We all want to be authentic, right? But oh, it’s so funny that we already are! However, when it comes to the online presence, many people and especially businesses struggle to be unique. So why is authenticity online so important and how to be authentic?
Why Does Authenticity Matter?
Everyone, who in one or other way makes money online knows, that in order to stand out and be noticed you must be authentic. Yup, we all know this. But instead of simply being who we already are, we look for many different versions of authenticity and eventually end up pretending to be someone else. This does no good nor for us, nor for our business. If we want people to notice us and to be interested in what we do, we must be simply who we are.
The problem is that many people and businesses online seek authenticity by actually copying others. Most of the time, they copy two types of accounts. Those who do well but are quite ordinary and therefore also struggle to stand out. Or those that are the best ones and very popular online. None of these are worth copying. The first type is not interesting anymore and the popular ones are already well known and everybody notices those who are copying them.
How to Be Authentic?
So if there’s no point in pretending to be someone else, how the heck could you be authentic online? Well, I have some tips that can help you!
- First of all, don’t look at others and start with yourself. Ask yourself, what makes you authentic? What’s special about you or your business?
- Then, decide what’s your goal? What are you aiming for online?
- Ask yourself, what would be the best ways to represent you or your business online? What could show the world who you are?
- Now do a research – choose some of your favorite massive online accounts and write down all the good things about them. Pay attention to what kind of content is the most popular, what gets most engagement and what goes unnoticed. You need to find out what makes those huge accounts unique.
- Ask yourself again – is there something you could learn from those accounts that you did a research about? Is there something you could adapt to your personal or business accounts? However, never copy what others do, another way you won’t be unique.
- Once you’re finished with those five tasks, it’s time for a manifesto. Write down all the things that come to your mind and decide what’s authentic about you and what world should know about you.
- The last step is to write down very specific guidelines according to the manifesto and stick with them.
This is it! Authenticity is simple to find but also a real struggle for those who don’t know where to find it.
Authenticity is the key to online success whether it’s personal or not. You just need to decide that from this verily moment you will be authentic and then follow the tips listed above. There’s nothing fancy about authenticity, it’s all about simplicity, and we all need to understand this.