Marketing Is Supposed To Be ‘Authentic,’ But What Does That Actually Look Like?

Many solo entrepreneurs have heard that they should embrace “authentic” marketing—where they communicate the value of what they’re selling in their natural voice, not a canned marketing campaign. But how do you bring that idea to life in a small business that doesn’t have the budget for an outside marketing agency?

For insight, I spoke recently with Stacey Brass-Russell, host of the podcast Passionate & Prosperous and a business coach in New York City. She works with many of her clients on creating authentic, relationship-driven marketing—a “non-salesy” approach built on finding a genuine connection with their clients while delivering a product or service that gets them what they are looking for.

Consumers increasingly prefer more authentic marketing approaches to the heavily polished campaigns of the past. The 2023 Sprout Social Index, a survey of the priorities of consumers and marketers for social media, found that the most memorable brands on social media make their mark by simply responding directly to consumers (51%), prioritizing original content over following trending topics (38%) and engaging directly with customers versus publishing a lot of content (37%).

“It may be a post pandemic thing, and it also may be a response to AI, but what we're seeing is that people are taking longer to purchase and they're being much more mindful and careful about who they're investing with,” Brass-Russell says. “There's a craving for a more personalized, human- centric approach.”

That’s been true for Matt Meyer, owner of What’s Out There, a Union, N.J.-based business that provides schools with a supplemental educational program on astronomy. He finds that simply sharing his lifelong love for astronomy and the programs he designs on the solar system, and other subjects, frequently helps him win new business. “As I talk, they feel I’m passionate about the product and am not going to ‘mail it in,’” he says. “They know I’m going to do a good job and do something special for those students—and spark an interest in astronomy and space.”

Brass-Russell, for her part, learned the ropes of authentic communication during more than two decades as a Broadway actor. She appeared as one of the orphans in the original production of Annie and studied theater arts and drama at New York University. She then became a small business owner in 2010 after years of supporting herself in days jobs as a yoga teacher, partnering in a yoga studio from 2010 to 2017.

Brass-Russell became a coach seven years ago to help students take action to create the businesses and lives they wanted. She had noticed at the yoga school that many students would envision making changes in yoga class but never act on their ideas. Initially, her practice attracted other yoga teachers and wellness professionals, but soon other types of business owners were reaching out and taking the masterclasses and other programs she offered.

Brass-Russell prioritizes taking practical steps, such as creating an email list or designing a signature course or workshop. The foundation of her approach is using the right messaging to express an owner’s niche specialty, so it resonates with their ideal clients. It’s about “knowing what clients need and then telling them how you can really help them,” she says.

Here are some tips from our conversation.

Know whom you’re for. “Your niche starts with who you are, your expertise and what you have to offer, and the specific gifts, skills and tools that you bring to the work that you,” says Brass-Russell. “Then it's about who's going to want what you have to offer in the way that you offer it.”

Leaning into your identity will attract clients who naturally gravitate to your approach. “Not everyone is going to resonate or click with you and your unique, individual style and you're not for everyone and that's okay,” says Brass-Russell. “As a matter of fact, if you try to be for everyone, you'll end up being for no one, so this is truly about knowing what sets you apart from all of the other people who do the same thing as you and being willing to really go in on that.”

Think of your clients as real people—not transactions, dollar signs or avatars. Envision their lives, emotions, desires—and struggles, challenges or problems that need solving. “This will completely change your marketing and messaging strategies,” says Brass-Russell.

Overcome fear of visibility. This is one of the biggest obstacles Brass-Russell works with clients to tackle. “The ones who try to have a business and are not willing to do whatever they have to do to be visible and talk about they do are the ones that struggle the most,” she says. “Everyone is out there selling something. If you’re not confident enough to walk into the room and talk about what you are, you fall behind.” Fortunately, in a world where it’s easy to showcase your business online, there are many ways to raise your visibility, like maintaining a robust social media presence, even if you’re an introvert.

Show up from a place of service. This is difficult but it will help your mindset as a business owner or service provider, says Brass-Russell. “It gives you the freedom to be unattached to the outcome and allows you to show up for another person with the sole purpose of helping them to make the best decision for themselves.”

One first step is to offer value the form of free content, as well as conversations, “where your number one priority is helping another person to make an empowered decision for themselves about whether or not to invest in your service,” says Brass-Russell.

Let them know the “why?” behind what you do. “Share your story, your values, your opinions and your mission in all of your messaging and your marketing,” advises Brass-Russell. “People make investments with people that they feel connected to. They're looking for real. They actually don't want or need anything perfect or generic. People want to know the ‘Why?’ behind what you do because it shows them that you not only care about something but that you might even care about them and helping them to get their results.”

Don’t hide behind handouts and FAQs. Authentic marketing is about making time for phone or Zoom calls if people are interested in your services instead of, say, referring them to a page on your website. “Even if you're not sure if they're going to work with you, people value and are craving genuine, authentic connection,” says Brass-Russell. “Feeling seen and heard by a potential service provider goes a long way when it comes to people deciding where they're going to put their money.”

Use transformation vs. information as a marketing strategy. Rather than sell the logistics of your offer—like the number of sessions you’ll provide or the videos you’ll include—focus on the “how” they will be transformed to make the change they are seeking. “People don't want more information, but they want the transformation,” says Brass-Russell.

Mapping a “signature transformation system” – a loose framework that makes it clear how transformation will take place – can help you. “It's really how we, as the expert, create that outline of how we help our ideal clients get from where they are to where they’re going to be,” she says. Especially if you’re selling a high-ticket item, customers have to believe you have a process—"and it’s one they will be able to do,” she says.

Tackle one goal at a time. One challenge in a service business is retaining clients. “Successful coaches engage on one aspect of the person's business or life, and then they move on to another one,” she says. “They’ve completed that mission and they build upon that platform to go to the next level.”

This approach can help you keep marketing costs in check. “If your business is built on having to acquire new clients and there's no part of your business where you make it possible for people to stay with you or to continue on, that's going to be a tough business model because the only way to scale is going to be either getting more and more and more clients or to keep raising your investment,” she says.

Create opportunities and experiences for people to connect with you, in community. Organize your own opportunities for people to get in front of you and join a live Zoom call or a real room with you—or even figuring out how to get in front of other people's audiences.

“People are very wary now of online pre-recorded webinars,” says Brass-Russell. “They know that these are bait-and-switch sales pitches that don't really offer value, and they're sitting at home, watching those things alone with no human interaction.

Practice collaboration over competition. Network with other business owners and entrepreneurs who share similar or common audiences with you, so that you can collaborate with them and leverage their audiences, and vice versa, says Brass-Russell. “This is actually the ultimate growth strategy if you don’t want to invest tens of thousands of dollars in paying for that access,” she says. That might mean doing Instagram Lives together or even creating events or being on their podcasts.

The key is to find ways to connect with the individuals who are buying from you. “It really involves connecting with another person and helping to draw out of them what they want,” she says. Then, if you’re the right person to deliver that, it’ll be much easier to convey that you know how to help them. “They have to believe in themselves, as well as you as the expert,” she says.