PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
Laney Goff: Welcome back to Untamed Social, the podcast where we get real about what actually works in social media. Today's episode we're talking about, in my opinion, one of the most overused, but most misunderstood words in marketing, which is authenticity. And I know we've actually done a few episodes in past seasons about authenticity, but I think we're gonna dig a little deeper today and talk more about like how brands can actually improve on it and why it's so important.
Everyone says that you need it, um, and it's difficult to go in between or crossing between oversharing and looking unprofessional. So I've got the perfect guest for today. We have Tiecen Payne here. She is actually a marketing strategist here at Strella Social Media. You've probably seen her on past episodes.
She's got over 20 years of experience helping brands cut through the noise and connect with our audience in a way that actually works. And in my opinion, Tiecen kind of brings this really rare combo of creative insight mixed with technical know-how, and really just bold strategy. So Tiecen, thanks so much for being on today.
Tiecen Payne: Anytime, of course.
Laney Goff: Super excited. So just to like, give a preface of what we're gonna talk about today, we're gonna really break down hopefully what authenticity actually means. Um, and we're gonna talk about some simple ways to start showing up more genuinely online and how to make it part of your strategy so that it actually drives results.
Because the truth of the matter is none of it matters if it's not actually making conversions. Um, so I feel like the best way to start is Tiecen, in your opinion, when you hear the word authenticity in marketing in general, what does that really mean to you and what do you think most brands kind of get wrong about it?
Tiecen Payne: So when I hear authenticity, I don't think of like stock photos. I don't think of captions that were written, you know, solely in AI. Um, I think, uh, I think in a lot of ways authenticity is actually synonymous with consistency. Um, and it's especially for a corporate setting, it's less about being like raw and more about being aligned with your voice.
So first you have to understand what your voice is, um, and, and then getting aligned with that. So it's, it's not just what you say, it's also when you say it, how you say it. How you act after you've said that. Um, and especially where social media is concerned, like we have to remember social media is social.
So this is a platform where we're trying to, it's not a press release, right? We're trying to show the brand's personality. We're trying to show what they're made of. And authenticity, I think, in a corporate sense means showing that, but staying intentional, so.
Laney Goff: Yeah. I like how you said that too, about it not being a press release, because I think a lot of times, especially more corporate brands get really, really stuck in this whole press release mentality of like where you're just giving information and it needs to sound super professional and it lacks, it lacks, in my opinion, kind of like what you were talking about, where social media needs to be social.
In my mind, authenticity is about, okay well, number one, it's about relatability, uh, especially to your target audience, whoever that may be. Um, and really showing up and driving conversation with that target audience. That's where the social aspect comes in. If you're just coming in and posting things that aren't driving any sort of conversation or relatability to your audience, then just do a public press release.
Like what else is there to do? Right?
Tiecen Payne: Right.
Laney Goff: I like that.
Tiecen Payne: I think if you, if you could swap out your social feed for your competitors and no one would know the difference, like your audience wouldn't know. Then, then you have a problem.
Laney Goff: Yeah, I agree. I agree. And another thing too that I think is a misconception that a lot of brands have is that with authenticity, it means vulnerability, right? Like you just spill all the tea, you don't hold back and, and you just give it all. How do you feel like brands should really decide what's worth sharing and what should be locked away in the closet?
Tiecen Payne: So this is a mistake that I see brands make often and, and when they come to us and we're having to help 'em refine their voice, sometimes this is the mistake that they've made, which is assuming that authenticity is the same as as being casual. Um, and for some brands that works being very casual, but for a lot it doesn't.
And I think sometimes brands feel pressured to be casual in the name of authenticity, which is not the same thing. Um, like. If, if that's your only focus, you're gonna come across as as sloppy and off-brand. And so I think, um, you can avoid that oversimplification by making sure that strategy is still driving your content, even though you are saying real things and being authentic.
So ask yourself questions like, um, is this helping me meet my business goals? Is this information. Um, even if it's something funny, is this what my audience cares about and wants to hear from me? Um, because, because you don't wanna just throw spaghetti at the wall, you know, and hope something sticks and get too casual.
So I think it's, uh, I think it's about openness, but it's about purposeful openness and having, um, a reason for what you're saying and a strategy behind it still.
Laney Goff: Yeah, and I think when, when you say that, it makes me think, you know, like where I got my start really was on Instagram and I was helping online teachers, um, get bookings for their classes and showing them how to market on Instagram to, to get more bookings. And at the time, I, I, previously, I was an online teacher, so obviously, you know, I've got that in common with my target audience.
It'd be important to know that information to do that. So I remember at the time I actually was going through a separation with my ex-husband and I at one point, and maybe this like can help people put into perspective like where you draw the line and sometimes it's really murky in my opinion, because I was at home teaching online classes.
And then I transitioned to helping other teachers market on Instagram, and I found myself in a position where I was like really struggling personally, and so I decided, you know what? I'm just gonna be open and honest instead of like hiding behind all of the struggles that I'm going through personally.
There's probably some people in my target audience who can relate where they're single moms or they're struggling in their own marriage. And so I just shared and said, look, listen, I'm going through a separation. I'm moving. Um, this is really tough for me, whatever. And the funny thing about it is that skyrocketed, my business actually doubled in income after that. Um, but what people don't tell you is that that then becomes what you're known for. I found that after I shared that information, it was like, okay, Laney's the online teacher who's like going through a divorce and, and then it became people constantly DMing me saying, I'm so sorry you're going through this, blah, blah, blah.
And I'm over there like, I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Like, stop DMing me.
Tiecen Payne: Right. No, I get that. I think, I think sort of the balance, there's a balance, right? Like you were saying, like you can cross this, this line, um. And obviously being authentic paid off for your personal brand, but it sort of weighed you down. But I think, I think maybe the, the caveat there is remembering to tie back into your brand, right?
So you still could have said like, I'm having a rough go guys. Um, without as many details and tie it back into your brand, be like, uh, you know, single momming is hard. Um, but I really appreciate my clients and, and their willingness to work with me and gimme some slack and kind of tie me back in and then, and then it can help stay grounded.
Laney Goff: Because that's definitely, I feel like a mistake that I myself made. And then I've seen other brands do that. You know, recently, like there's been this whole Water Boy scandal on TikTok and I feel like, you know, the CEO came on and he was very vulnerable and said everything, I mean, he didn't leave out a detail.
And I'm thinking to myself like, you know, there are some things you can hold back on, like I know from experience. So that also comes into play. You know, I, I think there's, I, I don't even know if it's a misconception, but there, there is this kind of dilemma of understanding what type of brand you have, whether it is more of a, a professional brand that needs to have that corporate undertone to it or not.
Do you feel like any brand can really be themselves online, or are there times when like tone and personality. Don't translate as well on social.
Tiecen Payne: So I feel like every brand can be themselves online and every brand should be themselves online. But I think part of that is understanding what themselves is. And so I think that that's where having a professional team comes in, right? And working with a marketing team, um, to understand what your voice is and how you wanna present that. And again, I really feel like in that way, authenticity, um, is really synonymous with consistency, deciding who you are and then holding to that. Uh, and, and in that context, yes, every brand should be themselves online. Does that mean that every brand is a fraternity house at the university? No. Um. Some brands are a lot cleaner.
All brands, most brands are a lot cleaner than that, right? So decide what it is that you are and then, and then be that, be true to that. Um, and I think it takes sometimes some experience to know how to do that. So.
Laney Goff: Yeah. I think it can really, it can easily get lost in translation when you see all of these other brands who are showing up maybe a little more whimsical. I don't really know how to describe, you know, like they're just more free flowing and, and they, they lack that kind of corporate side to them. Like Duolingo is a great example.
So they're showing up and they're really hitting hard for Gen Z, Gen Alpha. Um, so I think that target audience also plays a big role in that too, in knowing your audience. Um, so consistency not only with your own brand messaging, but consistency in who are you speaking to?
Tiecen Payne: Yeah, it's true. And just some clarity, right? Like I know this is gonna sound alliterative as I said it in my head, but like, if you're too casual without clarity, you just end up chaotic and there's enough chaos on the internet right there we don't need anymore. So if you can streamline your content and understand who you are and put that out there, and maybe you are Duolingo.
And it's a party over there, and I love that for them. But maybe you're not. That's okay too. You just need to understand who you are. So.
Laney Goff: Yeah, definitely. I think so too. And it, it makes me think of also like Nutter Butter. Um, they're...
Tiecen Payne: They're so fun.
Laney Goff: Their marketing strategy went left real quick. I, I don't know. I mean, it worked right? Like the, the name got out there. But then, so then that's another question is like, okay, so how do you balance that? If I feel like,
being in marketing, I hear a lot of different things, right? So I hear, you know, I just read a book recently, um, from Mark Schafer, uh, talking about how to create awe-inspiring content, right? Like how do you actually drive emotion from them? And it's about thinking outside of the box and doing things really creatively.
But then if you are more of a corporate brand, then it's very easy to be stuck in that. And it have sort of like a boring feel to it. What do you think, like if that's authentically who your brand is, like maybe a little less exciting, do you stick to that or do you try to step outside of the box?
Tiecen Payne: You know what? I think that's where real creativity and where real artistry, um, and marketing comes in, is that you can put creativity and you can put fun and humor really into any sector. Um, just you have to be authentic about it. So I would suggest when you're seeking balance, there's a couple questions you can ask yourself.
So the first is, does the content that I'm thinking of putting out, does it serve my audience? So does it in some way, um, speak to the people that I wanna speak to? Um, so if I'm being funny, am I being funny to them? Not to my teenagers who think I'm hilarious, by the way.
Laney Goff: Right.
Tiecen Payne: Am I being funny to my, you know, professional grade audience.
Um, the second question is, does it serve my business goal so we're not just, um, marketing for the hell of it, right? We're trying to market in a way that, that meets a goal and that pushes us in a direction. Um, and, and your messaging becomes consistent right across social media, across email, across your website, and you get this voice going.
And so you need to ask, is what I'm about to put on social media? Does it serve my business goal? And does it serve my audience? And if it's doing those two things, then you're pretty on track. Go ahead and take a risk. Go ahead and try something. Go ahead and be funny and creative within that context. If, if you're able to to meet those two criteria, go ahead and try it.
The worst that can happen is you have a bad day on social media. Uh, but if you stay, if you stay in that context, that's the worst that can happen. You don't have to, you're not, probably not gonna blow stuff up if you stay in that context. So.
Laney Goff: Yeah. And that actually falls like right in line too. I did an episode a few weeks ago with Alex MH Smith, and he's really big into business strategy. Um, but we of course, you know, talked a lot about marketing strategy with that. And it was, it was mainly about, you know, like how do you stay relevant with your marketing?
And he made a very good point, which is exactly what you just said that, there's a difference between business strategy and marketing strategy. If your business strategy is solid, that's, that's timeless. That's never changing. Your marketing strategy absolutely can flow and be relevant and do all the things as long as it matches all of the goals that you have with your business strategy.
Um, so I think that's a, a, a nice distinction to have between the two because sometimes, especially, you know, senior level. They, they don't consider that and they're just like, you're the marketing person. Figure it out. And it's like.
Tiecen Payne: Yeah.
Laney Goff: You know, like, let's connect the dots. Let's all work together here.
Tiecen Payne: Yeah. You gotta evolve, you gotta take some risks. I kind of think of social media as like your first date. Right? Um, I have third dates with clients when we're really strategizing about their business, but your social media is really like not the place to talk about, like your weird aunt's political
Laney Goff: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Tiecen Payne: Like you're just, you're just getting to know your people.
Laney Goff: Yeah, you're putting yourself in a very bad position if you're planning to go that route. Def. Yeah. So, okay.
Tiecen Payne: Like we're not gonna make out on the first date. Don't get so intimate like it's just social media. You wanna kind of, um, keep it light, keep it interesting. That's what's gonna serve your audience on social media, so.
Laney Goff: Definitely, definitely. Okay. So thinking of that then, like there's a lot of different ways to look at content, right? Like the messaging in itself, but then you also have things like the graphics, the visuals, videos. I think it's, you know, the, the days of stock imagery, like you mentioned earlier, like they're, they're gone, they're, they're not there anymore.
Um, I mean, but now you have this new age coming in with AI imagery, I mean. The, it, it's actually mind blowing to think of like the things that we're consuming on, um, social media right now that half the time we don't even know if it's AI or not. How can, in your opinion, brands make sure that they're visuals in regards to the content, feel authentic, that they're not staged, they're not corporate, they're not using those stock photos and imageries, but also not doing the new wave necessarily of AI.
Tiecen Payne: Yeah, I think, um, that's a really good question and we did a whole episode about AI and making AI come across as authentic. I would encourage people who are interested in what we're saying right now to listen to that episode, but, um. A lot of, well, if you're gonna use AI for imagery, a lot of it is about training your AI to understand your brand voice.
Um, and I won't go into that in this episode. Go listen to the other one. Training your AI is really important. Um, but there's also something to be said to just like, I think we can do away with creativity when we lean too hard on AI. So there's something to be said to just, making your own content, like go for it and get creative about it.
There's a few things that can be a really small shift from what you're doing now. To what to what will make it feel more authentic? One is, um, using like real environments or natural lighting, um, letting imperfections creep in a little bit.
That, that, um, like subconscious conveyance to your audience, that this is not AI is actually really helpful, um, in social media.
Um, so having everything be too staged, uh, like think of like, uh, I have an example that I just thought up. So think of like a home decor brand, right? Like if you look at like Walmart's candle section, like every picture looks the same. It's all a candle with a different color and a different description of the fragrance on the side.
And then think of like West Elm, which is like real textures, real rooms, shaking out a comforter in the sunshine. Um, a a, a real person moving through a space and that, that invitation into the world of the brand, it really pulls that authenticity out. So if you're gonna make a small change, I would say do something real.
Our most popular post at Strella are always the personal brand of the people who are involved with the company. Always. It never fails. So, um, that's one risk you can take too, is go ahead and let the world see, um, the inside of your brand a little bit. Um, limiting props, that smells really, you know, uh, corporate.
Retakes for perfection. Just try and be social about it.
Laney Goff: Yes. I, that's so funny. I just, before we came in here, I was actually looking at, um, our Facebook and, and Jess is gonna kill me, but every week we have this creative meeting, and the last one that we were in, I just like snapped a picture when nobody was like prepared. I didn't tell anybody. I just snapped a picture and I posted it on, uh, our socials.
And I know Jess, poor Jess, she's smiling, her eyes are closed. And I know she's like, Laney, why did you do that? But the truth of the matter is, is that if I would've said, Hey guys. Everybody stop, smile at your, your webcam real quick and let's snap a picture. It wouldn't have had the same effect, whereas like when I just snapped it and didn't give anybody any heads up, we're all laughing.
And it gives like the true sense of what those meetings are like and, and what our company culture is. Um, so as even though like most of the time, like you said, that perfection, you want it there, it's actually better to just like really let it be in the moment and show what the truth is about your environment, the company culture, all of that. So.
Tiecen Payne: Yeah. If you have a catalog, if you have a brochure, maybe for your website, you can chase down that perfection. But for your social media, just let it go. Just relax a little bit.
Laney Goff: Just a little bit.
Tiecen Payne: Please don't take your pants off, but just relax a little bit. You know, like just.
Laney Goff: Oh my goodness. That would be, that would be a choice. It would definitely be a choice.
Tiecen Payne: But if we're being honest, like, well, real quick, like at our company, um, we feature you a lot 'cause you have a really strong personal brand, sometimes like the video preview that we've made of you is like your mouth's a little open or something, and we don't fix it. And the, and who on our team has the strongest personal brand?
And that's you because you take those risks and you, um, lean back into that authenticity. And obviously like you're a case study in yourself, right? You're on a really good team. Um, but your personal brand is much stronger because you do that.
Laney Goff: Yeah. Well, and that's something that I had to learn like that, that that's been years in the making, you know, where I am grateful for it, because now I don't even look at the stuff that like is posted where if I'm making a TikTok video for Strella. Uh, I'm not retaking a hundred times, whereas like when I started out, I was retaking a billion times.
Like, oh, I look awful on that. And now I'm just like, I don't really care. Let it go and let me just get the message out and that's all that matters. And so I do think authenticity is part of that too. We're just like, it doesn't mean necessarily showing flaws, whereas like when you're looking at it from your own perception, it probably does come off as like, all I'm seeing are all of my flaws.
I stumbled here, I did this. And the truth of the matter is, is like we're just human. Everybody, you know, stutters like I just did, you know? I mean, it's just the truth of the matter. And that comes with time. I feel like.
Tiecen Payne: Well, I think some people listening might be thinking like, well, what's the point of showing that human side? And I'll just drop the reminder that the point is that that instills trust.
Laney Goff: Yeah.
Tiecen Payne: So people can trust you. If they can trust you, they can trust your brand. And trust is what is what facilitates sales.
And that's just the simple math of it. So.
Laney Goff: Definitely. Okay, so last question then that I, I'd like for us to like give the audience like one small win, one takeaway. If they're for any brand that feels like they have, have been kind of stuck in this two corporate, two polished mindset on social media, can you give any advice? What's one step that they can take this week to start showing more of their real side?
Tiecen Payne: Yeah, I think, um, we kind of touched on it, but I think one small thing you can do is post something real. So go ahead and try it out. Like, uh, put our rubber to the road and see if that, if that works for you. So just strip back, use a real photo, use a conversational tone in a caption, put it in a story so it disappears if you hate it.
Um, and just give it a try. The worst that can happen is you hate it and it disappears in 24 hours. The best that can happen is you find out that your audience actually likes you, which is really encouraging.
Laney Goff: I like that you mentioned stories too, because that's exactly how I got to be most comfortable. And whenever I give advice for people who aren't comfortable on camera, I always say Instagram stories post multiple stories a day. Don't edit anything, just show up, be yourself. And the more that you do that because you know it's going away, then the more that you do that, the more comfortable you become with it.
And I think that's great advice. So I'm glad that you said that.
Tiecen Payne: Sure.
Laney Goff: Great job. Okay, so that's it for today's episode. Big thanks to Tiecen for cutting through the fluff with me and showing us exactly what authenticity on social, on social media, there's the, there it is, actually looks like, um, if there's one takeaway from this conversation, like she said, it's just that being real isn't about telling your audience everything, uh, but it is about showing up in a way that builds trust and keeps people coming back for more.
So if you found this episode helpful, be sure to hit subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with a friend whose brand could use a little less polish and a little more personality. Thanks so much, Tiecen.
Tiecen Payne: No problem. Thanks for having me.
Laney Goff: We'll see you in the next one. Bye.
Tiecen Payne: Bye.
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