The importance of being honest; insanely honest
I read an interesting article this morning on the importance of honesty in content and content marketing; the article was referring to a presentation on content marketing given at the Festival of Marketing.
The article makes the point that rather than running from your weaknesses and failings, you should articulate them and in doing so, essentially putting your ‘worst foot forward’.
In fact, we’re not just talking honesty, we’re talking ‘insane honesty’.
My initial thought was that this was probably a step too far. I mean sure, your content should be readable, human, honest and ideally, humorous.
People can relate, they smile, and they keep reading.
Makes perfect sense for anyone writing for a website and a no brainer for increasing website patronage and performance.
But telling people about your weaknesses? Is this going too far?
On second thought, it struck me that talking about your weaknesses was a no brainer. It makes complete sense and has no downside.
Many of us are self-depreciative when talking and communicating with others because it completely disarms those listening to us. It endears them to us by showing that we are human and believable.
In turn it keeps the listener interested, entertained and removes any pretence that might have existed. People like the honesty and reward it.
Of course, this doesn’t mean admitting to arson or simply saying that you suck. Instead, it means acknowledging that you aren’t perfect, but make up for it in other ways.
And I speak from experience; when I talk to new clients, I make the point that projects will have problems as they always do but that we do everything necessary to recover projects by returning calls, being honest and working really hard.
And you guessed it: clients love the honesty.
The article cites six specific benefits from ‘insane honesty’ in your content marketing:
- It surprises and delights; it grabs people’s attention.
- It signals confidence.
- It builds trust.
- It alienates less likely buyers (and in doing so, let’s you concentrate on those customers that are genuinely attracted to you).
- It attracts ideal prospects.
- It focuses you on the battles you can win.
So there you have it. Actively seek out your problems and failings and turn them into a positive.
And improve and boost your website in the process.
