The Human Imprint and the False Dichotomy

How can you make people feel “validated” and “restored” as a brand? ... organization? ... corporation? How are you supposed to sound personal? Human? These are tough questions that come up when you propose a totally new way of seeing the relationship between brands and people.

Today, the distinction between “brands” and “people” is fading as an increasing number of brands become so adept at communicating online that — for all intents and purposes — they sound like an actual person you want to be friends with. We are rapidly approaching a tipping point where successful, purposeful, restorative brands must communicate with a distinctly human imprint in order to make it in today’s digital environment. Those who don’t cross over to this way of communicating will soon be perceived as abrasive and out-of-touch as a poorly produced car dealer’s commercial.

THE FALSE DICHOTOMY: BRAND V. HUMAN We’ve been lied to.

We’ve been told that there should be a difference between who we are as companies, brands, startups, non-profits, and organizations...

...and who we are online.

When we’re at work, we are professional, fun, easy-going, or stressed, but when we’re posting to social media, we have to be all-business-all- the-time. We have to be dead serious. No gray areas. Nothing we say or do should ever run the risk of being misconstrued as offensive.

...so goes one lie.

Here’s another: At work, we are focused. We are professionals. We work with serious clients on serious matters: finance, law, medicine, etc. But on social media, we’re expected to cut-up, be goofy, and post content that will make people think we’re fun.

Again, it’s a lie.

This way of thinking is a classic example of a false dichotomy. We have been told that we must have either personality A or personality B on social media. We must portray ourselves to be a fun and lighthearted brand or we must be strictly professional. There is no in-between or switching back-and-forth. There’s none of that gray area that’s so core to the human experience. It’s an either-or scenario, we’re told.

The truth is, this way of thinking is flawed; the world has much more gray area than these stereotypes can accommodate. This way of thinking fails to take into account the complexity of who we are as people — to say nothing of the complexities of our human audiences. There is a way forward between this binary line of thought. There is a middle ground that doesn’t merely compromise, but is actually more authentic and realistic then choosing between A and B.

YOU’RE SO COMPLICATED... AND SO IS YOUR COMPANY.

People are complex. Nobody is ever completely serious or a total goofball. We all straddle a line, wavering between two extremes: polite v. rude, kind v. mean, introverted v. extroverted, happy v. sad. Very few people are 100% one and 0% the other. We all fluctuate depending on our mood, situation, stress levels, social life, etc.

Depending on your own personality, you may feel free to express this fluctuation at work, or you might feel the need to bottle it up and wear your game face to the office every day, no matter what’s going on inside. For most of us, though, our mood affects our work to some noticeable degree.

The collective “mood” of a company is a large part of what makes up that company’s culture, along with the company’s vision, values, and beliefs. “Mood” and “company culture” tend to stabilize. They can fluctuate when business is good or when sales are down or when there’s significant leadership turnover. But, for the most part, company culture remains more or less the same. Your organization may be optimistic, innovative, determined, competitive... these are all words that could be used to describe an organization’s core mood or culture. There are likely outliers within your organizations, as well as small, gradual shifts in direction. But, for the most part, a company’s culture should be solid and understood by everyone in it.

Your brand in the digital space should be an expression of this company culture. If we’re being honest with ourselves, that company culture probably includes some polar opposites. Take, for example, these phrases that are often thrown around in company culture documents:

Work too hard, and you might not have time to play. Take too much risk, and you might lose it all. Put too much emphasis on creative thinking, and project management can become a nightmare.

...you get the idea. All company cultures, whether or not they employ these sometimes- paradoxical statements, are a balancing act.

TWO COMMON WAYS FOR A BRAND TO APPEAR DEAD

Okay, we can probably all agree that we’re a little complex as human beings. So, back to the original question: why do we believe this lie that our digital and social presence should have singular personalities? I would argue that many people buy into this myth because they perceive a digital presence as being lifeless. Here’s what I mean by that...

Your website, your social media, your email blasts... these forms of communication can all be packed up neatly. They can be produced in advance, automated, and directed at a highly targeted audience with specific objectives in mind. Many people have difficulty seeing their digital presence as anything more than a means to an end. So, in order to achieve their business goals — whether that’s more sales, product line expansion, or breaking into a new market, they stick to “the persona.” They play a conservative game by defining a singular voice that knows one way of communication.

And the audience doesn’t go for it. It sounds flat. Fake. Inauthentic. Simply... not human.

Why? Because that’s not how people act. Serious people can be funny, upbeat people have a bad day, and so on.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have companies who treat their brand’s digital presence as nothing more than a listicle- regurgitator. This oftentimes happens with companies who know just enough to “know they should be on social media,” but don’t know how to behave or what to share on those social media profiles. A common problem with these brands is that they think they don’t have any original content to share, whether that’s ideas, stories, photos, videos, blogs, etc.

Like the companies who run a tight sales game on social media, these “content regurgitation brands” come off sounding dead and lifeless. Both companies reach the same conclusion by taking opposite routes.

YOUR DIGITAL PRESENCE AS AN EXPRESSION OF YOU

I encourage my clients to see their digital presence as an expression of themselves, whether they’re solopreneurs or large corporations. Find the pulse in your organization — the “company culture” — and play with it online. Explore all of its corners, how it’s expressed in good times and bad, how it relates to peers, customers, and competitors.

Do this, and you’ll find that your brand is suddenly much more “human” and real online than you thought. The notion that your company’s online presence must be all- business or all-personal is a myth. Furthermore, it’s a deception that you don’t have enough original content to post. You do. Go back and look at your blogs, your videos (transcribe them), your newsletters, and your presentations. Start using it and reap the rewards!