is ignored by the consumer.

Sometimes, I believe, we completely over-think our marketing efforts. A boring website stating the hundreds of things you do is not likely to go viral and get spread around to those who really need your services.

The authentic approach is one in which you are not perceived to be selling. It is an approach that shares who you are and your business focus in your words with your voice. It is a common-sense approach that disarms your audience and helps them see the "you" behind the details of your product or service.

One of the best ways to achieve an authentic marketing approach is to concentrate on sharing the personality of your firm on your website and in your marketing materials. This can be done through creative pictures (as opposed to headshots), short videos or a short blog, among other things. By sharing a bit of your personal side, your interests and your family, you become real to your audience and they get to know you. This is especially important if you are selling a service that is delivered by you personally.

Forget the super-professional, meaningless prose and start creating marketing in your own voice. Think about using the words that you would use when talking with a friend or neighbor, your real words. Prospects are attracted by what is real and they know it when they see it.

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