Personal Branding Authenticity is at the cutting edge of network marketing and online marketing these days. But I think there are some misconceptions about being authentic, and we should straighten them out. I know that a lot of people worry that they have to share personal information to be authentic. If you’re like me, the very idea of exposing any dirty laundry is a frightening thought! Heck, even my wife sometimes doesn’t always see the REAL ME! How on earth am I going to put it out on Social Media, in blog posts, and everywhere for the world to see? Do you feel this way too? Let’s explore what it means to be authentic when we brand ourselves. Let’s decide whether or not our fears are warranted.
I checked in with Wikipedia on the subject of authenticity and here’s what they said it is: “Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions.” Well, that doesn’t sound so embarrassing. You don’t have to tell people the color of your underwear or whether your belly button is an “innie” or an “outie”. It doesn’t sound like you have to embarrass yourself at all. Maybe being authentic isn’t so bad, let’s dig in a little deeper.
Truthfulness of Origins and Attributions. To me this means that I should be honest about the origins of what I’m providing, writing, or promoting. Also if I’m using someone else’s work, I need to attribute it to them. So far this is common sense. I like the word “truthfulness” anyway. I recommend it in all aspects of your life, not just branding…I’m just saying. So, be forthright in where I’m coming from with something and where that something came from if I didn’t create it myself. Okay.
Commitments. Over the years I’ve learned not to make a commitment I don’t intend to keep. In fact I hold this pretty close to heart. Clearly it is good that your brand is known as reliable. But there is another way of interpreting the term commitment here. If you’ve made a commitment you must keep, then you need to be forthright with anyone you deal with when you know that commitment could change how you are working with them or how they would interpret you. In this case, being true to your word extends beyond your initial commitment. Another word for this second interpretation is “transparency”.
Sincerity. To me sincerity is a way we convey that we’re being genuine. It’s an openness to risk allowing people to see how you feel. According to Webster’s Dictionary sincerity is an honest way of behaving. So sincerity is honesty in action. Okay, I’m down with this sincerity thing, it makes sense for your brand to be seen as honest, genuine, and sincere.
Devotion and Intentions. You’ve got to be open about your devotions. It’s kind of like being transparent about your commitments. If you’re devoted to a course of action, a goal, or a way of thinking or seeing the world, you should let people know if you feel it would change their decisions about you or your offer. The same holds if you have an intention behind your dealings with people that would affect their decisions. Be forthcoming, not misleading.
To be sure, there is an element of personal branding that encourages you to allow your personality and preferences to be seen. This also goes with the concept of Attraction Marketing. But from our exploration today, I believe that Personal Branding Authenticity is not so much about revealing embarrassing insights into your personal life as it is about being honest, forthright and transparent in your dealings with other people. I can do that, and I’ll bet you can too. And just in case you’d like a more concrete explanation, I’ll give it a try – when marketing, we should lay off the “spammy” hype and be the real deal. What do you think?
