Featured image via Alix Earle | Hot Mess
Having spent so much time on social media, I often wonder what it is about certain creators that pulls me into their content and keeps me captivated for, sometimes, hours on end. What even are the means for a “successful” online persona, and how do people gain such loyal followers?
Perhaps it’s not that they’re trying to keep up with a persona, but rather that they’ve won over their audience by simply being themselves.
Pulling back the curtain
Authenticity in this age of social media is crucial. All types of brands – whether it be an individual, small business, or large company – benefit from interacting with customers in an honest and transparent way. This is especially true with the influx of AI-generated content into our world.
Per Dave Kerpen in his book, Likeable Social Media, “organizations that share highly produced content or that speak in a scripted manner appear inauthentic and breed mistrust. Such situations won’t lead to the coveted likes, shares, and recommendations your company is trying to attain.” In other words, it’s the uniqueness of an individual person or brand that fosters true, trusting relationships with an audience.
Alix Unfiltered
One of my favorite online creators, Alix Earle, is known specifically for how she defines her brand. Her followers love her for her ability to keep it real, or as she puts it, just being authentically herself. Emily Zemler, in her article for SI Swimsuit, explains it like this: “Alix Earle is a brand, but she’s also a regular girl from New Jersey who happens to have millions of TikTok followers.”
Alix, in one of her recent TikTok’s, explaining why she decided to leave her SI Swimsuit digital cover unretouched… iconic.
Of course, she acknowledges that it’s not easy to voluntarily share herself with the world. Everyone is human, and humans make mistakes. However, she recognizes the value in authenticity compared to the disingenuousness of painting a seemingly perfect picture.
Her struggle with acne is something that’s touched home with many of her followers, and this raw content has helped grow her brand exponentially. Her comment sections are filled with users thanking her for her transparency, many of whom experience the same real-life issues that she talks openly about on her platform.
Alix sharing her struggle with acne on her TikTok page.
She hopes that her normalization of everyday, unfiltered content brings an air of positivity to what is often an over-edited and unrealistic version of social media, and that her followers will feel more connected to her because of it. This, she notes, makes her vulnerability worth it.
Just be you
Brands everywhere should take notes from Alix. The success of online creators like her illustrates the power of authenticity in the digital age. In a world increasingly dominated by polished content, embracing one’s genuine self not only stands out, but also greatens the opportunity of true human connectivity.
Works Cited
Kerpen, Dave, et al. Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, & Be Generally Amazing on All Social Networks That Matter, Third Edition. New York, N.Y., Mcgraw-Hill Education, 2019.
Zemler, Emily. “Alix Earle Unfiltered.” Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, 3 June 2024, swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/alix-earle-unfiltered. Accessed 16 June 2024.
Hana Lataille 
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