A world where everything is perfectly curated, filtered and seemingly unattainable, is forever gone on social media. Users now crave and gravitate towards genuine content. They expect brands/organizations/influencers that seek their engagement to be original, open and honest. Authenticity is key to the future of social engagement. It’s a significant part of any successful strategy across the social media landscape. In recent years, “authenticity” has become more than a buzzword on social media. Social authenticity has proven to be an essential part of successful social media strategies and a key factor in increasing engagement rates. So what is authenticity? What’s its importance to social networking?
What is Authenticity?
Before the digital era, authenticity stood for a set of moral principles that usher humans into a manner that connects individuals to the community. In existentialism, it refers to the degree when an individual’s actions are in harmony with their beliefs and desires. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, authenticity is defined as:
1 a: worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact
b: conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features
c: made or done the same way as an original
2: not false or imitation : REAL, ACTUAL
3: true to one's own personality, spirit, or character
In the social media realm authenticity takes on a similar form. It’s about showing followers true morals behind a brand/organization/influencer. Authenticity on social media represents originality and uniqueness, and it’s contrary to imitation and copying. Although social authenticity encourages brands/organizations/influencers to find and maintain their real voice, this doesn't mean brands/organizations/influencers shouldn’t strategize in their best interest or follow trends. Those responsible for developing the account’s content need to always create from an authentic angle that fits with their principles. If there is a trending TikTok dance or something like the #DollyPartonChallenge brands/organizations/influencers can and should participate if it doesn’t go completely against their morals. Authenticity contradicts curated content (or at least easily spotted curated content). The high demand has become overwhelming from users for transparency, authenticity and the dismissal of accounts that don’t follow suit. Social media users are more sophisticated than ever. When users see an account with fake content, likes/comments and followers they tend to disengage. Historically the social media landscape has been known for displaying happy moments and portraying the ideal and almost unattainable life, but this has changed. 86% of consumers say that authenticity is a fundamental part of how they choose what brands to like and support. It has been found that users are more likely to reward accounts with their endorsement or purchase if the account displays a sense of authenticity.
This trend does not come out of blue, it has many factors with the top factor being trust. The social media landscape has shifted to more intimate personal relationships rather than cast netting a platform. Users are more likely to engage with micro accounts because they seem to be better at displaying authenticity and are more relatable. We live in a world full of celebrities and influencers that get paid to build posts to convince their followers to buy a product or experience. Consumers are losing faith in this method and demand more original approaches while keeping their presence real on social media. 64% of today’s customers are belief-driven purchasers, especially younger generations such as Millennials, that crave original over curated content. Another reason why users are seeking out authenticity is the rise in fake news.
Fake news proliferated across social media in an unprecedented volume and has caused great concern. 57% of online users assume that social media is infected by false information. This situation drove social media users to develop a critical eye and be more anxious when it comes to information they come across on social networks, even if it comes from reliable organizations. This skeptical atmosphere has caused a serious demand on authentic content. Brands/organizations/influencers are expected to build a strong authentic connection with their customers, be true to their values and take a clear stand instead of being vague.
Why is Authenticity important?
Authenticity has always been important. Roughly 83% of marketers say that authenticity is very significant to their brands, while 61% think that authenticity constitutes the most significant element of impressive content. Being authentic in a filtered world gives you a lot of advantages. Apart from lending credibility to your brand and conferring quality to your content, authenticity enables you to be distinctive. It gives you the ability to set a tone. Instead of pretending to be someone or something you are not, being authentic will help establish quality and attitude by using your own genuine tone. Authenticity is key for building trust.
Developing authentic content directly contributes to how credible and reliable a brand/organization/influencer is to their followers. By approaching social media from an authentic angle, these relationships with followers will be stronger. This strong and deep connection eventually develops trust, and when you win a follower’s trust, you win their loyalty and therefore business. By winning trust and loyalty, you will be able to build your own community. This community will share common interests, principles and values. Building such a community would not be possible if a brand/business/influencer was developing inauthentic content. Netizens are savvy, especially younger generations, and they can see through the fake facades. The significance of building a community is huge. When you have a community that surrounds a brand/organization/influencer this means that users truly support the account’s offerings. They provide invaluable insights and invite new users to discover your account.
Maintaining authenticity can be tricky at times. It entails hard work and consistency. One of the common mistakes that brands/organizations/influencers make is they completely avoid high end content and sometimes have a negative or inconsistent feel to their account. The point is to be balanced and honest, don’t be too unattainable but also don’t be negative. Let content flow like daily life. This means being transparent on positive and negative sides, struggle, challenges, and achievements. Do not fake content. It is very easy to hide the truth behind social media and depict your product or experience in a way that is not true. For example, how many people have you seen on private jets on instagram? Don’t get FOMO, many of these images have been completely fabricated to create the illusion of wealth and exclusivity. There have been countless mishaps where brands/organizations/influencers were curating content that displayed inaccuracy by using fake or photoshopped images. On the contrary, this does not mean to not take a professional approach to content displaying on an account. The rule of thumb should be to make sure when a user receives a product or buys into an experience that what was promoted on social media, is what they get.
So, again, be real and think thoroughly before you post anything across your social media channels. Do not let likes and comments be the only goal. Engagement will come naturally if you humanize your account by posting consistent content that reflects value, and avoids shady techniques such as clickbait or deceptive ads. Content should resonate across all platforms with the same tone. Social media should never replace real life relationships, but should mirror the same qualities like authenticity. Authenticity is imperative to all successful social media strategies.