We live in a world of hype. Every day we’re bombarded by thousands of messages – commercials, billboards, search ads, print, on-hold, pre-roll and banners, point-of-purchase, spam and more. Buy me! Look at me! Hear me! Visit me! Everywhere you turn, someone is shouting.
The hype mongers have blunted our ability to feel. I skip TV spots, toss newspaper supplements and avoid commercial radio. I can’t even tell you what ads get served when I’m on the web.
But I do perk up when someone speaks from the heart. That sense of vulnerability – someone sharing something personal – is so appealing that I let my defenses down and pay attention. It’s not shouting that works for me. And it’s not a list of features or benefits. It’s authenticity.
Okay, marketers. Authenticity works. How do we buy ourselves some of that?
There’s the challenge. It can’t be bought. Or layered like a veneer on top of an advertising campaign. Authenticity only works when someone has a need to reach out and share a personal story. A real person. Not a spokesman and not an announcer. A regular person with a compelling story and an emotional need.
I hurt. I feel better. You might feel better, too.
Finding authenticity
Look carefully at your product or service. Put yourself in the target’s head. What is the emotional or psychological need that you fulfill? Can you talk about it – simply and directly? Can you make it personal? Turn down the hype. Focus on the need. How can you make me feel better?
Certain tactics lend themselves to messages of authenticity. For example, actual testimonials (in any medium), blog entries and interviews (online or offline) let the subject’s voice and feelings come through clearly. Any medium that allows first-person narratives can help convey sincerity.
Sometimes we need to shout
Sometimes people need to know that our price is lower, our features are better, and it’s easier than ever to buy right now. Sometimes, like cell phone providers, we’re unwitting participants in a media arms race, shouting louder and louder. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
If the message is real – if it comes from the heart, if it’s delivered sincerely, if the speaker’s authentic – it will weave its way through the clutter and lodge directly in the minds of your targets. And it will stick much better than a quick and easy shout.
One Comment
Spot on article–love it. Michael, count me in as a “authenticity crusader”.