What is authenticity?
If it’s being yourself, what does that mean in practice? Are you someone who’s interested in sharing their perspective, based on your personal experiences? Or, do you prefer the comfort of sharing generic content?
Understanding authenticity in theory is one thing, but applying it in practice is where real challenges arise.
When I began writing content for The BrandTUB on September 9th, 2017, two things went through my mind:
1. I’m not a writer! and
2. How will I know what’s appropriate for me to write?
As time passed, I was able to gauge what brought attention to my services. For example, I’m known for One Page Websites. With these projects, come situations that inspire the topics I write about. Some of which (like this article), I am often unaware of is an actual conversation online.
>>>Fast forward to August 29th, 2018 when a request was made for an article I wrote titled ‘The Ripple Effects Of Not Putting Your Prices On Your Website’ to be featured in a publication by Data-Driven Investor on Medium. Furthermore, I was also asked to be a writer on their blog. What made my article authentic? The information shared was from my perspective and personal experience. This isn’t new — many people create content this way. But there are those who struggle to create content with that nuance of authenticity and interest (whom I refer to as Slick Rickies) because their goals and their situation are different.
Easily enthused by generic content, Slick Rickies are all about building authority on old news, which is in perfect alignment with the kind of customers who aren’t interested in researching and, as a result, end up paying for — the 3-step visibility strategy. Information they can freely acquire online.
Here is a resource below to acquaint yourself with:
It’s an ideal situation for both parties I guess, but to me, this type of regurgitative brand indicates you’re uncertain of where your value (if there is any) is positioned, so you have to rehash content to compensate for your lack of focus and although you might just make money, doing this puts you in a position to charge $30.00 instead of 15K for your services.
Someone With REAL Value To Offer Isn’t Basing Their Worth On Generic Information
...YES, they may direct you to Google for research purposes as a “by the way you can find this piece of info here” kinda thing. But they are ONLY FOCUSED on utilizing your time to get THEIR BEST.
When you’re doing your due diligence to create content that’s interesting and unique, one way you can tell when someone isn’t is by their pricing.
No one who has found answers to a problem prostitute those services.
Another way to tell when someone has no value of their own to give is when they are constantly asking their audience to share their tips. Your audience is there by your invitation which stated that you understood something specific about their needs, they don’t. Therefore coaxing them for tips on effective content creation takes away from what you initially claimed.
That being said, there is a master tip to create content that puts an end to your days as a Slick Ricky.
Focusing on things you’ve struggled with and found answers for, will help you create content that’s truly authentic—even if the topic itself is generic
Have you ever heard the saying “everything has been said before”? Well, everything hasn’t been said before simply because we’re still waiting on your contribution.
There is always room for stories that have a unique voice. What there is no room for is run-of-the-mill content. Why? Think of generic content as small pools of luck that are doomed to dry up. All those trainings created around them, suck all your time to create minus the returns you really seek, like authority and visibility that matters. That’s because
… it’s impossible to own something that everyone already owns.
Tips on ‘How to share content?’, ‘When to share content?’ or ‘Where to share content?’ is surface-level information you only need to Google to find out about. This is why you’re a slick Ricky and not a plagiarist — there’s nothing revolutionary about breaking up content into multiple pieces of content to share on Instagram or Facebook at various times your audience is active during the day. That advice is everywhere.
What people really want help with and rarely find content on (because you typically have to pay for the service) is ‘How to find the talking points of my brand?’ (I’ve already shared earlier ‘What exactly to share?’ when you’re trying to create content) and ‘How to create content that resonates?’ A personal hack for content that resonates (that helps with an active and engaged audience) is asking questions that have nothing to do with whatever point I’m trying to make.
For example, I ask the parents in my group about how they communicate with their kids when they disapprove of something. I then link these communication styles to brand voice and persuasion, helping them think about resonance in a deeper, more strategic way. How I came up with this idea is a conversation for another time, but I’ve found this approach helpful for any conversation I’m trying to have.
This entire article is a testament to this. Yes, I’m making a point about authenticity through the lens of a story about content creation, but with an emphasis on connectivity — a concept misunderstood by the person who inspired this article and others like them.
You don’t need to fake it until you make it. Today, I’m publicly sharing my tip for creating content that resonates and where it comes from.
Listen to the gist of the article here:
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