A lot of B2B marketers are talking about authenticity now.
It makes sense.
Sure, the internet’s been a good way for anonymous/pseudonymous trolls to spread bullshit.
But it’s also been the absolute best way for honest, authentic, well-meaning companies to get known.
When I look around at the B2B brands being established online – brands like Apptio and Stripe and a16z and Slack – one thing sticks out.
These brands weren’t ‘built’. They were earned.
Apptio didn’t just tell IT financial planners they were technology business management experts. They actually did the hard work of establishing a technology business management framework the industry could find value in.
a16z didn’t just tell founders they weren’t like the other VCs. They actually shared more secrets, gave better advice and exposed more network. They didn’t shy away from the fact they had skin in the game. They showed skin.
Stripe didn’t just say they were ‘passionate about helping people start businesses’. They invested serious time, money and effort into Stripe Atlas so it’s actually easier to start a business.
Slack didn’t just say it was a more fun, easy way to get everyone in a company talking to each other in one place. It actually made something so fun and easy everyone in the company started talking to each other in one place*.
So yes, it’s fair and right and true to say that ‘authenticity’ has been key for all these brands.
But here’s my problem.
Too often, when I hear marketers talk about authenticity, I worry they’re doing it inauthentically.
That is, they’re more worried about looking authentic than being authentic.
(If you’re saying authenticity is a big deal for you now, you’re also saying it wasn’t before. Pro tip: maybe don’t do that in public.)
So let’s be perfectly clear about the imperative for authentic brand building.
There is no shortcut.
There is no tell. There is only show.
There is only what you actually do.
And what it means to me.
It’s that simple. And that hard.
Brand is no longer bullshit.
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*As an aside, I wonder what percentage of nice things said about Slack are said in Slack.