When it comes to marketing, you know the importance of being real. This means showing prospects who you are, what you offer and what you care about. When you’re authentic in your marketing, you reinforce your company’s identity and make it easier for prospects to recognize and connect with you.

Carlyn Hill, a content specialist at Sprout Social, says marketers know what it means to be authentic, but bringing it into a strategy can be challenging. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we highlight Hill’s best tips for getting authentic marketing right.

Go behind the scenes (BTS). According to Hill, sharing BTS content can be a fun and engaging way to let prospects peek behind the curtain. Consider sharing how a promo is made and decorated, and how it gets from the factory floor into their hands. This kind of content can also be as simple and light as showcasing your team in a “meet the team” social series.

Be strategic about taking a stand. If you’re going to speak up on an issue, Hill suggests making sure the issue directly aligns with and reinforces your company values. When possible, try to back up your statement with action 

Showcase your clients. Prospects love to see how other companies use promo. Plus, Hill says people trust real people and stories – not just brands alone. Highlighting your clients can be as simple as sharing customer-posted photos featuring your products to posting client testimonials.

Skip the trends that don’t make sense. Not every trend is a good fit for your business. Authentic marketing is as much about the trends you skip as the trends you jump on, Hill says. Don’t force it if it doesn’t align with your brand.

Pay attention to your audience. There’s no authenticity in marketing if you respond to comments only sometimes or if you ghost your audience. Directly engaging with your prospects and prioritizing one-to-one customer care will make you memorable, Hill says. If needed, make sure you get your team extra social media training.

Create content that feels native to each platform. Don’t just copy and paste content from one platform into another. Part of authentic marketing is creating content that feels true to the platform in which prospects are consuming it.

People crave meaningful connections. When you’re authentic about your company’s mission, values and personality, you can begin to build real relationships and deeper connections.  

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Carlyn Hill is a content specialist at Sprout Social.