Viewers will notice the difference between fake and authentic content. Photo credit: Michael Lowell
Authenticity is the path to the audience’s heart. Authentic stories can lead to powerful content that gain click-throughs, build brand awareness, and prompt people to share posts. We’ve heard that advice before: be authentic. But that’s easier said than done.
There are no simple instructions on how to be genuine, and no standard definition for what comprises authentic content. Brands cannot be sure if readers will consider their content authentic. The perception of what feels real depends on the audience. PR and marketing pros, however, can significantly increase the chances that their audiences will accept their stories as genuine.
We’ve gathered some of the best advice on creating authentic stories from top experts in the field.
Know your audience. Understanding what the audience considers authentic requires understanding the audience. Different audiences have different views about what is authentic. Fortunately, research and survey tools are available for a fraction of the cost 10 or 15 years ago. Take advantage of those tools to compile detailed demographic characters of your main audience and create a persona of your typical customer.
Learn from social media. Monitor social media to gather favorable customer stories and discussions about your products. Then integrate those positive stories into your content. Remember the hero of the story is the customer, not the product.
Live in the moment. When writing a story, focus on a special moment – a moment when a customer learns about the brand’s value. Describe how the customer and the product interact. Cite specific details about the customer’s location and actions and what they were saying. Think about special moments in your life such as a personal triumph.
Drop the hard sell. Creating authentic content that also sells a product can be a challenge, but there’s an obvious difference between informing and selling. Drop the marketing verbiage. Readers tune out phrases like “quality manufacturing” and “industry-leading service.” It sounds forced and unnatural.
Read your draft. Read your story to yourself in front of a mirror. Then ask yourself if you believe it, honestly. Then tell the story to friends or colleagues and see how they respond. Do they believe it?
Focus on the customer. Again, the hero of the story is the customer, not you or the product. Avoid expressing your feelings with words like “I thought” or “I felt.” Instead, try different dialogue, sensory details, and physical descriptions.
Know the platform. Understand the website, blog or social media network where the content will appear. Know the demographics of its readership and meet expectations of the platform. Posts should be relevant to the platform’s readers and meet readers’ expectations. If it doesn’t, readers won’t read it and certainly won’t share it.
Provide a byline. Attribute authorship to a real person. Admin does not really write your blog articles. You can also attribute authorship on social media networks such as Twitter. View how @BofA_Help, Bank of America’s customer service, accomplishes this.
Listen. Don’t assume you know what the audience wants to year. Learn what type of information your audience desires through social media listening and measurement tools coupled with web analytics. For instance, if customers find your company blog by searching for “peanut butter sandwich” consider creating content about peanut butter sandwiches. Many companies might respond by trying to improve content about their ham sandwiches
Bottom Line: Developing authentic content consistently can be challenging for PR and marketing pros. To consistently develop authentic content, research your audience through social media monitoring and measurement tools and create a customer persona. When writing stories, make the customer the hero and avoid a hard sell and marketing jargon.
Resources
Is Your Content Authentic? Three Ways to Keep It Real
Forbes
4 Steps to Creating Authentic Stories Your Customers Will Want to Read
Content Marketing Institute
How to Create Content That Looks, Feels, and IS Authentic
LinkedIN Pulse
3 Steps to Create Authentic Branded Content
iMedia Connection
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
Good topic, William. Monitoring and analyzing your PR is important when creating content, as well. Good stuff.