How to Market Ethically: 5 Tips to Ethical Marketing
If you’ve got an online presence, you’ve got influence.
If you’ve got a knowledge-based brand, you’ve got influence.
If you’ve got an engaged following, girl – you’ve got influence.
I think a lot of the time, we don’t realise the amount of influence we have over people. We don’t fully comprehend the amount of people who look at our content and take our advice as word.
Something I’ve learnt a lot through my years working in radio is, you never know who’s listening. You don’t know who’s consuming your content without so much as double-tapping. There are people out there taking in everything you share, and implementing it in their lives and in their businesses.
So – what are you doing with this influence?
Over on my Instagram, I’ve been talking lots about Truthful Presentation. (This is actually something I cover in session 1 of my Podcast Like a Pro program too).
According to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) here in New Zealand, advertisements must be truthful, balanced and not misleading.
"Advertisements shall not mislead or be likely to mislead, deceive or confuse consumers, abuse their trust, exploit their lack of knowledge or without justifiable reason, play on fear."
This applies to every single piece of content that you produce.
Let me say that again: EVERY piece of content.
It doesn’t just apply to radio, print, or Facebook ads. It applies to your content marketing too. It applies to your email marketing. Your social media content. Your sales pages.
So, let’s break down how you can produce ETHICALLY MINDED content. You know, the kind of content that doesn’t mislead your audience or abuse their trust.
FOMO. Fear of missing out.
Now FOMO is actually a very useful marketing technique, that can do wonders for your sales. It can create that feeling of scarcity that makes your services feel oh-so-desirable.
But – it’s important you do it ethically.
Remember this from earlier: "Advertisements shall not… without justifiable reason, play on fear."
What this means in basic terms: don’t lie.
Only got 3 spaces for your workshop? Great, that makes it exclusive. Pulling the offer after a week? Awesome, that creates urgency. Got unlimited spaces and it’s an evergreen service? This technique isn’t for you.
But don’t worry, because there are plenty of others you can use.
Stick to the stuff you know
Anyone else singing High School Musical in their head rn? Cause same.
Your audience trusts you. And that’s because of the wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise you’ve already shared with them. You’ve provided valuable content that they’ve double-tapped, saved, and shared. They’re coming to you for advice on something they know little or nothing about. They’re taking your content as word.
And by all means, keep sharing this sort of high-value content. But stay in your lane.
Share your expertise, knowledge, and experience. Not someone else’s.
I get it, it can be so easy to look at what others in your field are doing and think you need to do the same. But, you do you, babe! You’ve got a unique set of skills. Stick to the stuff you know.
Sharing stuff that may not be 100% accurate could end up abusing the trust of your audience. So, if you don’t feel completely confident in a topic, maybe keep it off your content calendar until you’re better educated.
Be clear and transparent.
"Advertisements shall not mislead or be likely to mislead, deceive or confuse consumers”
The last thing you want your potential clients to think is: “wait… what??”
Be transparent with what you’re offering. Lay it out plain and simple. If you’re not confident that your content is clear enough, give it to a friend to read over and ask them to explain the service back to you. This way, you’ll know if your copy is unintentionally confusing or misleading.
Lastly, check your intentions.
Is your intention to make a quick buck? Or is it to genuinely help, inspire, and provide value to your audience? If it’s the latter, you should be in the clear.
If your intention is genuine, hopefully, your content and marketing efforts will align with that. And if not, take a moment to assess where that’s coming from and take a serious look at what you’re doing.
Does your content mislead, confuse, deceive, or abuse the trust of your audience?
You’ll know if your marketing is unethical because that little voice in your head will be telling you that somethings up. So, listen carefully – your conscience has your back.
And if you, as a consumer of content, see something that doesn’t look right – ask for proof. Any knowledge-based brand should be able to cite their sources, show their credentials, or explain it in more depth. You have every right as a consumer to ask for proof before you purchase. And if they can’t provide it, just look elsewhere. Don’t get suckered into someone’s shotty, unethical marketing tactics.