In the simplest terms, consumers in every industry aren’t going to engage with your brand if they “can’t buy what you’re sellin’.” In other words, customers know when something sounds fishy, or when it’s clear that your intentions are less than genuine. From questionable offer language to greenwashing, the way to avoid turning your target audience off is to enact ethical marketing practices. 

While you may find slight variations depending on who you ask, most define ethical marketing as the strategy of committing to fair, responsible, and transparent marketing practices. Generally speaking, ethical marketing is an extension of ethical business practices, and reflects or reinforces a company’s mission and values. 

There’s a good chance you’re already well on your way to marketing your business ethically, but there is always room for growing and improving your marketing strategy and marketing plan to align with your company’s values.

That is why we’ve brought together experts across our UpCity providers to offer their top ethical marketing recommendations for the coming year. 

Defining Ethical Marketing Practices and Approaches

Ethical marketing may sound simple and familiar, but there are many ways to define and explain it. Our panel of experts had their own definitions of ethical marketing, with examples ranging from company core values to the importance of social responsibility, sustainability, and many other areas that fall under the umbrella of marketing campaigns. In every example, one of the biggest themes that came through was honesty.

“Ethical marketing is all about transparency. What it boils down to is that your business has responsibilities to uphold. With ethical marketing strategies, you actively provide factual information about your products and services, helping customers genuinely believe that your business is reliable.” – Megan Marshall, Customer Success Coordinator & Content Specialist at WEBii

Ethical marketing tactics should also be founded in truthfulness about how products or services benefit the customer, and how their business benefits your company. No one is pretending that businesses don’t benefit from the customer relationship, and the customer experience is often enhanced when your digital marketing efforts and social media strategy acknowledge this fact.

“Ethical marketing shows customers how dedicated a brand is to providing quality products and services. It’s a form of dedication by the business to exhibit their commitment, expertise, and authenticity in what they do for their target market.” – Asad Kausar, CEO of Dabaran Inc.

Businesses put a lot of time and energy into developing and defining their values—and for good reason. Utilizing those values when you engage in marketing initiatives ensures that you aren’t exaggerating or overpromising, but communicating in good faith and in a way that builds trust.

“When you promote a product, service, or brand in a way that aligns with your values and morals, you are engaging in ethical marketing. This includes not making exaggerated claims and practicing complete transparency and openness.” – Nick Skliarov, Head of Marketing at IT CRAFT YSA GMBH

Regardless of what the latest trends may be, decision-making consumers engage with content marketing with a skepticism that isn’t limited to Gen Z. By focusing on marketing materials and messages that communicate clearly and truthfully, ethical marketing inevitably leads to quality content that engages audiences authentically. 

Unethical Marketing and What to Avoid

On the opposite side of the coin, our experts were quick to point out what unethical marketing is as well. Keeping both definitions in mind can help marketing teams because knowing what not to do is often just as valuable as having a strong understanding of what you should do. 

“Unethical marketing comes down to one thing: sending an incorrect message out. If someone purchases your product based on false pretenses, they won’t turn into a returning customer. In the long run, you’re better off being truthful in your marketing and forming a loyal community around your brand.” – Lexie Becker, Brand Partnership Specialist at Fifth & Cor

Like you, our experts have seen countless examples of questionable marketing trends over the years in every area from eCommerce to the Metaverse. And because you still see these practices implemented from time to time, it’s important to keep them in mind in order to avoid them. 

“Unless you can truly guarantee a particular result, don’t guarantee it! If a guarantee sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” – Jack Shepler, CEO of Ayokay

“Anytime authenticity is compromised for profits, you start down a slippery slope that ruins customer relations and brand reputation. We believe the best way to fend off competitors who practice unethical tactics is to encourage honest customer feedback on review sites and commit to ethical marketing practices. In today’s digital era, it doesn’t take long for consumers to detect deception.” – Vito Vishnepolsky, Founder and Director at Martal Group

Regardless of new technologies that have come along, one area where you often see unethical marketing practices implemented is in SEO efforts.

There are any number of marketing agencies that still apply outdated SEO tactics, and it can be important to watch out for these approaches since they will now negatively impact your business’ results. 

“Some examples of unethical marketing tactics we see are ‘black hat’ SEO techniques, linking competitors to negative or phishing sites, giving dishonest and unwarranted reviews of competitors, or paying someone to give your company positive reviews. These are all examples of unethical business marketing techniques that could work for the short-term, but will decimate your brand’s credibility in the long run.” – Bianca Frank, Creative Director at Bianca Frank Design

“Unethical search engine optimization exposes your company to the risk of losing prestigious rankings and increases the possibility of never regaining them. As one of our core values, we stay clear of any tactics that may violate search engines’ terms of service.” – Noah Watson, President of Watson Media

One of the big keys to avoiding unethical marketing messages or practices is to focus on being genuine. For businesses, this means representing your company, your products, and the things you care about. It also means not falsely representing those things simply because you believe it will resonate with your target audience. 

“We avoid messaging that doesn’t represent who the business actually is and how they serve their customers. We also care deeply about how people are treated inside the business and actively encourage business leaders to empathetically and compassionately lead their teams well since we have a voice with the leadership.” – Sarah Banowetz, Managing Partner at Banowetz Marketing

From LinkedIn posts and webinars to CRM and TV ads, you also see numerous examples of what our panelists consider unethical or questionable marketing tactics. Anything that bends the truth, even if not totally false, is something to avoid in your marketing efforts. 

“Unethical marketing practices we do not use include manipulation tactics such as FOMO (fear of missing out), false or fake scarcity (or ‘supply chain’ messaging), countdown timers and time limits, and sharing ideas and beliefs that are not held by our business.” – Emily J. Wiegert, Owner | Marketing Consultant | Fractional CMO at The Back Pocket CMO™

“I like to avoid marketing tactics that mislead, trick, or waste people’s time. There is a gym local to me that has [web] pages for types of yoga and pilates that they don’t even offer. Not only are they misleading people for clicks, but they are wasting people’s time and occupying space that should go to a business who actually offers those services.” – Jade Pruett, Founder of HelloSEO

Honesty and SEO services were especially important to several of our panelists, and for good reason. Web content is one area prone to manipulation, and can leave customers feeling tricked. Obviously this will only hurt your brand in the long run, and completely ruin your reputation. 

“Promising or guaranteeing performance even though there are external factors outside of your control, such as what you sometimes see in search optimization and advertising verticals, is unethical. Guarantees of this nature incentivise setting low and easily achieved performance targets, while possibly serving to mislead uninformed stakeholders.” – Joshua West, Managing Partner at CAYK Marketing Inc.

Once again, when it comes to marketing your business ethically, the most important factor is honesty. Being true to yourself and telling the truth to your customers will yield the most impressive and consistent results. 

“You must consider the needs and concerns of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, and the environment. Operate with integrity and adhere to sound moral principles, avoid making false or misleading claims about your products or services, and be open and honest about your business practices.” – Jose Gomez, CTO & CoFounder of Evinex

Specific Examples of Ethical Marketing Practices 

Beyond offering further insight and understanding as to the dos and don’ts of ethical marketing, our panel of experts also pulled together several specific recommendations and tips to help give you a solid start in evaluating your own business’ marketing tactics and efforts. 

“From a more tactical point of view, we make a pointed effort to avoid spamming, including your email, your social feed, and your mailbox. It’s great to stay in touch, but only with the people who have made it clear they are interested in what you have to say.” – Sophie Mann, Director of Content Strategy at encite branding + marketing + creative

One thing that was made clear in our conversations with experts was that ethical marketing isn’t just a surface-level thing; in order to be successful, you want your ethics and values to become a major part of your guiding philosophy. 

“Ethical marketing is a philosophy. It includes so many things, like ensuring advertisements are honest and trustworthy, and building strong relationships with customers and website visitors through a set of shared values. It’s about being transparent about what subscribers can expect and about what data is collected.” – Brad Muncs, CEO of Symetris

In just about every marketing meeting you’ve been in, you have probably heard someone talk about building a “connection” with customers. And that is a very important part of the relationship between customers and brands. Ethical marketing practices are important, then, because they provide a solid foundation on which you can build that relationship. 

“Ethical marketing means creating authentic connections around a product or service. It means defining a standard that aligns with your customer base and holding to that standard. Examples include sourcing ingredients or components from areas that are not being exploited, or being honest with your messaging.” – Arif Gangji, Manager at Neon Rain  

There is much more to ethical marketing than just being honest about your business or your products. Truly ethical marketing is also aware of the context in which it exists; the things that are happening in society, the events that are affecting people’s lives, and the systems that are either helping or hurting. 

“Ethical marketing starts with being keenly aware of marginalized members of our society. Just two examples would be the words and phrases we use for website copy (e.g. “white hat” vs “black hat” in SEO), and barriers that can keep some people from accessing website content.” – Lee-Anne Ekland, Owner of Proud Pup Media 

“Ethical marketing means being strategic in our efforts to get the desired results without having to compromise on the company’s mission/ethics/standards, and without infringing on the company or customers’ rights in respect to being racial or sexual bias, etc. There are so many innovative strategies marketers can come up with, that we definitely do not need to resort to unethical means or messages.” – Kennette J Burgess, CEO/Owner of FOCUS Marketing & Development Solutions, Inc

Ethical marketing also means being honest with your clients. In other words, ethical marketing starts long before a single ad is produced or an article written; it starts with the communication between clients and agencies, between departments within an organization, and between service providers and hiring organizations.

“Transparency is key to let your client know what is best for them and their small business, as well as what won’t benefit them. While the ticket price may not be as high, you’ve already created a trusting relationship between you and your client, and in the end that will prove more fruitful.” – Anna Ritchie, Co-Founder of Jo Leigh Marketing, LLC

“Ethical marketing means accountability, communication, and a good relationship. It means allocating the marketing budget the most effectively. I’m incredibly honest in regards to budget and managing client expectations. If I can’t get results for a budget I will decline the project entirely.” – Jessy Savage, Agency Owner at Jessy Savage 

More Ways to Build Trust with Ethical Marketing

There is a wealth of expertise available across all areas of marketing, and within just about every industry you can imagine. So if you’re looking to jump right in and seek direct guidance for your ethical marketing efforts, don’t hesitate to reach out to one or more of the panelists who contributed their thoughts here. Among the trusted partners and providers you can find at UpCity you are sure to find several who can provide guidance, specific services, and marketing expertise of every type.