Authenticity is not something that can be learned, and it’s not possible to “portray” yourself as authentic. Think about the way someone may act on a first date. They may dress differently, act differently, be nervous, and fumbling to present themselves in a way that will hopefully impress their date. A good piece of advice given to blind-daters might be, “just be yourself.” This advice can be applied to corporations involved in social media. We have all met the person who comes across as phony because they are trying too hard to impress. This blog post from the head of social media for Ford Motor Company pokes fun at the idea of teaching authenticity. As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can’t fake authenticity. After the second and third dates, the real you starts to be exposed.
In a previous post, I mentioned the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Their code of conduct and fundamental principles outline the new guidelines accepted by the Federal Trade Commission and the online community for acceptable conduct. This is excellent material that values honesty above all, and a responsibility to respect consumer relationships.
Authenticity is not easy. It can’t be fabricated, created or constructed. In fact, it goes against many of the accepted modes of operation within in a company which serve to protect the corporation and manage the brand. Joel Postman, in his book SocialCorp, acknowledges what he calls “dark forces that are conspiring” and suggests that every department must work in sync to be authentic. Even if corporate communicators understand the importance of authenticity, other employees may be unknowingly working against their efforts. From my personal experience, customer service is often an area where this may occur.
Your dating scenario in the very beginning of this post provides an excellent example of authenticity. The key point about authenticity is to be yourself as Renee mentioned. If you try to act differently in order to impress someone else or make them think more highly of you, then you are not being authentic and true to yourself.
And like Renee said, this concept is important for companies to understand. Trying to glamour up your organization may in fact do more harm then good. If an organization is telling the whole truth, a statement they make could very well come back to haunt them. This is why it is so important for companies to be authentic in every aspect of their business. I agree with Joel Postman, all departments within the organization must work together to offer an authentic self. It won’t work if not everyone is in sync.
By: Steph Synoracki on March 22, 2009
at 2:18 pm
Authenticity is key for companies. They want their employees and customers believe in their company and trust that it is an honest and real place of business. Nothing good will come out of not being genuine. Pretending to be something you’re not will backfire and people will eventually see through that. I know I want to work for a company that I believe in. Ethics and authenticity are important in a company. Consumers also tend to buy and invest in companies they trust and know to be true. Even if one part of a company ends up failing at being authentic, the whole company suffers. I agree with Postman, in that all parts of a company must collaborate to become successfully authentic.
By: Veronica Nalbandian on March 23, 2009
at 12:52 am