My post last week on manufacturing authenticity seemed to strike quite a chord for many people.  Their responses got me thinking further about what authenticity – and especially authenticity in marketing – actually means.

What struck me most in reading the comments was an almost unanimous agreement that we each know authenticity when we see it, even if we can’t clearly state a definition.

But – do we?

It’s easy, for instance, to say that the hypey, yellow-highlighted, screaming-font online sales page is inauthentic.  Most of us have a pretty strong “ick” reaction to that sort of marketing.  (Of course, those pages are effective in some ways, or no one would use them – but that’s a different conversation.)

When we set that genre of marketing aside, however, the question of authenticity in marketing becomes fuzzier.  And knowing it when we see it becomes very much a question of perspective.

For instance, from the perspective of a customer, I absolutely want you to tell me, and tell me repeatedly, about earlybird price deadlines.  I will be truly annoyed at you if I want to buy something and you fail to remind me that I’m about to miss out on a price break.  I’d almost (almost!) go so far as to say that you almost (almost!) can’t remind me too often.

From the perspective of the person sending those emails out, though, it’s a far different story.  I know that my marketing is firmly rooted in my desire to help my clients.  I know that the work I do – the products and services I provide – produces results for my customers.  I don’t just “think” or “feel” this, I know it, because I see the results and my clients tell me about their excitement, progress, and satisfaction.  All that knowing, plus my own commitment to truth, adds up to authenticity in what I write, whether it’s a reminder email or a sales page.

Nonetheless, I struggle with sending out those reminder emails.  I flinch when I press the “send” button in my list management system, and I cringe when I look to see whether a marketing email has caused people to unsubscribe.

And I wonder if there’s a line that can be crossed even here.  A friend of mine had a strong negative response to a marketing message he felt was manipulative.  The person who wrote the message is also someone I know, so I know he’s someone who deeply believes in his work and in the service he provides. 

From my third-party perspective, I saw the message as authentic – and yet my friend found it annoyingly manipulative because he felt an urge to buy something he didn’t need or want. 

It’s as if becoming too good a marketing copywriter has the potential to degrade your customers’ perception of your authenticity!

In the end, of course there’s no way to reach a clear-cut answer on any of these questions of authenticity.  We’re all different people, with different reactions to different types of messages. 

The best we can do is to be very clear with ourselves:  are we being honest in whatever it is we’re saying and doing – whether we’re marketing something or not?  And are we being conscious about the words we choose and the ways in which we act, so that we remain consistent with our honesty and aware of acting with sensitivity and compassion?

After that, the rest is up to our audience – and our ability to accept their responses for what they are, without taking it personally, but with a willingness to learn.

Hmm.  How’s that for a definition of authenticity?