We live in an ever-evolving culture that is currently very conscious of self expression and online representation. What does this mean for you and your brand? How do you want to be perceived and how will you connect to your audience in an authentic way?
“Consumers’ expectations of brands and businesses have grown over the years. They no longer just want a nice “shiny” product, but they also expect the organization behind it to represent their values and beliefs. This is why authenticity is often a key component in marketing strategy as more than 70 percent of consumers reportedly spend more with authentic brands.”
Consumers Want Brands to Be Authentic, Psychology Today, May 2023.
Self expression + truth
A popular buzzword in marketing and social media, authenticity is about being genuine and having a unique point of view that is a true expression of your beliefs.
Be yourself. Be brave. Be real. Define your identity and think about what you have to say that is important and unique, then brainstorm how to express it in captivating engaging ways. The simplest way to convey authenticity is to be yourself and honest in your online interactions, and ensure your communications align with your brand values. As part of Universe’s brand design strategy, we help clients understand their core values.
How to express authenticity
This is of course not a one-size-fits-all solution. So be creative, use all the tools available to communicate authenticity visually and with your language. Experiment and use analytics to evaluate what your audience is connecting with.
Though branding, design and imagery
You know we are going to start with a strong brand design! In a brand design that has a core value of authenticity we would be:
- creating a logo design that visually demonstrates trust and the ideal tone (Authentic/Serious or Authentic/Casual? The details matter!)
- creating patternwork, colours, type and design all have to align with the authentic tone
- showing photos of people and also real locations that are related to the brand
- ideally creating our own photography, or find some stock photos that are not phoney-looking with everyone smiling while doing everything
- using minimal filters and effects in social media posts
Though language and communication style
The subjects you discuss, along with the way in way you express them, are a nuanced consideration. From social media interactions, to copywriting, to the style of writing you use in your report design, it all should be expressing your brand identity’s tone in a consistent fashion.
Storytelling is another buzzword that you hear in the world of marketing. Using emotion and a story to communicate can work for you, depending on your brand’s identity. Try it! See how your audience responds.
Universe Design Studio offers the full spectrum of online, social, branding, graphic and web design services as discussed above. Get in touch today if you need help connecting to your audience or if you would like a review of your online presence and ideas to start improving today.
