Tag Archives: marketing with integrity

Integrity Marketing – Is This The Internet You Want?

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encourage integrityI had a very disturbing experience yesterday. And it got me to thinking about the state of things on the internet, in particular, marketing on the internet.

And I boiled my concerns down to one basic question:

Is this the Internet that you want?

We think about the internet as being some intricate web of information and entertainment that is out there. But we need to take a step back and realize one very important fact.

We are the internet.

More than any other medium in recent history, individuals like you and me have a say in what goes on in here. We write the news. We create the stories. We build the relationships.

So if the internet is a sorry mess, who do we blame for that? Google? Microsoft? Q?

A Bitter Taste

The experience I referred to in my opening paragraph was a bit disconcerting. It was a site the promised traffic. And we all know that traffic is the life blood of earning a living online. It was recommended by someone who’s list I’ve been on for a long time. Someone who I have a certain level of trust in. Well, had might be a more appropriate way to phrase that.

So I signed up, even though they wanted a phone number. What the heck for? I hate to admit it, but 999-999-9999 is not really my phone number 8=)

Immediately I’m presented with a garishly coloured site. Tiny text crammed everywhere. A chat screen in the middle and two live video feeds — one of which is someone calling out my name. “Watch the video and then come back here” they said.

Very off putting to say the least. I watched the sales presentation for their upgrade. Apparently this presentation was a recording of one of the top guys, but not the founder. I found the presentation to be okay. I felt comfortable with the guy presenting.

But afterwards, the video calling out my name, trying to get me to sign up. I haven’t even seen what the site is about and already they’re pestering me to upgrade. When I was balking at jumping on this fantastic offer, the founder himself (in another video window) jumped in to talk to me.

Things went downhill pretty fast from there. Apparently I’m a loser because I won’t jump in with both feet simply because he says so! Looking around, doing some due diligence on the site (which turned up bad when I did do it) makes me a loser. I don’t know if these guys are a scam (I doubt it) but they are definitely overly hyped. And their tactics could use a breath mint.

Well, I’m pretty happy being a loser if that’s what he thinks I am. But unfortunately, because of sites like this, we’re all losers. We lose the trust of people out there because of charlatans and high pressure hucksters.

I’ve seen this type of sales pressure in the offline world before. Usually with scams masquerading as the next big MLM opportunity.

What Can We Do?

That’s the next question. I hope that you are with me in wanting to have an internet that you’d be proud to have your kids visit. But the next step is how do we do it?

I don’t have any quick fixes or pat answers for you. I’m hoping that we can all dig together and come up with some ideas. Here are some general ones to think on:

  • Don’t be part of the problem. Make sure you don’t act dishonestly and don’t promote anyone who does.
  • Educate your friends and family. Help them to know what a scam looks like. Help them to learn how to filter out the hype. Show them where to find marketers of integrity.
  • Spread the message. Write blog posts about integrity. Teach people how to use scarcity without lying about it. Help them understand the power of building and maintaining trust.

Fight the Bad

Do we need a way to call the bad guys out on the carpet? I don’t know if that has any affect. There are several sites that have reviews of the offending site, pointing out their flaws. But people are still promoting and signing up to it.

One thing I like to do is send a private email to someone when the do something I think hurts their integrity. I don’t do it every time and many will either ignore you or attack you (I’ve experienced both). But some will realize you’re only trying to help them. And they may even change their tactics.

Support the Good

One way that I have found to support good marketers is through IMTrustWorthy. I don’t know if it will be the answer to the problems of trust and integrity, but it is a step in the right direction.

Becoming a member gives you the right to put a badge on your site, like the one you see in my sidebar (check out the site by clicking my badge if you’re interested in learning more). But it isn’t just a badge. It actually links back to my profile on the site. And other members of the site have the right to rate me and even make comments. It’s kind of like StumbleUpon for marketers.

I’m sure that there will be imitators and those that put up fake badges. And there is always the risk that the site will be gamed by unscrupulous marketers. But it is a start.

Another way that we can support one another is to speak up for one another. If you see someone doing something impressive, tweet it, plus it, blog about it.

The Challenge

So here’s a challenge. How are you making the web a better place? How are you setting the example of an integrity marketer?

Share your story in the comments or write a post at your blog and let me know. I’ll add links to this post as they come in.

Integrity Marketing – The Internet Marketing Code of Ethics

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Do we need an Internet Marketing Code of Ethics?

You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye
— Graham Nash

There are a lot of dishonest people in the world who have no qualms about taking your hard earned money in any way that they can. And the internet has created more opportunities for them to flourish and spread their evil.

You don’t want to be like them. At least I hope you don’t. I know that there are times when you’re tempted to say “What the …” and jump to the dark side, but you resist.

But what about those times where we slowly drift over the line? I’m sure that you’ve heard the experiment with the frogs who didn’t jump out of the boiling water because it slowly rose to a boil while they were in it. We run that risk as marketers when we slip into the grey areas.

We need a way to keep ourselves in line — to hold ourselves and one another accountable. We need a code.

The Internet Marketing Code of Ethics

Many people are asking if we need a code of ethics. Brendan Wenzel of Launch Karma asks Should Internet Marketing Have a Code of Ethics?

Gary Simpson has a free 55 page report on How Not To Be An Internet Marketing Zombie over at Internet Marketing Talk (remind me never to piss Gary off — I think he could take me 8=) It’s a passionate look at unethical behaviour.

I’ve even written about some of the unscrupulous methods of marketing I’ve seen.

I stumbled upon The Internet Marketer’s Code of Ethics at Dennis Pippen’s site. I’m not sure if Dennis originated this proposed framework (I think it may actually originate from Ken Harthun), but I think it is a good guideline for anyone who wants to be a Marketer of Integrity.

Sadly, a search for “internet marketers code of ethics” didn’t bring up as many results in Google as I had hoped. However, Simon Dodd, Trish Mullen and Ken Harthun have all promoted this same code so there is growing awareness. [Ken’s comments in the Warrior Forum lead me to believe that he originated the code but I was unable to get to his site to verify it.]

I also found the American Marketing Association has a code of ethics. As internet marketing is a subset of marketing in general this might be a good place to start.

At some point it would be nice to see a foundation of sorts that is responsible for this code of ethics. It will need some work, but as people become more educated about online purchasing it will help you stand out amongst the crowd.

IMTrustWorthy

One promising site is IMTrustWorthy [note that this is an affiliate link]. This site allows members to post an IMTrustWorthy badge on their site (see mine in the sidebar). The badge links back to their profile which other members of the site can rate and provide feedback on.

This allows us to judge each other based on a set of best practices (they are somewhat similar to the code). You can also network with other marketers to find partners for JV events, etc.

The site is currently in beta but I hope that it will grow. But it will need us all to work together to make it grow. If you haven’t signed up for it yet then get on over there and check it out. Now!

It’s Up To You

You are a Marketer of Integrity, so what do you think? Is this code something that is worth pursuing? Many feel that it is a waste of time. Others feel that it is an empty promise — either you are ethical or you’re not.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments or write a post about it and link back here. The more we fight to stand up for integrity, the better this industry will be.

Integrity Marketing – Using Alternate Identities

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Mask of FlameOne controversial feature of the internet is that it makes anonymity very easy. You can create many alternate identities and slip from one to another with ease.

Like everything, this has a good side and a dark side.

Alternate Identities in the Real World

Secret identities are nothing new. Writers (pseudonyms), movie stars and musicians (stage names) and superheroes (alter egos) have used alternate identities for centuries. So have spies and con artists. They can be used to protect the innocent, provide privacy or hide evil intent.

Pseudonyms, stage names, etc. are alternate identities that are designed to protect the privacy of an author or present a more marketable brand. I’ve written several stories for children and I hope to have them published under a pseudonym to make them more fun and entertaining.

Online Identities

And there is a place in Internet Marketing for alternate identities as well.

There are many marketers who use pseudonyms to set up niche web sites so that their competition doesn’t know and to make it easier to flip the site if they so choose. It is also used if you want to create a different brand in one niche.

I’ve read work by a lady freelancer who uses a male pseudonym to overcome gender bias for her business (a real life Remington Steele for those of you old enough to remember that show) — it was amazing how much better her business did when clients thought she was a man.

The important thing is that the identity is not intended to defraud anyone (although the female/male thing is close to the line). They are merely used to protect identity and/or for branding purposes.

The Dark Side of Alternate Identities

But the dark side of alternate identities lurks everywhere.

The obvious problem is the con artists who create an identity, run a campaign, pocket as much cash as they can and bail. Then they create a new identity and start again. They sell crappy products, ignore refund and support requests and sometimes don’t even deliver the product.

But there is a more subtle use that many marketers fall prey to — multiple Facebook/Twitter/Email/{insert your favourite here} accounts. It seems innocent enough, but the intent is to defraud and I think that you need to think twice about doing something like this.

Don’t get me wrong — I have several Twitter and email accounts. This is allowed and I’m not using them to defraud. What I’m talking about is setting up multiple accounts and false identities for driving traffic by creating false social proof.

The way it works is this (I’ll use Facebook as an example).

  1. Create 10 gmail accounts.
  2. Create a Facebook account for each one.
  3. Have them “friend” 5,000 people (the maximum allowed on Facebook).
  4. Have them Like and promote your fan page(s).

I’ve seen several How To Rock Facebook type reports recommend a variation on this technique. One actually suggested setting up accounts for your relatives who aren’t interested in Facebook for this!

The problem here is that you are using the alternate identities (false email accounts as well) in a dishonest way. You’re pretending to be someone who hasn’t got a commercial interest in the fan page. That is a lie. It is dishonest. The reports even go so far as to misrepresent yourself when trying to make friends.

The same technique is used in many social media sites, including bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and Digg. I have read reports recommending that you set up 30 or more accounts and use varying subsets to bookmark and vote on your blog posts or whatever.

The intent is to create a false social proof. I imagine that there are those who post multiple comments on their own blogs or have several accounts in forums for the same purpose.

The problem is that this is creating a falsehood — intentionally. Not something that a practitioner of Integrity Marketing wants to do.

What About You?

Do you use alternate identities in your marketing? Do you use them honestly, or you ever been tempted to use these techniques? The problem is that they work until you get caught.

Please share your experiences in the comments. I’d love to hear what you’re going through.