The Trouble With “Authenticity”
- Writer for DDI on Medium
- May 7
- 2 min read
Updated: May 28
Striving to be authentic in your branding is good. But authenticity also has a bad side.
It’s felt when you backpedal on positions you once took a stand on, like ‘earning your own USD’, for example. It’s seen when you’re easily swayed by the tide of a topic just so you can say ‘me too’—it's authentic, but it also creates mistrust.
If selling one thing is weird, die on that hill. Don’t dilute your message with programs that teach ‘the art of selling one thing’ while preaching diversification of offers.
An unstable man is unstable in all his ways. Those things feel unstable to your buyer; it makes them question whether you ever believed in what you were selling in the first place.
If you stand for ChatGPT expertise, stand for it. Create more ‘world-class’ prompts. Don’t wimp out by suddenly caring about the ethics of using AI and become an advocate for a voice with purpose. Double down on your position with hashtag trini-accent GPT, and own your ‘58% AI’ brand voice. This way, at least you're ideologically consistent.
One could argue that changing your mind is still legal—you can admit you were wrong, that you didn’t know enough or anything about something. Many around the world today admit regret for ignoring Gaddafi’s message about the West. His people authentically now consider him a hero.
My point is, why would you want to position a brand as an authentic flip-flopper in the first place?
Before February 26th, 2019, local web designers and developers never used WIX because it wasn't up to their Squarespace and WordPress standards of professionalism. They had enough to say about my decision to make it the only platform I work with. Now they sing a different tune.
WHY STAND FOR SOMETHING AS EVIDENCE TO PROVE A POINT, THEN CONDEMN IT LATER WHEN ITS USE SHATTERS YOUR NARRATIVE, ONLY TO JOIN THE PARTY AFTERWARDS?
Yes, “everybody might be talking about X,” but there is such a thing as being late to the conversation.
Who wants to be interpreted as a business that doesn’t know what it’s all about? Who wants to be seen as placating for attention and likes? Who wants to give off the vibe of not believing in what they do?
The world doesn’t need you to be that authentic. It needs you to know who you are as a brand and stand in the position you hold with conviction before the colors, before the fonts, before the AI-ads, before the posts, before the articles, and authority-piggybacking interviews.
Read: Building Brand Authority Through Traditional Media! You’re either for something or you’re against it.
How do you determine if there’s conviction behind the thing you’re against? Look for the experience that birthed it. Without it, you’ll backpedal on things you’re for and you’ll lose the battle on what you’re trying to achieve through your business.
