A few years back, a friend and I were road-tripping through the Colorado mountains. Our conversation eventually landed on marketing as a discipline (after all, it was and is my discipline). My friend insisted that marketing “didn’t work” on him – that he could see through the tricks and was therefore immune to its efforts. Most notably, he railed against the ever-present branding on bags, shirts, cars, etc. 

You’re probably familiar with this viewpoint. In fact, you’ve probably thought it about yourself a time or two. Who doesn’t roll their eyes when they’re subjected to yet another flashy ad promising life changing effects if only you buy the right shoes, makeup, or laundry detergent? Who doesn’t wish they could just have one nice thing without a logo attached? 

I’ll ask you the same question I asked him at the time: “If I made a t-shirt that explicitly said ‘this shirt has no branding’ on it, would you buy it?” He answered, “yes.” 

As it turns out, marketing does work on him. He’s just as motivated as someone looking for a t-shirt with a specific logo, he just wants a brand that feels genuine and straight-forward. In short, one that feels less like marketing as we’ve come to know it. But what makes that approach feel more authentic, and why do people respond to it?

What Do We Mean by Authenticity? 

Authenticity is the state of being true, genuine, or exactly what you say you are. When it comes to your mother’s Tiffany lamp, this means verifying that it is, indeed, a Tiffany lamp. But what does it mean when it comes to your brand’s voice? After all, it’s not like you’re out there selling shoes and then delivering hardware tools.

Nobody is suggesting you’re outright lying to your audience. However, you could be coming off as inauthentic if you claim authority of knowledge without effectively demonstrating it. If you’re going to claim to know how to do something, don’t just repeat that mantra ad nauseum while pushing people to a buy button. Instead, take time to actually talk about the things you know. Demonstrate value as a brand outside of a sale. We call this being a thought leader. 

Another way to cultivate authenticity is by giving your brand a voice that stands out rather than parroting the same popular phrases and terms. Spend a few minutes browsing marketing feeds on LinkedIn and you’ll know what we’re talking about. This marketing-ese has developed somewhat organically as marketers orbit around each other in the social media space, so it’s not entirely inauthentic, but it is unoriginal and can feel like too much to an outside audience.

What We DON’T Mean 

Yes, you want to be unique and real with people. But don’t overcorrect. If you are too niche in your language, you’ll end up just talking to yourself or confusing your audience. If you are too casual, you’ll risk sounding unenthusiastic or bored.

Why Do You Need Authenticity? 

We’ve touched on this a little already, but let’s drill down a little more into the benefits of presenting an authentic brand and voice to your audience. 

Authenticity Leads to Trust

Trust leads to loyalty, loyalty leads to referrals, referrals lead to the Dark Side…wait, let’s back up. Trust starts with believing in your expertise. If you present yourself as knowledgeable, then people will trust your guidance and any products or services attached to that. 

However, trust is also about believing that you have their best interests at heart. If you’ve ever felt like a marketing ploy felt “scammy”, then you experienced a lack of trust for a given brand. Of course your customers know you want to make money. Make them believe that you want to make money doing what you love most – helping them. 

When customers trust you, they are more likely to take actions based on your brand and your CTAs. They are also more likely to talk about you to friends and family. 

Make them believe that you want to make money doing what you love most – helping them. 

Authenticity Sets You Apart

Avoid “marketing-ese”. Avoid sounding like every other brand. Avoid overuse or unedited use of AI tools. Additionally, avoid adopting the language of your target audience as this could come across as patronizing at worst and cringey at best (see every father’s use of “riz” ever). Ideally, you’ll have defined a voice for your brand (see below), but if in doubt, just level with people. Nothing inspires trust faster than a distinct lack of bullshit. 

All of that said, it is OK to be enthusiastic, especially if you feel it. It’s also more than OK to ask readers, viewers, and visitors to take an action that benefits your business. Don’t be shy – just be genuine.

How Do You Establish an Authentic Voice? 

We keep talking about this elusive authentic brand voice, but what does that really mean? After all, doesn’t the very act of strategizing around your “voice” feel definitively inauthentic? 

Define a Unique Voice that Compliments Your Brand

Your voice doesn’t literally have to be YOUR voice. Build a voice for your brand that makes them feel like a person, preferably one that’s well-intentioned and well-informed. Use your understanding of your target audience and industry to inform this voice. Never pretend your brand voice is an actual person. People know you’re trying to sell something. Being upfront about that is part of being authentic. 

Establish Yourself as a Genuine Authority 

Start by knowing your stuff and finding ways to demonstrate it. Outside of SEO, this is why a lot of companies have blogs. But you can also host webinars, have lengthier or more informative social media content, or vlog on YouTube. 

Take Your Lumps 

Sometimes you’re going to get it wrong. You’ll accidentally trust a questionable source, misstate something on your BlueSky account, or get a heckler in your comment section. Don’t hide or obfuscate. Admit when you’re wrong, and people will trust you more when you’re right.

Be Active in the Digital Community 

We don’t need to tell you that social media is important. We’re here to tell you how best to take advantage of it. Social media is your best opportunity for coming off as genuine to a wide audience. Be funny. Be serious. Respond to other people’s content with helpful comments. Share content that you find meaningful. In short, the more engaged you are, the more people will find YOU engaging.

Authenticity and Community Building

Don’t just talk to your audience – talk to your colleagues in the industry. Build relationships with relevant brands to provide even more value to mutual audiences. For example, roundtable webinars bring experts together within an industry to provide insight to audiences. White papers often involve collaboration within or between industries to conduct nuanced research or flesh out unique perspectives (or both). 

This sort of collaboration can happen with businesses in other industries as well. At this very moment, Minty Pixel is working with Waterbear Workshop, a board game design and publishing company, Zymos Brewing, a microbrew based out of Colorado, and Extra Life, a fundraising arm of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to put on a board game exchange for community growth and charity. We demonstrate our firm belief in supporting small and local businesses by being active participants within those communities. 

In short, working together and building bridges within and across industries is more authentic than rigging algorithms to vie for audience attention at odds with each other. 

Start Building Your Authentic Voice 

Authenticity doesn’t have to be elusive. In fact, it can be very VERY simple. Case in point, that friend and I found ourselves looking for lunch toward the end of our discussion about marketing efficacy. We came across a restaurant with nothing but Restaurant written across the building. 

And, yes. We ate there.