In the 1990s, Andre Agassi was the face of Cannon’s marketing campaign. Those days people were considering Agassi as an iconoclastic rebel and therefore, Cannon chose him to show their image as rebellious as well. During the campaign, Agassi commented that “Image is everything!” It became a popular slogan among the people. However, later in 2009 when his autobiography was released, people found out that his life and image were different from the image that he had projected earlier.

In today’s digital age, consumers are highly aware of what they want from a brand and notice the difference between the projected image and the reality of your brand. They expect the brands to be honest and authentic with them.

As per a study conducted by the PR agency Cohn and Wolfe, “Consumers rate brand authenticity very highly.” And “It turns out that what consumers most want from brands is honest communication about products and services.”

So, in order to retain customers, it seems crucial for a brand to be transparent with them. Today, we have put together five infographics that can help your company work towards brand authenticity. Let’s have a look at them.

1. Authenticity Delivers High ROI

As per an infographic Bonfire Marketing, a large proportion (91%) of consumers expect honesty from the brands while buying their products or services.

Along with the stat, it is also mentioned in the infographic that “Honesty resonates with global consumers, employees, and investors. It builds loyalty and trust among a brand’s social communities, and it’s valuable for increasing profit margin.”

Not only this but if you’re being authentic, consumers are more likely to buy from your brand. As per the infographic, 63 percent of consumers buy from authentic brands over the competitors that hide their true selves.

So, authenticity is going to yield a higher ROI for your company.

2. Social Engagement Should Be Authentic Engagement

“Millennials don’t want to feel like they’re talking to a social media department,” says Franklin Morris, head of content at Alloy.

Brands often forget to engage with their audience while promoting their product and services on social media. But social media is about being social, rather than just being present and only sharing promotional content, brands should actively engage with consumers on social media.

Promptly replying to people, and constantly hosting various activities like contests and giveaways can give people a true insight into your brand. Have a look at this infographic taken from a post by Franklin that shows the missteps made by companies while connecting with social media users:

Along with providing authentic information to your customers, it can also be important for your brand to provide credible information i.e. the information you are providing should be verified and fact-checked.

For example, when selling products online, displaying trust seals on your website can significantly influence consumers’ trust and purchasing decisions.

When we look at the infographic by Lovesocial, authenticity is cited as one of the most important trends.

As per the infographic, 80% of consumers reported that ‘authenticity of content’ remains the most influential factor in their decision to become a brand follower.

4. The Do’s And Don’ts of Brand Authenticity

How to know if your brand seems authentic to consumers?

This post by Marketing Week explains the strategies that companies can use to be authentic and hence build a trust-based relationship with their customers.

As per the infographic in the post, you can practice the following strategies to be authentic:

• You must present the true story to customers.
• Be genuine, passionate, and practice integrity & consistency.
• Do not stereotype your narrative but also do not neglect the prior narrative.
• Try to remain unique and meaningful even if there are imperfections.
• Be original and do not follow others’ lead.
• Appreciate your achievements but keep aiming to improve and grow further.

So if you have got an understanding of how important brand authenticity can be for your brand, let’s put it into action.

5. Get Real

The below infographic published by Vision Critical might help you incorporate brand authenticity in real. It shows real-life examples of some famous brands (Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Patagonia) that practiced brand authenticity in the past, and how consumers loved them.

Conclusion

The above infographics have made one thing clear – Consumers prefer authentic brands over the ones that do not value authenticity.

Being authentic seems to be the prerequisite while engaging with consumers. No matter how good your product or service is, if you don’t seem authentic to the consumers, they won’t take much time shifting their business from you to their competitors.

So, you should consider authenticity as an unspoken rule while engaging with consumers and showcasing your values and beliefs to them.