In this video we’re going to talk about four ethical traps that could potentially ensnare digital marketers on their road to success. Then we’ll wrap up the discussion by looking at how firms can steer their employees towards making the right ethical decisions.
False Online Identities
First up is false online identities. What we’re talking about here goes beyond that secret Pinterest account that you might use to obsessively collect cat videos. We’re talking about using false online identities to mislead consumers usually for the purpose of faking product reviews. These types fake accounts actually have name:
sockpuppeting. It’s similar to “astroturfing” or a fake grassroots movement. It plays on the consumer’s bias to want to believe stories that seem authentic. If someone posts a long, elaborate product review about how they tested the product, how much they love it, and so on, it becomes more believable. Sockpuppeteers know this and take advantage of it.
The problem even extends to online chat where customer service chatbots and even online dating chatbots have proliferated.
Hidden Consideration
Some prominent Youtubers and social media celebrities have gotten in hot water over shilling products without disclosing the paid relationships that are motivating their product reviews or product placements. This is called hidden consideration. For example, the Kardashian/Jenner clan got in hot water with the Federal Trade Commission for promoting products on Instagram and neglecting to tell their followers of paid product placements. Marketers must disclose meaningfully and prominently all forms of consideration or compensation received from
Amazon went after sellers when it was discovered that many were using the freelance worker site fiverr.com to pay people to complete reviews on Amazon.
Hidden relationship
Similar to hidden consideration is a hidden relationship. An online promoter might not be getting paid to talk about a product, but it viewers later discovered that the owner of the product’s manufacturer was the promoter’s own brother, that would probably put the video review in a different light wouldn’t it? It’s a clear conflict of interest. Marketers have an obligation to provide transparency of all material connections between a speaker and the company or brand of the product being promoted. So what is a “material connection?” It’s any connection that could affect the credibility audiences give to that speaker’s statements about a product, company or brand. A material connection could be a familial or business relationship, the receipt of any benefits or incentives such as free product, discounts, gifts, sweepstake entries or anything else of value.Admittedly, hidden consideration and hidden relationship are similar. The important thing to realize is if you’re hiding something from consumer, you’re betraying their trust and also breaking the law.
Here’s a great example of what not to do: In 2008, a husband and wife decided to buy an RV and take a trip across America stopping at many Walmarts along the way (Walmart is known for allowing RVs to park in its parking lots overnight, free from hassle). They decided to create a blog called “Walmarting Across America” and in their travels they interviewed a number of employees that were happy to talk about how much they loved working at Walmart and the great things Walmart did for their communities. You can probably guess where this is going. It was later discovered that the husband’s brother worked for Edelman, the PR agency that had a relationship with Walmart. Edelman actually paid the couple to do the blog, but there was no mention of any of this on the blog at the time. Obviously, this created a big PR mess for Walmart and Edelman and they both lost credibility because of it.
Dishonest Communication
Finally, product review and online reputation management systems provide a powerful incentive for unethical behavior. If you’re the retailer who controls the reviews on your own website, the motivation to improve the reviews of your products might be difficult to ignore. But firms should allow consumers to reflect their own honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences.
Don’t be like this hotel owner who threatened charging newlyweds $500 for each negative review that anyone in their party posted to Yelp. Clearly, this is a short-lightened strategy that ended up backfiring on the hotel owner with plenty of bad PR.
Code of Ethics
I want to end this video by giving some guidance on how management can ensure that employees act ethically. After all, you might feel like your decisions are ethical, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone else in your firm is going to act in the exact same way. The best way to ensure that everyone within a firm makes engages in the same ethical decision making is by having a
Code of Ethics. A code of ethics communicates two things: it communicates to your customers and the rest of the world that you take ethical concerns seriously, and it gives everyone in the firm a standardized framework to help make ethical decisions in a consistent way. But isn’t developing a code of ethics a complicated and difficult process? Will it probably can be, but fortunately a lot of the work has already been done for you.
The Word of Mouth Marketing Association has a Code of Ethics that they have developed that they encourage firms that engage in digital marketing to use. It’s thorough, well-considered, and, maybe best of all, free. In fact, the ethical pitfalls I outlined above are specifically addressed in this Code of Ethics, so it’s one that I always suggest.
The American Marketing Association also has its own Statement of Ethics. Every member of this association is expected to follow these ethical guidelines. This would be a good place to start for any organization as well.
The ease with which anyone can create false identities online, hide payments or relationships, and conduct dishonest communications means that firms must be extra vigilant when it comes to ensuring ethical practices.