Be genuine.
Whether this is on social media or in conversations, strive to make your content marketing strategy as authentic and genuine as possible.
Don’t copy others.
I have seen a lot of posts online about picking a word to focus on. I would like to urge people to consider it genuine.
Gen·u·ine adjective
- truly what something is said to be; authentic.
(of a person, emotion, or action) sincere.
Why do you need a genuine tone in your content marketing?
In my line of work, I am fortunate to speak with business founders and marketers alike. Some have a marketing background, and others do not, but they have passion for their industry. Regardless of their background, a lot of people talk about what another brand published, or what their friend says, or an article that they read about another industry, and therefore should be taken as gospel. It is good to compare yourself to your competitors and compatriots, but in this day and age, where everyone is a content producer, I think it is more important to be genuine.
No one is reinventing the wheel on social media or across their content marketing strategy. But it is important to be authentic to your own vision, passion and brand – as that is the source of originality.
This can be seen in your emails, your social media posts, LinkedIn Inbox outreach, or interaction on your team from sales to success. If you are authentic in your content and stay true to your brand and mission, this will shine through. More often than I like, since starting my own company, I get messages in my inbox that sound so much like a copy and paste from a script. I would love to connect with people and hear what they are up to, but that conversation needs to be real.
5 Tips for creating a genuine connection:
- Stay true to your story or brand. Stop looking on the other side of the fence. So, what if your competitor posted a photo of their grass? It isn’t greener. We all do this, right from the inception of our businesses – where we identify brands we aspire to be or resonate with. Google doesn’t sit in a conference room asking what Microsoft is up to, so why should you? Bringing this back to your content strategy, when coming up with photos and content, think of what matters to your brand and what your followers want to see. What resonates with your brand?
- Use real people. For social media or other marketing, don’t hire models, or use stock images, if possible. I know this is hard these days, but tap into your network of employees, clients or even friends and followers. These images are not only more cost effective, but they are real! If you are a restaurant, use your staff, the faces your clients will recognize! If you sell hair bows, get your customers to contribute to your marketing. This will have such a huge impact on employee retention and customer loyalty. People want to feel a part of something. Let that be your brand.
- Do your research. Before you reach out to a cold contact on LinkedIn or other social networks or email, do some research. You’ve already done so much research to identify their organization as a target through your account based marketing strategies, take a second to get to know the person. How long have they been in their current position? What does their website say they do? What is the personality on their blog and social posts?
- Kill the newsletter. It might finally be time to stop sending bulk emails. It’s time to get smart with your personalization efforts. Obviously, this depends on your industry and product, but people are inundated with emails. Choosing to write a more personal message (or what appears to be personal) is key.
- It’s okay to be a bit unpolished. Not everything needs to be on branded stationery anymore. An authentic connection in your content strategy can look like a selfie video, an image that isn’t overly saturated and processed, or an impromptu post. Take off your square hat and get creative and have fun! If you’re really having fun, that will shine through and that is what will build that personal connection over the internet! In a world where in person connections are very limited, this is even more important!
At the end of the day, a genuine connection comes through authenticity, conversation, research and actually taking a few minutes out of your day to think about the person you are going to connect with. If you don’t get to do business with that person, at least you made a personal connection.
The goal of a succinct content marketing strategy is to make us all have a case of FOMO or desiring what others have, creating urgency. If you have high engagement, loyal customers and a high organic acquisition rate, you are probably doing something right. (This is really what we should all want!!) That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t look for inspiration from other places. But try to be original and have fun.
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