{"id":6449,"date":"2018-02-15T13:10:09","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T13:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=6449"},"modified":"2018-02-15T13:10:09","modified_gmt":"2018-02-15T13:10:09","slug":"authenticity-matters-why-real-honesty-and-genuine-opinions-make-for-better-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/authenticity-matters-why-real-honesty-and-genuine-opinions-make-for-better-content\/","title":{"rendered":"Authenticity Matters: Why Real Honesty and Genuine Opinions Make for Better Content"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_post_meta_wrapper\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/tedrubin.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/sticker-mule-199257.jpg?resize=1080%2C675&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Authenticity Matters: Why Real Honesty and Genuine Opinions Make for Better Content\" width=\"1080\" height=\"675\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>You want a recipe for boring, cookie-cutter content? Probably not, but I\u2019m going to give you one anyway. Start out by considering your own opinion, and then forget all about it. Instead, work on producing what you think other people want to see, and saying what they want to hear in the way that you think they want to hear it. Avoid saying anything that could remotely be construed as controversial, mix in some loosely relevant jargon, and put a bow on it with a vague inspirational quote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Or you could just be honest!<\/p>\n<p>Look, I value data, I\u2019m constantly seeking out the opinions of others, and I\u2019m very big on treating the people I encounter with respect and humanity. But none of that stops me from speaking my mind when it\u2019s time to produce content.<\/p>\n<p>The tough thing about trying to please everyone all the time with your content is that it makes it very difficult to speak your mind. You have your own ideas, opinions, and perspectives on what is happening around you. Your experience is valuable, and it\u00a0<em>should\u00a0<\/em>be a major factor in your voice when you\u2019re creating content.<\/p>\n<p>When I see an ad campaign that falls flat or a marketing trend that just flat-out doesn\u2019t work the way it\u2019s being presented, I\u2019m going to call it like I see it. I don\u2019t want anyone to guess how I feel about things, because that defeats the purpose of what my content is all about. Besides, being honest, authentic, and real comes with its share of benefits. Here are some do\u2019s and don\u2019ts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No matter what type of content you produce online, you have competition. Someone else is producing content on the same topics, so you need more than just good information to stand out.<\/li>\n<li>Your audience wants to connect with a real, living, breathing human, and they\u2019ll be much more interested in what you have to say if you\u2019re authentic. Show some personality, crack some jokes if you\u2019re comfortable, and please don\u2019t try to be perfect.<\/li>\n<li>Savvy content consumers can spot your intentions from a mile away, with an eye toward noticing the difference between honest opinion and a paid marketing sales pitch. Let your audience see you as a person with real, honest opinions, rather than a content creator who praises whatever brand wrote them the biggest check.<\/li>\n<li>The real value of content comes very much in the conversation that happens\u00a0<em>after\u00a0<\/em>your content is published, through social channels and comments sections. If you just parrot the talking points from similar content, it\u2019s hard to stoke any real engagement.<\/li>\n<li>Some social influencers play things straight from the Marketing 101 handbook, but the biggest stars are those who are comfortable expressing themselves and their own opinions. It\u2019s a good idea to take your target audience into account when considering how to present content, but you don\u2019t want to change opinions just because you\u2019re speaking to a different audience.<\/li>\n<li>Speaking your mind doesn\u2019t need to mean being rude, inconsiderate, or offensive. Those are all things that I try to avoid! But it does mean that you\u2019ll have the most success creating content, and building \u201cyour\u201d brand, when you are willing to\u00a0<em>be yourself<\/em>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is no perfect way to express your opinion or create content, and that\u2019s really the point. There\u2019s so much room to share your own personality, in your own way, and forge deeper connections with your audience as a result. Be authentic, be real, and just be human. Your audience (and your conscience) will thank you for it.<\/p>\n<p><em>Make this part of your brand DNA\u2026\u00a0<strong>Tell Your Story In a Way People Will Care.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Previously posted at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tedrubin.com\/authenticity-matters-real-honesty-genuine-opinions-make-better-content\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TedRubin.co<\/a>m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You want a recipe for boring, cookie-cutter content? Probably not, but I\u2019m going to give you one anyway. Start out by considering your own opinion, and then forget all about it. Instead, work on producing what you think other people want to see, and saying what they want to hear in the way that you &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/authenticity-matters-why-real-honesty-and-genuine-opinions-make-for-better-content\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1965],"class_list":["post-6449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tedrubin","tag-ronr-noletup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6449"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6450,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6449\/revisions\/6450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}