By Jon Allo
Instead of trying to be who you think people want you to be, it’s important to figure out who you really are first. Dig deep and find your authentic brand voice – the voice that shows your values in a way that is truthful and pleasing to your audience. When you do, people will flock to you in a new way because you will exude honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness.
Your Realness Builds Trust
When you are just who you are, it shows. You will never get caught being different than they thought you were. When you are just real and don’t feel the need to exaggerate, or put on airs, or even slightly hide something about yourself and your business, you’ll build trust faster than you thought possible.
You’re More Likely to Build Amazing Customer Experiences
You’re more likely to take the time to get to know your audience more when you are authentic. You don’t feel the need to hide yourself, so you can come out and engage with them in a real way. This means that you will get great feedback that you can put to good use.
You Can More Easily Inspire Engagement
Your personality is what inspires engagement with your audience. When you can just be yourself, it makes it easier to engage with them because you are just you. You don’t need to know more or be more than who you are. This can take a lot of the fear out of the need to engage, encourage, and persuade an audience toward a specific action. It’s just like sharing with friends, and that’s easy.
You Won’t Have Issues Finding Your Voice
One of the things that everyone is told to do is find their “brand voice”. But what is your brand but an extension of who you are? The best way to find your brand voice is to be who you are completely, and learn ways to tie that into what you are selling with your business. This is going to make it super-easy for you.
Authentic People Are Viewed More Favorably
People can tell when you’re being real or not. They just can. The reason is that if you’re not being authentic, you’ll make mistakes. You’ll slide back to your real personality and who you really are, and they’ll notice the incongruencies.
The Opposite Takes Too Much Energy
Let’s be honest here. Being someone you’re not, even when you’re trying to represent your brand, is too hard. It takes way too much energy. Create a brand that represents your values, not someone else’s.
About the author
Branding is important for small businesses as well as large companies. If you have a limited budget, smart branding is perhaps the most inexpensive business tool you can create. To learn more about how to make your business stand out, download my free checklist, Branding For Small Businesses at https://jonallo.com/branding
