Stop deceiving and start persuading – the ethical line with native advertising
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It feels like marketing and advertising tends to get a bad rap in the public eye. But I get it! When it comes to targeting audiences and trying to persuade them to buy your product or service, there are a lot of ethical lines that need to be drawn.
One of these lines that often becomes a topic of conversation is native advertising. The Native Advertising Institute defines native advertising as, “paid advertising that matches the look, feel, and function of the media it appears on.” It is a concept that can be seen in use as early as the 1940s, when advertisers worked to make their print ads “fit in” with the published content in the publication.
Fitting ads in with other published articles is just one common form of native advertising. Other common mediums include images, long-form videos, and social media content. I am willing to bet you are seeing these native ads more than you think on TikTok or platforms.
So where does to controversy lie with these days? It is because there is a difference when the goal of your advertising becomes deception rather than persuasion.
In his article for the American Marketing Association, Hal Conick says, “The problem with native [advertising] is that it does try to confuse the reader,” Jarvis says. “And as [the journalism] industry got more desperate, we finally got ready to sell our seed corn. That is our reputation, our editorial space.”
As Conick explains, these deceptive measures become a huge problem when audiences look to a publication, writer, or influencer that they trust to give them honest information on a particular topic.
Imagine you were looking to purchase a new computer. You look to your favorite technology influencer to get honest reviews of a few different options. When you finally purchase the computer, it is awful, nothing like the influencer described it.
This is where the problem lies with these deceptive marketing tactics. When native advertisements match the look and feel of the organic content that surrounds it, why wouldn’t be take see it as honest? You may be looking for an honest tech review, but you instead get a piece of marketing content that was made to praise the product.
“The problem with native [advertising] is that it does try to confuse the reader.”
Where do we draw the line?
As mentioned before, the line should be drawn when persuasion turns into deception. This is the same reason why making false claims during advertisements is illegal.
By lying about a product and making people think that they are getting more out of it than they will, you are deceiving them into buying your product. Ultimately, they will be disappointed and feel like they have wasted their hard-earned money.
When it comes to native advertising, there are a few questions that need to be asked to determine if it is ethical and therefore not deceiving people. First, is it clear and obvious that this content was paid for? Second, is it clear that these are the words of the company purchasing the ad and not the opinions or thoughts of the people publishing the content? Finally, does this content aim to hide any required labeling or disclaimers relating to the fact that it is an advertisement?
If the answer to any of those three questions was no, then the content is unethical and deceptive.
How do we maintain ethical marketing?
Native advertising is not necessarily all bad. It is a great strategy for meeting audience where they are at in a way that they are more likely to interact with. However, it is so easy to make native advertising deceptive, therefore there are few steps that should be taken (with all marketing efforts) to ensure they are ethical.
Be transparent. Never try to hide the fact that your advertisement is an advertisement. People understand that companies want them to but their products, but they are always going to be more willing to purchase from an authentic organization. Ensure you are properly labeling ads as necessary, and don’t avoid the fact that it was paid for. The FTC has specific guidelines for native advertisements that are a good start here.
Stay away from news or other sources of trusted information. Journalism plays an incredibly important role in our world. They give information to people about the world around them and that should not be tampered with. The reality is that marketing and journalism are really two worlds that should mix very very very rarely. However, it’s probably safe to just find other mediums to advertise. At the very least, buy ad space rather than creating native ads in news.
Overall, just try to convince and persuade people with what you are actually able to offer them. Show them how they can benefit from your product, don’t deceive them into thinking they will. Ultimately, this is the purpose of marketing, so let’s stick to that.
Hi! My name is Peyton McKenzie.
I am a professional graphic designer, photographer and content creator.
I encourage you to explore my portfolio to get a better idea of the work I create. If you are interested in working with me or have inquiries of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out over email.
