authenticity

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Brands, hungering for that tone that makes them seems real, approachable, and human, have been known to fake it. Is being fauxthentic close enough?[read more]

What happened to the authenticity that was promised in the social media? Years of tactics to accumulate meaningless fans and worthless conversations have left no one, not consumers, brands or marketers, better off. But some brands have charted a more authentic route and are the better for it.[read more]

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to building their social brand is blurring authenticity and transparency. They often end up in a social brand cycle where they never feel comfortable sharing so they sound like corporate speak 24/7. Or they may do the opposite and share everything including where they buy their toilet paper![read more]

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We suddenly have a lot more on our plate as we add relationship management to our digital strategies. The real goal is to build a brand be it corporate or personal. The icing is, we made a few really awesome and deep relationships. Let’s not one-stop shop our relationships, and start allowing more forgiveness and openness.[read more]

Social media is not about showing how corporate you are – it’s about showing the people behind the business. So how can you show your social audience the real you without compromising your professional image?[read more]

Always remember: Your audience is ruthless. If you are authentic and display your true motives, we will call you a jerk. If you carefully project your image and then slip up, we will call you a fake. So project your image and always stay in character.[read more]

Image source: Author's blog

When building an online persona and brand usually we start with the most basic aspects including over arching brand, logo, colors, core messages etc.  All of these are foundational to success.  We develop our plan, develop our platform, create and launch our brand presence, integrate social with our business goals and start the...[read more]

I love Netflix.  I think their service is fantastic, prices fair, and their integration across a variety of hardware choices is top notch.  It’s one of those monthly fees I have no problem paying even when I don’t consume very much in a given month.  I’ve followed their ascent to greatness burying Blockbuster in the...[read more]

We all know that the world of social media has its own unique jargon—words like “unlike” and “defriend” have entered our lexicon as legitimate verbs, for instance. Those in the know speak this language fluently, which can be frustrating for those trying to break into the social media scene. While it’s tempting to focus on learning the lingo, another aspect of language is more important: the language of your online community.[read more]

With the undeniable fact that statistically Aussies are the highest consumers of social media in the world, one fact also remains undeniable small to medium businesses have yet to follow suit. Businesses who want to take advantage of this huge market need to understand a few very pertinent facts about intelligent, strategic use of social media.[read more]

All this talk about Twitter and Facebook engagement, how you need to be authentic and transparent, let people behind the scenes, tell stories.  This is all well and good, and enough (some might say too much) has been written about the what and the how. We should talk more about the why.  Not the why in the “so we can help you...[read more]

In possible the best idea I’ve had since starting the Anti-Social Media, I took a vacation.  This vacation may have actually made me anti-social media, as I am now bored and disgusted with all the crap I see online. You can’t imagine how mundane your tweets and Facebook updates look after escaping to somewhere wonderful with...[read more]

There is something weirdly attractive about “authentic” experience — whether at a restaurant, on a trip to an exotic locale, or in our interactions with friends.  In fact the opposite of “authentic” is “fake,” and who wants to have a fake experience?  But the problem is that...[read more]

Are you playing “dress up” to match the expectations of others? Is there an ever thinning veil, between the real you and the ideal you that you've invented and are now struggling to project? Are you still clenching to maintain the “first date” behavior code with recruiters, your boss or clients? Is your armor...[read more]

Man, we hedge our bets a great deal. It's especially obvious online. I'm not sure when or how we decided that we had to disclaim everything we say personally. Perhaps it's the litigious world we've come to live in, or the over abundance of political “correctness”, but it's more pervasive than ever, and it's not a...[read more]

I'm in a lot of conversations these days regarding "being authentic", and how important it is as a brand.  I completely agree.  Offhand I can't think of anything more important actually.  Of course this wouldn't be much of a blog post if that was the end of the story would it? Where I think many...[read more]

I have a theory that charisma arises from authenticity. When a writer has found his voice, when a singer has discovered her style, they have power. We feel it. It draws us to them. Why? Because we want it too.  We want to be ourselves they way they are themselves. One of the reasons wild animals are so compelling is...[read more]

“People don't change behavior or positions based on what they know. They change based on what they feel.” — Oprah Winfrey.   This is an extremely powerful and clarifying statement from one of the most successful and influential ‘social' leaders of our time.  What makes Oprah Winfrey so influential,...[read more]

Yesterday I hosted a conversation on Twitter all about authenticity and what that truly means. It's a buzzword, to be sure, but it was interesting that the 140 character based conversation yielded many different perceptions of what authenticity means. For most honesty was a big part of it, as was having real one on one conversations...[read more]

Follow up to my post about Bill Marriott's blog, Marriott on the move, I find it interesting that he does not type his posts but dictates it to his communications manager using a digital recorder. It retains an essential conversational element that tends to get edited out when some people put pen to paper. Many were impressed at the 75-...[read more]