How Authenticity Can Help You Score More Sales and Customers

Are you getting the results you want from your social media? If you aren’t, maybe its because you aren’t coming across as authentic in how you present yourself. This may sound silly but how you showcase your company and your personality will affect how customers perceive you. Let’s learn how to show authenticity even through the pixels of our computers.

Why Bother with Authenticity?

Focusing on showcasing who we really are is crucial especially in today’s world where the barrier of entry for competitors is so low. You may be selling high quality beans imported from South America, but hundreds of people could do the same and set up an online store within days, if not faster.

Building your brand is all about showcasing who you are and what you believe in i.e. being authentic. This quality is something that consumers naturally gravitate towards. Sure, there are people who will only buy the cheapest option available but there’s also a large number of customers who are looking for something more than just a product. They want a relationship with a company they like.

The power of brands is nothing new and we can see it in action every day with companies like Starbucks. Consumers will go out of their way for a company once they believe in the brand and their mission. For smaller companies, this can be easier to do because you usually have a small team instead of thousands of employees like Starbucks.

Developing authentic relationships with your customers will get your more sales and earn you loyal customers. The type of customers who will tell their friends about you and your products. This quality can also be a big driver in helping first time customers feel more comfortable buying from you.

How can you develop this authentic quality though? It may sound like a lot of work but you can take small steps to get there. It all starts with your website and thinking about how people will perceive it. You don’t just want to have a website with just your products. It will look and feel contrived.

Let’s look at a few things you can start implementing today.

1. Reviews from Real Customers

The first thing you can think about is adding reviews from your existing customers. You have seen this in action when you buy from websites like Amazon. You may even find yourself naturally checking the reviews to see what people think. Seeing other people who bought something makes us feel at ease that we might not get ripped off if we buy it too.

Make sure to use the real name for your customers and perhaps even add a picture or link their social media profiles. Some customers may not feel comfortable doing this and you can compromise by using only the first letter of their last name and not using their picture. Either way, set up the reviews as real as possible.

Don’t worry about editing the reviews. Real reviews will have typos and may even say bad things about your product. A small group of your customers will not like your product and showing them is part of being authentic. Consumers will see the good and bad of your products and feel more at ease knowing that you aren’t hiding anything.

2. Showcase Your Team

Another way to build trust with your customers is by adding an “About” section to your website. I’m talking about a real About section though, not just adding one paragraph about why you started this company. You need to add photos of your team members and even link to their social media profiles.

People like to see who is behind something and what they do. Some of the best websites add quirky bios that even showcase the personality behind each team member. Once again, a solid about section will help convince customers that they should buy from you and your company.

3. Social Engagement

You should also think about adding social widgets to your website. Most websites might add links to their Twitter and Facebook profiles but you are missing out on a big opportunity to showcase the community behind your social profiles.

Some Facebook widgets show who likes your page and other engagement metrics. You are once again putting real faces and people behind your community. Its not just about how many followers or likes you have but who is behind them.

4. History Behind Your Products

You can also think about adding detailed information about your product. I’m not talking about just the specs but the history behind your product and why you are creating it. You can see companies who are at amazing at this by visiting Kickstarter campaigns.

The campaign pages are full of details around why they are creating this product, their challenges, their successes and where they are going with it. You may just be buying some simple tech gadget but you feel such a connection to the creators that you can’t help but root for them. You can think about bringing this excitement back to your website and your existing products.

All of these tips will slowly help you convey more authenticity but it will still take time. The time your spent will be well worth it though. Do you have any other tips around building trust? Let me know in the comments.

Tagged authenticity, social media