Overly-posed, excessively filtered social media posts are quickly losing their appeal. While many influencers have built their personal brands around flawless snapshots of Sunday brunches and perfect holidays away, this vanity driven style is no longer getting the reactions like it used to. To make things worse, scammers have been notoriously showing off their fake wealth on Instagram to promote their get-rich-quick courses - it isn't that easy. In response to all of this, younger people and teenagers now value authenticity, purpose, and honest depictions of real people from diverse backgrounds.
Today’s consumers respond very positively to transparent, down-to-earth marketing and communication and brands need to recognise this in 2020! “Influencers have also been actively speaking out themselves about burnout, mental health and the stress that comes with maintaining perfection.” – The Atlantic
How about the Huji Cam app for example, it makes your photos look like they were taken on an old-school disposable camera. Why would people want to make their pictures look like they are worse quality? Especially in and age where we have photographers like Jason Mitchell, Chris Cottrell and Hector Cavazos to name a few!
We can break this trend into four main categories: genuineness, humanisation, diversity, and purpose. An idealised life just isn’t relatable (it looks pretty, don't get me wrong), and brands that ignore this fact will fall out of touch with their audience very quickly.
The solution to this problem? It’s time to get real. Humanise your brand by adding humour in your posts, featuring inspirational employees, or sneak peaks about what goes on behind the scenes in your business.
Brands should strive to gain a better understanding of their followers, ultimately using genuine marketing that will resonate with their customers on a more personal level!