The importance of creating authentic content - and why brands are getting it wrong

How much time do you spend online per day? More than you probably realise, right?

You know it, your boss knows it, and, most importantly, businesses know it.

Companies are spending more and more money creating content that targets people on social media. It’s a very attractive advertising platform, ads can reach the right people, and it’s relatively cost-effective.

But a key piece of information that companies are overlooking is how good audiences are at detecting what is genuine and what has been created to look genuine.

They underestimate how good we are at detecting a digital rat.

In this day and age, people can quickly work out what is genuine content and worth their time watching, and what is not.

The video below is a common example of an ad format that we are all too familiar with: ‘real people’ being overly impressed by a key feature of a product.

How many adverts have you seen and almost immediately discounted as being too fake to apply to you? Whether that be on TV or Social Media, it’s easy to see through.

People want to identify with the content they see.

What companies are only now beginning to understand is that by creating big-budget ads they are distancing themselves from the very people they are trying to attract. Spending large sums of money on an advert often makes viewers less able to relate to it.

Compare the car advert to this:

Which one do you think feels more genuine?

What companies need to do more of.

By diverting budgets away from large productions that consumers can see through, companies can save money producing more engaging, authentic, and compelling content.

Understanding customers’ attitudes to marketing is imperative in 2019. Consumers are savvier than ever, and marketing should reflect that. The time has come for brands to move away from trying to impress their customers with budgets, and prioritise relatability.

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