Tips For Building Online Authenticity For Your Business

Jan 3, 2019 | Business Tips

Kevin Fouche

Tips For Building Online Authenticity For Your Business

Posted by Kevin Fouche, Pixel Fish Director

Kevin handles the planning, design, launch and training of every website that Pixel Fish creates. He ensures that every website is highly engaging and aligned with our client’s goals. With over 20 years of design and web industry experience to draw upon, Kevin aims to pass on his knowledge to our clients and like-minded businesses wanting to grow their online presence.

To ensure your business has an authentic online presence, you can follow a few of our simple Tips To Building Online Authenticity For Your Business.

Authenticity and consumer trust are not built overnight. However, there are many simple and practical ways to grow your authenticity effectively, starting today.

1. Get real

The best way to be seen as authentic is to simply be authentic. In business, a great way to convincingly demonstrate your authenticity is by going back to basics. Take some time to review your mission statement and look at your business goals.  Next, look at your personal beliefs and core values and ask yourself: does this business have a purpose beyond profit? Even if you think at first the answer is ‘no’, keeping your core values, beliefs and your business’s mission statement in mind, is there a way for your business to help others, or to help the local community, that springs to mind? Do your business practices help the environment? The answer may be already at your fingertips. This leads us to our next point…

2. Be a champion:

Does your business champion a cause? Are you associated with any charities? People who work hard for charitable causes gain people’s respect with ease. In an effort to convince consumers, innovative businesses are attempting to infuse their brands with personality and become more like people in their online interactions.

Businesses are forging deeper connections with their online audience by demonstrating they have a ‘social purpose’. Social purpose has been identified (2012 Goodpurpose study) as a purchase driver in situations where quality and price are equal. So why not champion a cause to show your business’ charitable nature?

  3. Consistently be consistent

Your business should offer the same experience to customers offline and online. Mixed messages breed mistrust.

Ensure your voice in your social media posts remains consistent with your voice on your website (and stays constant across all media platforms).

The key to authenticity is maintaining your business’s core identity across all platforms.

  4. Put your money where your mouth is

In short, back up what you say by delivering on your promises.

Today’s intelligent consumers can see through puff and banter to any lack of substance underneath. Avoid embarrassment, poor reviews and dissatisfied customers by never posting misleading information and never making promises you can’t deliver on!

   5. Be responsive

It is imperative to make getting in touch with you as easy as possible. It makes a huge difference when a customer knows you (yes, an actual REAL person) are there to respond quickly, politely and effectively if and when there may be an issue.

People are fed up with being directed to a site’s FAQs when they land on the company’s contact page. Companies win no love when they make contacting them as difficult as possible, yet so many of them do exactly that. Naturally, most people prefer to deal with a person and not a machine or auto-responder.

Smart small businesses are taking consumer spending away from larger corporations by simply ensuring their customer service team is there to lend a helping hand when needed. As many of the larger companies avoid personal consumer contact, smaller businesses are seizing the occasion to establish their reputation in customer care.

Your customer service dealings provide you with an opportunity to inject sincerity and a personal element into each communication; both will go a long way to building your solid reputation as an authentic business.

6. Respect Privacy

People trust you to guard their private information, and it is essential that you respect this trust and never on-sell or share customer data.

Remember, it shows integrity when you respect customer privacy and honour the trust they have placed in you.

7. True reflection

A great way to build authenticity is through social media but beware: your images must be authentic. The imagery you use in your social media posts (and on your website) should reflect the core of who you are, what you do and whom you serve.

You should actively engage with your online audience. Take the opportunity to show your business’ personality through blogs, videos, posts, product and/or service updates and even staff bios!

Remember, only share things of value and take time to tailor your content across the different social media platforms. After all, social media is a fantastic way to position your business as an authority, using your experience and expertise to answer questions from your audience.

8 Accountability

If your business makes a mistake, own it. A humble apology can diffuse the harshest of critics and aid the repair your public reputation.

Being honest and accountable is the only way to handle a regrettable situation – without making it all the worse!

9 Content filter (yes, you need one!)

Share your company’s mission and your passions enthusiastically! But remember, you don’t have to over-share to prove you are real.

Feel free to share advice or inside information where appropriate, but never feel obliged to share more than you are comfortable with, especially regarding how your business operates behind the scenes.

Building authenticity does not rest on how much you are willing to divulge. Poorly thought-out content will work against you, as will posting content of no value. Remember that real authenticity isn’t manufactured and won’t happen overnight so patience will be required.

The trend toward authentic business practice is not going away anytime soon. Contact us for a chat for advice on ensuring your website shines as an accurate portrayal of your business.

Let Sydney’s leading Web Design Agency take your business to the next level with a Pixel Fish Small Business Website.

Check out some of our latest Website Design projects and Testimonials.

Further Information
7 Top Reasons to Choose Elementor for Your Next Website
How to Scale Your WooCommerce Website as Your Business Grows
How To Write The Perfect About Us Page for your business website
Top 10 Ways to Use Promo Codes for your Ecommerce website
Understanding Website Image File Formats: Which should you use?
Top 5 Strategies on How to Price Ecommerce Products
Elementor Website Design
Why Displaying Social Media Reviews On Your Website Is Great For Business

Stand out from your competition with a Pixel Fish website!

Contact us today on 02 9114 9813 or email info@pixelfish.com.au

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Kevin Fouché, Pixel Fish Director