I think it's possible to be both. It's possible to recognize that your authentic voice is a valuable marketing asset, and thus be intentionally authentic while also intentionally marketing.
This is ultimately the advice of a ton of content marketing/blog/thought leader type people, including HN's patio11
Also, that's an interesting view, and made me contemplate something - I wonder if it a view worth prescribing to.
Consider that it's a good idea to use your authentic voice only if that voice sounds virtuous/good - I mean it's better for them not to say anything, or deceive, rather then say that "We got a great marketing guy who knows how to manipulate social media and gets us lots of press by intentionally writing tweets that'll go viral but that don't really have anything to do with us".
If that is the case, then there are two insights:
1 - it's rather the other way around - make sure the authentic you is something that people would like to hear rather then "use your authentic voice".
I.E. if you don't have anything to hide, you don't need to deceive anyone.(or try and portray yourself in a different light)
2- if as a consumer of marketing you subscribe to the philosophy that marketing can be authentic, then you'll eventually be convinced of something that is pure fiction since not all marketers will be authentic. As such the best course of action for a consumer is to assume that all marketing pieces are unauthentic.
If that is the case, is it even worth it to use an authentic voice? like in the case above, even if you are being authentic, there are many people who will consider you an hypocrite by "trying to sound authentic", which could be worse for sales/brand-awareness then being obviously unauthentic.
Perhaps even if your authentic void is just right you should consider appearing unauthentic, so that people will not perceive you as being artificially authentic.
Perhaps the best marketing is sarcasm about your self/company/product?
In my limited experience, presenting an open and self aware honesty coupled with comfortable humor (for me it's often self-deprecating) is the best way to endear yourself to people. You're right that being perceived as inauthentic is the death knell for attempting to engage with people; it's a tight line to walk but I think it's possible for a lot of people if they take their stress and tension out of the conversation.
My favorite social media success of the past year (at least I think it was the past year) was the Hamburger Helper mixtape. They enlisted some talented local artists to produce a genuinely entertaining piece of marketing that was self aware enough to avoid being seen as a "fellow kids" stunt. It was honest about its nature, and its quality allowed it to breach the trust gap.
I was trying to be witty, but obviously my intent wasn't properly communicated.
I meant, these kind of comments, in an interview (or any PR piece) are the result of a calculated marketing effort, and the choice of word is carefully chosen to depict the company in the best light, rather then in the most accurate one.
Without better information from unbiased sources the cynical view is the best way to deal with PR stories, and so I can only assume that it is false, misleading or at best self-delusional.
This is ultimately the advice of a ton of content marketing/blog/thought leader type people, including HN's patio11