Authenticity and
how to fake it

Fake it before you make it

Fake news works, right? It depends on how you gauge success. It works if you're talking about influence. If you're talking about trust in sources of information, fake news fails. It's been disastrous on a public safety front. It has undermined the Fourth Estate. It has undermined trust in government and business. Fake and inauthentic content has driven consumer mistrust in almost everything. Fake and even spin is dangerous to reputations, business models, and society. 

Authenticity (please)

The public has spoken with a clarion voice; no more spin, no more lies. Some in the Public Relations sector may see this as a threat to their business models, whereas they need to embrace this change with the same enthusiasm that the automotive industry has embraced EVs.

This rise in the demand for authenticity in Public Relations represents the Rubicon for both media and PR professionals.

Let's look at the current situation with the media. They increasingly depend on sources outside their diminished tea of journalists to create authentic and accurate content for their readers and viewers.

From the perspective of PR professionals, this represents an opportunity to play a more fundamental role in the storytelling of the organisations they represent in ways that have more integrity and value than traditional marketing approaches.

Why media exposure is better for reputations and awareness

The pitch from marketing departments and advertisers is that they provide greater accountability and predictability than expenditure on Public Relations. The reality is that paid media delivers diminishing reserves and needs more scalable PR performance.

A great article in a popular news source can be amplified across other news sources. Even post the Fake News backlash, journalists are still widely considered by the public as one of the most trusted sources of information. 

The reality is that Public Relations offers opportunities to build and amplify authentic content in ways that paid advertising can only partially replicate. 

Mistakes can be good for the reputation

Research indicates that brands that confess to making mistakes are trusted more highly than those that don't. 'Yes', systemic errors created with more nefarious aims are less likely to be forgiven (nor should they be); however, owning your mistakes and demonstrating how you have taken action to ensure they are never repeated is an excellent way to build social licence. This is true for all sectors.

2023 will be the year to move forward. The year to transform our impacts on the planet and each other. It's the year for PR professionals to transform their storytelling to deliver what the public wants and demands: authenticity.