The illusion of authenticity: how brands are watering down social media

Scroll TikTok or Instagram for five minutes and you will see brand after brand trying very hard to look like they are not trying.

Low-effort content looks effortless. Getting a believable low-effort look usually takes real effort. Think about how much work goes into making a new pair of jeans look worn in.  

Most brands skip the effort and keep the look. The result is a flood of content that feels casual and earns no genuine engagement. So can a brand be genuinely authentic online?

The rise of low-effort content

It is easy to see the appeal: low-effort content is cheap and quick. Brands chasing younger audiences use it to look relatable. Done without a real reason behind it, it looks fake, and people stop trusting you.

For a lot of consumers, there’s something about trying too hard to look casual and carefree that feels a little gross. The numbers back it up: in Sprout Social’s 2025 Index, a third of consumers said brands jumping on viral trends is embarrassing. 

Authenticity: a double-edged sword

Unpolished is not the same as authentic. Consumers rank authenticity and relatability as the two traits they value most in brands, and about half say original content is what makes their favourite brands stand out. For what real looks like now AI is in the mix, read authenticity on social media in 2026. It’s about conveying genuine brand values and fostering real connections. Copy a trend that has nothing to do with your brand and people notice, then stop believing you.

The comment section conundrum

Brand accounts now crowd the comment threads and drown out the customers. Your comments are for your customers: make room for them, and answer them.

There’s something dystopian about scrolling through a comment section filled with brand accounts replying to each other. It’s also crucial to remember that your comment sections are your responsibility. Ignore your own customers in there and it costs you: 73% of consumers say they will buy from a competitor if a brand does not respond on social.

Striking the right balance

For a tourism or hospitality brand, authenticity is the cellar door team answering a question about the vintage in the comments, or the skipper filming the whales that actually turned up, not a ‘candid’ shot from a planned shoot. You need both polish and real conversation. Focus on:

• Consistency: content that matches what you actually stand for.
• Transparency: Being open about products, services, and company practices.
• Engagement: Prioritising meaningful interactions over self-promotion.

The short version 

Looking authentic takes more than a shaky phone and a brand account in the comments. It takes values you actually run the business on, and people who answer customers like people. Real beats staged, every time. Want to see what is landing for WA tourism and hospitality brands each month? Get Coffey Talk.