Unethical marketing sends the wrong messages out to prospects about your

products and services. These practices can lead to legal problems, but more
importantly, they can lead to reputational loss or destroy your brand.
Unethical marketing practices aren’t always obvious. Deception in subtle ways
is just as misleading. These practices are major turn-offs for consumers and,
sometimes, they can be illegal, too.
Here are some common unethical marketing practices to be aware of:
• Misleading advertising.
• Contacting people without their consent.
• Inciting controversy.
• Emotional exploitation.
My advice is: Avoid these unethical marketing campaigns and practices at all
costs.
1. Misleading Advertising Misses The Mark
Misleading ads are unethical, and they’re illegal, too. The Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) regulates truth in advertising, and it expects marketers to
make accurate statements in their advertising campaigns, back claims with
scientific evidence whenever possible and be transparent about negative
features.
It’s common for marketers to highlight the best features of their products and
downplay the negatives to improve sales. The line between ethical and unethical
gets a little murky in these types of ads. Marketers cross the line to the unethical
when they can’t prove their claims.
2. Contacting Consumers Without Consent
The FTC enforces the CAN-SPAM Act which sets commercial email standards,
such as not contacting prospects without their consent. Upon consumer request
to unsubscribe, you must take them off your list to abide by the law.
Before you’re tempted to buy a list of prospects, consider that bugging the
wrong customers too many times will do you more reputational harm than good.
3. Insensitive Controversy May Stir Up Trouble
Some marketers try to stir up controversy or present an unpopular opinion just
to get people talking. Bad news often gets as much attention as good news, but
that doesn’t mean that it will send customers your way. Take caution -- relying
on this unethical practice may result in more enemies than customers.
4. Emotional Exploitation Can Explode In A Bad Way
A great ad can make you bust out laughing, bring tears to your eyes or help you
recall a pleasant memory from “way back when.” Using ads to prey on
consumers’ emotions can force a bond with your brand. But they can also
backfire on you just as easily. Be careful about crossing the line with tasteless
ads that exploit human emotions.
In search engine optimization (SEO) expert Craig Campbell’s presentation on
black hat SEO, he talks about the importance of considering the client’s budget.
Many smaller companies just don’t have the funds to run multiple campaigns.
In these cases, it makes sense to implement other practices, like using paid blog
posts. Here are two keys to how I hold the line on ethical marketing:
1. I use content to reach the target audience and cite original research that
relates to the brand.
2. Paid blog posts are okay as long as they’re honest and don’t hurt the
customer.
When using SEO tactics, however, avoid these unethical practices:
• Spamming comment sections.
• Leaving links on forum threads.
• Hacking websites to plant self-serving links in them.
• Paying for links and reselling them for more to marketers who lack the
knowledge on how to use them effectively.