Unethical marketing practices on social networking websites have backfired… badly. As in all marketing situations, integrity pays off. While much of social media is out of your hands, there are many factors you can control that will keep you off the bench.
The first thing you should always keep in mind when embarking on a social media marketing campaign is that you are joining a community. As in any community, businesses have their rightful place, but they have no right to invade people’s privacy. In your face, untargeted spam marketing won’t get you anywhere fast.
Most social network marketers use websites like Facebook and MySpace to try to drive traffic to another website. While it is perfectly ethical to use social networking websites to spread a message to people who are genuinely interested, many people game the system with auto-friending programs and spam messages and newsletters. Again, anything untargeted and spammy won’t help your reputation.
Fortunately, social networking websites are becoming aware of these practices and removing and banning offenders.
As mentioned above, in order to use such websites as a marketing tool with integrity, you must participate as a member of the community. Get involved in groups that are related to your area, contribute, reach out and make friends who are genuinely interested in what you have to say and what you have to sell.
As you start posting more content on these websites, try to avoid direct marketing topics. To be successful, your content will need to be of genuine value and interest to other users. Also, never mislead potential customers. Don’t beat your titles to try to attract clicks from visitors.
For example, instead of leaving a blog post pretending to be a consumer recommending your website or product, be honest about it. Explain that the product or website is yours and how it is relevant to the discussion. Over time, people will pick up on dishonest marketing methods, even if they don’t immediately. And one mistake could cost you your reputation.
Also, when you contribute to social networking websites, never use it as an opportunity to unfairly criticize competitors or their products. Do not point out the shortcomings. Point out what makes you different.
Since social media marketing can be seen as a form of publishing, be aware of copyright issues online. Educate yourself on the basics of media law and learn about the potential dangers when it comes to defamation, invasion of privacy and intellectual property and copyright infringement.
There are no hard and fast rules governing ethical behavior in social media marketing. Most communities are self-regulating. So, be on your best behavior and you shouldn’t have any problems.
