How To Achieve Brand Authenticity
A Comprehensive Guide to Brand Authenticity
Brand authenticity plays a crucial role for everyone, not just organizations.
It is essential in creating trust and ensuring that we all have an understanding of each other.
When making the decision to purchase from or support a company, brand authenticity should be taken into account!
People often consult reviews online and ask their networks about what they think before diving deeper into the values and operations of businesses.
For start-ups and smaller businesses, gaining trust in their brand authenticity can be an uphill battle.
However, those who are dedicated to creating a powerful and unique image for their company will find that the rewards far outweigh the effort!
In this blog post we will explore how you can establish your business's authenticity as well as other easy ways to reach out and engage with consumers.
We’ll also discuss how branding yourself and your business can boost your public awareness and authentic self.
Do you need help with your brand strategy? Brand positioning? or long term brand campaign management?
checkout our startup branding services
What Is Brand Authenticity?
Brand authenticity is the transparency you provide to your community and the public.
Brand authenticity is honesty and perception intertwined. It’s what makes people stay loyal to your business.
During this digital age, people are exposed to so much content and advertisements. Today, people are looking for something more, something to connect with when it comes to supporting businesses and making purchases. It's not just about your product but your brand story, too.
When crafting your brand and building your business, focus on how you can create your brand story through authentic storytelling. With this, you set a foundation of credibility and trust.
Brand authenticity has four key components:
Continuity: the brand being faithful to itself
Credibility: being true to its consumers
Integrity: the motivation of caring about the customers and taking responsibility
Symbolism: support consumers in being true to themselves
With these four key components, we see that authenticity dives into more than just a trait of a business. It ties into your customer's decision-making because authenticity has psychological value, too.
What your customer’s support speaks to their personal authenticity.
We have to take a look at what our customers want.
According to this research and survey, 90 percent of consumers state that authenticity is important when it comes to supporting businesses.
It also shares that 51 percent of consumers feel that less than half of businesses create authentic content compared to the 92 percent of marketers believing that almost all of the content they create is.
As we bridge this gap, we see the importance of branding. At The Branded, we can provide your business all the branding and marketing needs so that you can be seen and heard. This is so that your authentic self is presented honestly and creatively, too.
Brand authenticity is how you are being true to “the why” aspect of your business and your consumers. It’s how you be true to your values and why you are in the business you are in today.
Brand authenticity is your business caring about your customers and taking accountability for your actions.
It’s the symbol of supporting your audience in being true to themselves.
Now that you know what brand authenticity is, are you adding meaning to people’s lives with your authentic brand building?
How Important Is Brand Authenticity
The short answer? Super important.
If you want to grow further with your business and create a respectable brand, it’s imperative to connect with your community honestly and openly.
With millennials, an overwhelming 90 percent say that brand authenticity is at the top of their priority when it comes to supporting business. Generation X is at eighty-five percent, and Boomers are at an eighty percent.
The main takeaway is that brand authenticity is the key to the longevity of your business.
Keep in mind that your customers are supporting more than your product or service. They are also supporting your brand story and brand development.
They are not just buying what you provide, they are also purchasing your vision and brand image.
Your customers want to know if what you stand for is in line with what they stand for as individuals.
Another thing is that people want to support a cause, a business that sees the importance of certain things. They want to support what matters.
For example, if customers are looking for ethically sourced clothing, they want to see that the company is transparent in their system.
They might be wondering a few things.
Is the company paying a liveable wage to their garment workers? Is their fabric gathered and sourced from local areas? Is the brand as a whole representing how the customer wants to be perceived?
It all connects. What customers value and connect with will directly line up with what they subscribe to.
You want an authentic brand story to communicate and resonate with your audience in hopes that they support you in the long run.
Achieving Brand Authenticity With The Branded
At The Branded, brand authenticity is an important factor that we tie into our client’s businesses.
We make sure that their business does well with the help of our services.
From branding, creative campaigns, strategy, public relations to web development and production, we have it covered. We can help you with all of it.
We prioritize your authentic brand story and your objectives to set a foundation that represents you.
When it comes to branding, we know the importance of connecting with your audience. We want our clients to have everything they need, from brand bibles, marketing strategies, PR campaigns to logo creations, depending on what they need.
As experts in this field, we also recognize wanting to be branded with authenticity in mind. We value this–since we also strive to not just show authenticity, but embody it as individuals and a team that strives for honest work.
We help you create an emotional connection with your audience to build trust.
It all starts with an idea, and that idea needs a team of brand experts. We can be that for you.
With our honest and transparent pricing, we produce outcomes that help you achieve brand authenticity.
Let’s now look at how to achieve brand authenticity!
How Can Businesses Achieve Brand Authenticity?
So, how do businesses show their authentic self? Let’s look at ways on how to achieve brand authenticity.
Be true, honest and transparent
Being honest with your audience and yourself is important. It’ll be the catalyst to drive authentic loyalty.
When you’re transparent about who you are as a company, more people will see to it to understand what you stand for.
If your mission and vision get blurry, it could call for going back to your roots. This could mean thinking about the reasons why you started the business. It’s worth tracing back and fully understanding what this business means to you. To be re-inspired and to re-evaluate your mission and values is a good idea. Perhaps things have changed, and you need a new outlook.
Your brand pillars and mission are part of your brand story–make sure you are always communicating these two aspects honestly with your audience.
Focus on your why
Why does your business exist?
Does it exist to just make money? Although this is the short answer in most businesses, the answer should also include a brand story that people can resonate with.
For example, Warby Parker exists to alleviate the problem of impaired vision with their give a pair and buy a pair social impact. This is a way to build trust with the audience to showcase that they’re not just purchasing spectacles, they’re supporting the reason Warby Parker exists.
Knowing the reason for your business’s existence is the key to brand authenticity.
Be a trusted expert in your field
Your experience and knowledge are valuable assets to your audience.
When it comes to being authentic, having to share your progress and struggles is part of it. If your company has found specific ways that have gotten you far, tell people about it. You don’t need to dive into your business secrets, but it’s important to let people know how you got there.
It’s also a good idea to be consistent online to showcase your expertise.
Show signs of life online from your social media platforms, blogs to other parts of the online community. This not only helps with brand awareness, but it also shows that your company cares about their audience and customers.
Another way to achieve brand authenticity is to keep engaging with your audience. This could mean replying to comments, reviews and questions. People like it when they are looked after by brands that they support or are wanting to support.
When you are driving engagement online you are also showing up for those who are following you. You show up for your customers, your audience and your community.
This builds trust and an authentic following.
How To Achieve Brand Authenticity: Storytelling
Let’s keep going to see how to achieve brand authenticity with storytelling.
Use your story
If you’re a company that is trying to gain followers, customers and loyalty using your own story as a business and a person can help you connect with your community. This creates a way for them to understand who they are purchasing from and who they are supporting.
Your company is the construct, and your goal is to create a connection with your audience through your brand storytelling.
Customers want to know exactly what they are putting their money and support towards. If you have a compelling brand story to share, share it.
Know that every story is important and is worth sharing with the world. Struggles in your business and life are worth sharing because it validates your humanity.
It connects you to other humans.
With this, you can find connections and build your brand through your unique and inspiring story.
Someone out there is waiting to get inspired by you.
Share away
Now that you’re able to communicate your story, it’s time to share it in multiple ways.
To increase authenticity awareness with your brand, get others to share their experience with your company, too.
With the power of social media platforms, you can do this daily. This builds a social presence that encourages your audience to share more about your business.
Storytelling will be the main tool in presenting your brand authenticity.
How To Achieve Brand Authenticity: Clear Communication
Let’s look at the importance of clear communication when it comes to achieving brand authenticity
Keep your brand consistent
The next tips deal with how you manage your brand story to showcase your business authenticity.
Keeping your brand consistent in branding and aesthetics should tie to your brand objectives and goals. It’s a good way to build your business
Optimizing your online profiles will help, too. With this comes personality. You want your brand to have a personality that your audience and customers can recognize.
This creates a bond with them.
When a customer is researching out about your company, you want to make sure your brand is consistent. Make sure it has a memorable personality so that they recognize your brand colours, logo, typography style and so on.
This is the power of branding, what we specialize in.
Creating a style guide or a brand bible will help with consistency. This can help with visualizing your brand colours, logo, objectives, mission and brand identity as a whole. It serves as a way to remind you and your team what your business is all about.
It’s also good to use the same brand language with your audience. Is your brand voice friendly and fun, or is it strictly corporate and business, or maybe a mix of both? Make sure it is consistent throughout your channels.
Clear and easy communication
Create clear and comfortable communication with your audience after you achieve brand consistency throughout your channels.
With this, you want to provide the feeling of ease and understanding right away. Keeping your brand story simple is also something to keep in mind.
For example, when you’re communicating with your audience about an announcement, it’s good to note that you’re not only informing, you also are including them in the process of your new venture through discussions and engagements about that said announcement.
With keeping your brand story simple, remember to hit your bullet points to achieve brand authenticity and awareness. This could mean touching on the “why” of your business existence and how you got to where you are today.
Creating this space for transparency provides clarity for your audience.
It builds trust.
Personal Authenticity
Brand authenticity matters because it directly ties into personal authenticity.
Authenticity begins with self-awareness, and if you market your brand to be true to your mission and your values, you’re able to gain loyal customers.
As a recap for the tips on how to achieve brand authenticity:
Be true, honest and transparent
Make sure your values and mission are transparent and that it matches your company’s behaviours and actions.
Focus on your why
What is the reason for your business?
Be a trusted expert in your field
Let people know that you are an expert.
Use your story
Share your story. People want to hear it.
Share away
Crate authentic awareness.
Keep your brand consistent
Brand yourself and your company with consistency.
Clear and easy communication
Keep it simple, and direct to create trust.
Reputation matters a lot to consumers. When you earn a good reputation through brand authenticity, you find your business growing. You also connect and find people outside your community to join in.
Remember that consumers use brands to represent themselves, too. So by being authentic, you not only gain loyal customers, but you’re providing a way for them to express themselves as well. It’s directly tied to their personal authenticity.
Connect authentically and you’ll be sure to gain a lot more than monetary gain, you’ll be able to build a memorable brand.
A brand that can scale.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.