How to Prevent Deceptive Digital Marketing Tactics

A controversial opinion I’ll stand by every time – using FOMO to sell will usually do more harm than good. Let’s look at it from a psychological standpoint 👇 I wrote a whole book about how to incorporate psychological principles into your company’s digital experience to help customers find the right product or service for them as quickly and easily as possible. Almost all of it has to do with evoking emotions – even if the customer doesn’t realize it. Positive emotions are going to create the best experience. Negative emotions like fear of missing out may help convince a customer to finally make a decision and convert, but out of fear. You're forcing their hand instead of letting them make the decision on their own. If that's the tactic you're going to go down, it better be the only one that works. There can be a benefit to creating a sense of urgency on your website to encourage conversions. Tactics such as displaying "last one" badges or implementing countdown timers for limited-time offers can be effective in driving consumer decisions – so long as you're honest. Your may customer see a “last one” badge on a product, but they aren’t ready yet and decide to take their chances. When they come back a week later and see the same badge, they’re going to start wondering if it’s really true. Unfortunately, many companies are still of the same mindset. Except now, customers are smarter, and they see right through it. No one trusts a liar. Think about the last time you got an email that said – “Surprise! Sale Extended!” You knew it wasn’t. It was always scheduled to end on this “new” date, and many of your customers will see right through it. Avoid strategies that could negatively affect customers emotionally, as this not only compromises ethical standards but could also have long-term negative impacts on your customers' trust. When the urgency is genuine, it can be done right. But conversions at the price of your customer’s trust aren’t worth it in the long run.

Many sales are lost not through failure to convey benefits or too high a price, but because trust was inadvertently destroyed. Because trust is so easily lost, you may want to take care to avoid the 10 quickest ways to kill it: 1. Make unrealistic or exaggerated promises. 2. Rarely provide evidence or proof to support facts and claims. 3. Attempt to create false empathy with formulaic, cliché manipulations such as "It's not your fault" or "I'm just like you." 4. Fail to demonstrate care or concern for the prospect's needs and well-being. 5. Write the copy from a vague corporate "we" perspective, rather than a specific individual with a distinct, relatable personality. 6. Omit "visual trust symbols" such as SSL certificates, privacy seals, trust seals from third parties (BBB or Trustpilot), and logos of accepted credit cards, professional affiliations, media mentions, or recognizable clients. 7. Don't have a guarantee (or, if you do, don't emphasize its value or importance). 8. Ensure the copy sounds like generic, insincere sales copy the prospect has heard a hundred times before, rather than authentic advice from a trusted friend (AI can be particularly helpful with this). 9. Be vague, elusive, or misleading about pricing, rather than upfront and transparent. 10. Neglect to include testimonials from a wide range of customers. BONUS: Even if there is no real deadline, include a countdown timer in a transparent attempt to pressure the prospect into making a hasty decision.

🚩 Buyer Beware: 7 Agency Red Flags to Watch Out For 🚩 Not all that glitters is gold, especially when it comes to digital marketing agencies. Learn the 7 warning signs that say "proceed with caution!" before you get trapped with an agency that talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. #1: Disorganization & Chaos An agency that seems disorganized likely won't deliver the structured campaigns you need. If they are disorganized during your sales calls and the onboarding process, then that's a huge red flag they will be disorganized and ineffective when running your campaigns. #2: Too Many Buzzwords Excessive jargon can mask a lack of substance or clear strategy. It's easy to throw around buzzwords but it's much harder to describe things in plain English to prove you actually know what you're talking about. Definitely be wary of an agency that sounds impressive but hides behind buzzwords and jargon. #3: The Waiting Game If an agency seems too busy, then they probably are. If it takes their team a long time to get back to you during the sales and onboarding process, just imagine how long it's going to take once they have you locked into a contract after you start working together. #4: Suspiciously Cheap Very low rates indicate low-quality services or a lack of experience 99% of the time. You can take your chances if you want, but always remember that, according to Warren Buffett, price is what you pay while value is what you get. If an agency is priced too low, then that typically means the agency team is inexperienced and stretched too thin. 99 times out of 100, you're going to get what you pay for. #5: Lack of Relevant Case Studies The #1 thing you want is an agency that can share multiple success stories in your industry. If they don't have a long list of success stores for similar brands, it's time to keep looking...unless you want someone learning on your dime. #6: Focus on Vanity Metrics An emphasis on superficial metrics can overlook the ones that truly drive business growth. You want to know how much revenue and profit an agency is able to generate, not how many clicks and impressions they're going to get. If an agency focuses on vanity metrics over driving actual business growth, tread carefully. #7: Not Keeping Up With Trends Digital advertising trends move fast. What worked in 2022 won't work in 2023 and definitely won't work in 2024, etc. An agency that doesn't stay current with digital marketing trends will always fall behind. That's why you need to make sure your new agency keeps up with current trends and isn't using a playbook that's 1, 2, or even 3 years old. Have you encountered any of these red flags in your search? How did you navigate the choice? Let's discuss strategies to ensure your next agency partnership is not just good, but amazing. 👇

Let's talk about dark/deceptive patterns... It's a term coined in 2010 by Harry Brignull to describe when user interfaces are crafted to trick users into doing things. Brignull wanted to recognize the negative impact these manipulative patterns had on users and expose the unethical practices, educate the public, and foster a more transparent digital landscape. How often do we examine our own work for these patterns? Are we teaching the next up and coming generation of designers and technologist how to identify and avoid these patterns? Do we know how to identify them? This morning I was purchasing a holiday gift, quickly trying to complete an online transaction before I tackled my laundry list of items (as I expect many experience this time of year.) As I entered my credit card information into the web form, I paused briefly, as there was a section for "Add Tip". Mind you, this is an e-commerce store. I continued entering my credit card information and took one last look at the form, when I noticed that the "Custom Tip" field was pre-populated with a $7.49 amount. 😱 Dark/Deceptive pattern indeed. So what makes this a dark pattern? 1. Users don't typically expect to see an "Add Tip" field when shopping an e-commerce site, as this not a common practice online or in retail stores. (It is a practice within the service industry or when working directly with people.) 2. A custom default was created by the company and not made obvious to the user. 3. The user had to proactively select "None" to remove the tip that was added by the company. 4. (not pictured) The itemized bill was collapsed, so to not show the user that the price had increased and a tip was added. As we roll into the busy holiday season, which is quickly followed by open enrollment for insurance and then tax season, it's important that users/consumers watch out for these patterns. And it's even more important that we as designers/technologist educate ourselves and practice ethical design. You can learn more about dark/deceptive patterns here: https://lnkd.in/gcZviv28 (I've purposely left out the company name, but trust that they are receiving feedback from me.) #darkpatterns #deceptivepatterns #uxdesign #uidesign #ecommerce

Are digital marketing claims real? Every time I ask someone if they have digital marketers flooding their inbox, they laugh. We all get those messages on LinkedIn -- myself included, even though I'm in the field! Here are examples of actual messages I took from my clients' inboxes: False Promises: 🔹"Helping Business Owners Get 25+ Sales Calls Each Month Without Lifting A Finger" 🔹"Are you ready to learn the easy secrets of million-dollar brands?" 🔹"We will help you increase your monthly revenue with a 2x ROI guarantee" 🔹"If you’re a coach looking to scale from 6 to 7 figures without adding more clients or traffic, we might be able to help." (spelling errors included) Unrealistic Expectations: 🔹"How I create LinkedIn carousels in minutes" 🔹"Create 30 days of content in 90 minutes" 🔹"You can create 1 year’s worth of graphics in just 5 minutes!" ➡️ If anyone comes to you saying they can 10x your business revenue or guarantee results, I'd run. If anyone tells you that creating quality social media content takes minutes, don't believe them. As someone who does both lead generation and content creation, I can tell you that these things take time, effort, strategy, and skill to do correctly, even using AI tools. When some digital marketers claim they can create content with practically no effort, it completely devalues the skills that the best digital marketers bring to the table. Sure, anything can take minutes to do, but if you want to produce content with quality and impact, there is no easy shortcut or magic wand. AI does help a lot (I use it every day) but there is a lot of unrealistic hype about AI tools, mostly from people trying to profit from it.   Digital marketers who spread clickbait promotions have one goal -- to help THEM gain more traction, not to help YOU. 🙋♀️ Raise your hand if you've received these messages. I'd love to hear your experience! Let me know in the comments below. . . . #digitalmarketing #socialmedia #thoughtleadership #branding