Authenticity Wanted: The Gentle Revolution of Content Marketing

In 1895, the well-known tractor company John Deere published the first issue of The Furrow, a magazine for American farmers. An editorial blending rural life stories, practical farming tips, and updates on the latest industry technologies. Still distributed today in 12 languages across around 40 countries, from its very beginning it followed a clear mission: to provide valuable content free of advertising.

It was the first example of content marketing, debunking the myth that it is exclusively tied to digital. In fact, its origins predate the World Wide Web by roughly a century, which would only come into being in 1989. A strategy ahead of its time, offering a credible and lasting alternative to traditional advertising.

A Giant with Feet of Clay

Social media have now taken on the role of entertainment once held by television, partially replicating its consumption dynamics. And just as with TV commercial breaks, intrusive promotional content is still perceived by users as a nuisance. According to Hootsuite’s 2024 Social Trends Consumer Survey, 34% of users say that overly aggressive communication negatively affects their perception of brands.

Content marketing therefore emerges as a natural and necessary response: a less invasive alternative based on relevance.

Only One in a Thousand Succeeds

Before being a commercial lever, content marketing is the ability to deliver relevant content aimed at building loyalty and creating value for a selective audience. And this is where, for content creators, the game becomes a challenge: how can you stand out in a sea full of fish? Authenticity thus becomes a crucial lever.

2024 has been the year of raw content: unedited videos, behind-the-scenes footage, spontaneous confessional-style clips. Formats that forgo the advertising gloss to showcase the human side.

Authenticity: the New Currency of Content Marketing

In an era where attention is fragmented and trust is a rare commodity, authenticity has become the most valuable currency. It’s not just about “being yourself,” but about communicating in a consistent, transparent, and human way.

According to Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory, which explores the motivations driving human behavior, people are naturally drawn to what they perceive as authentic, because it fulfills psychological needs for autonomy (freedom of choice), competence, and relatedness. When a brand communicates authentically, it activates these mechanisms: it doesn’t impose or manipulate, but rather creates connection.

This is further supported by the concept of “authenticity cues” studied in behavioral marketing: elements such as visual imperfections, a conversational tone, or personal storytelling increase the perception of sincerity, and thus trust. This is why raw content—shot on a smartphone, unedited, sometimes with mistakes or off-script laughter—works so well: it doesn’t feel designed to sell, but to share.

From Trust to Loyalty

When authentic content builds trust, the natural next step is the creation of a strong community. A concept often used lightly, but with a precise meaning: it’s not about how many followers you have, but how truly engaged they feel. A community exists only when people identify with the project, participate actively, and feel like an integral part of a shared vision. This reflects the literal meaning of “community,” from which the English counterpart does not stray.

Those who achieve this goal don’t just speak to an audience; they establish a dialogue, turning communication into a two-way relationship. In this process, micro and nano influencers are often the most involved players. While they have a smaller audience compared to digital celebrities, the intimacy they create makes them more credible, especially thanks to a communication style that often favors transparency and direct interaction.

Their influence, less “broadcast” and more “dialogic,” facilitates the emergence of an authentic community, where users feel part of an ecosystem of shared values. This is a valuable strategy for brands that want not only to amplify the reach of their messages, but above all to strengthen the sense of belonging, transforming ordinary followers into spontaneous brand ambassadors.

Raw Content: Engagement as a Barometer

But the real jackpot comes when users don’t just follow, but choose to stay. Authenticity is not just a matter of perception—it is today’s gateway to engagement. Evidence from We Are Social’s Digital 2024 report clearly shows a growing preference for content perceived as authentic. Platforms that excel in raw content, such as TikTok, which make immediacy and spontaneity their hallmark, record the highest average usage time ever (over 34 hours per month per Android user), a sign of deep and ongoing engagement.

It is the short, personal, and unpolished formats that drive more frequent interactions, comments, and shares, because they activate a more empathetic relational dynamic. And authentic content, precisely because it is perceived as “real”, is the type that most easily breaks through the barrier of indifference.

In the debate on contemporary communication, framing strategy and authenticity as opposites is a conceptual mistake. Authenticity does not exclude planning; on the contrary, it requires deliberate orchestration to emerge in a credible and consistent way. An effective brand strategy does not create authenticity, but enables it: it defines the contexts, language, and touchpoints in which the creator’s voice can manifest without distortion.

In this sense, strategy is not a cage, but a supporting structure. Ignoring this balance risks misaligned communication: spontaneous but ineffective authenticity on one side, and empty, self-referential strategy on the other.

From Strategic Lever to Ethical Value

Talking about authenticity in content marketing means facing a crossroads: on one side, authenticity as an integrated value, a coherent expression of a brand’s vision, behaviors, and culture; on the other, authenticity as a facade, a construction designed to please rather than truly represent.

Authentic or Performative Content Marketing? Two Case Studies”

A virtuous example is Patagonia, the outdoor technical apparel brand, which has made authenticity a constant and integrated practice within its content strategy. From the Worn Wear platform, encouraging customers to repair garments instead of buying new ones, to documentaries distributed on its YouTube Channel focused on environmental activism, every piece of content is designed to build relationships and awareness.

This is content marketing in its purest sense: valuable content, delivered over time, faithfully reflecting the brand’s identity. When Patagonia says, “Don’t Buy This Jacket,” it’s not an isolated provocation, but the coherent synthesis of an entire narrative ecosystem.

Authenticity and Content Marketing: The Jenner x Pepsi Case

A different case is the Pepsi x Kendall Jenner campaign of 2017, withdrawn shortly after its release. The ad, which went viral unintentionally due to controversy, shows the American model shedding an artificial look in favor of a more casual style. In the final scene, she offers a can of Pepsi to a police officer during a peaceful protest—a clumsy reference to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The attempt to position the brand on social issues through such a simplified and decontextualized gesture resulted in communication perceived as opportunistic and shallow: no coherent narrative, no supporting content, no real engagement with the cause invoked. Just an isolated message, packaged with glossy aesthetics and blunted rhetoric. Essentially, an advertisement masquerading as content, lacking the continuity, relevance, and transparency that define content marketing.

The difference between the two cases is not only stylistic but substantive. In the first, authenticity reflects an internal culture nurtured over time. In the second, it is a narrative construction that collapses at the first encounter with reality. This is where the most complex challenge of contemporary content marketing lies: transforming authenticity from an aesthetic choice into a structural practice.