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Considering the growing space Instagram is for the present times, it makes sense to use it for marketing.
Now, what does Instagram Marketing refer to?
It is a type of social media marketing where brands use this platform for the promotion of their brands.
Instagram marketing is one of the best ways of connecting with the audience that will not lead to awareness but will also increase sales.
Now that we are talking of marketing, it has to come with strategies. We will discuss more in this blog.
What Is Ethical Marketing?
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As in this discussion, the main focus is on Ethical Marketing strategies. So, first of all, let us know about ethical marketing.
Ethical marketing is the type of marketing where the work is done taking ethics into consideration.
Now by that we mean, this type of marketing is far away from fraud and instead focuses on work that is beneficial for targeted audiences.
5 Best Strategies for Ethical Instagram Marketing
Ethical Instagram Marketing is, honestly, a tough thing to carry forward with. As the surrounding is filled with unethical marketing and they are still earning profit.
So, at times it may get a bit frustrating. But, the trust that is built in the meantime will lead to exponential growth in the future.
Now, let us talk about the strategies or tips for Ethical Instagram Marketing.
Those are:
- Honesty
- Transparency
- No data compromise
- No emotional exploitation
- Social responsibility
- Honesty
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While growing up, we have come across the proverb that reads, “ Honesty is the best policy”. The truth of this statement can definitely be seen in Ethical Social Media Marketing.
Now, by that we mean, while a company promotes their brand on Instagram, they sometimes do this via some big celebrity or social media influencers to hide the authenticity of their product.
With this process, they definitely see a good number of sales from their respective fans but the situation does not stay the same in the future.
As, if the product doesn’t turn out to be as good as claimed, the business will fall short. No fan will continue to invest money in something that is of no use.
That is where honesty plays a role.
If the company takes utmost care of the material that is used in the production and only claims things that will be beneficial for the consumers, having a comparatively lower influence for the sharing end will also not make much difference.
The companies spend so much on an advertisement, that they forget about the product and services quality and that is where ethical marketing mainly focuses.
- Transparency
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Transparency is another thing that ethical marketing promotes. Now, how does that work here?
Transparency here means that the brand is not just true to its words about its benefits, it also tries its best to bring it to the knowledge of the consumer on how things work in the bigger picture.
Also, when we talk about affiliations. Companies sometimes tend to scam with that too. Showing affiliations from popular ends with no proof of authenticity whatsoever is sadly done by a lot of companies.
When marketing is ethical, things like that are out of the question.
Firstly, in ethical marketing brands preach authenticity and quality from the very start, so getting affiliation is not that big of a deal.
But, at the end of the day, it will be nothing but authentic.
Also, the true meaning of ethical marketing comes to the scene, if the brands state its motive as well.
Plus, if there’s a mistake at the brand’s end, there has to be transparency in that regard as well.
- No Data Compromise
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Companies have been buying user data for their purpose and the betterment of their Instagram marketing. But, in the bigger picture, this is a hoax.
The audience gathered or the engagement reached is not due to the brand, it is because the brand followed the user’s footprint.
In ethical marketing, this is strictly condemned. In this type of Instagram marketing, the idea is to grow the followers organically.
Now, for Instagram, organic growth is not easy. So, in this platform brands can provide top-notch service and look forward to a vigorous advertisement, making the right claims and also showing transparency.
The algorithm of Instagram is a bit tricky, but with regularity and good services, it is achievable. For a kickstart, getting 100 Instagram followers is a good idea.
- No Emotional Exploitation
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Emotional exploitation is another thing that has become very common among brands. This has led to the degradation of trust in the eyes of the consumers.
The marketers are taking the emotional vulnerability of the consumers as their selling point. There are brands where they bring in some vulnerable social issues into their advertisement campaigns without actually having any soft heart in that regard.
This is straight-up emotional exploitation and an unethical way of marketing.
In ethical marketing, this will never be in the scene.
The best thing about ethical marketing is they do not see the consumers only through the marketing point of view, rather they prioritise the needs of the consumers and try to fulfil their needs.
Also, in that middle that also ensures that they do not hype their brand with unnecessary promises to the customers.
All in all, they try to value the emotions of the customers which is highly appreciated in the long run.
- Social Responsibility
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Marketers who have taken to Instagram and have made quite an influence in the space are also expected to use their voice for the greater good as well.
This doesn’t mean taking the social cause and exploiting the emotions of the customer. In terms of ethical Instagram marketing, this is strictly prohibited.
The brand should try to use their space not for promoting, but, if possible on their part, also implementing some changes.
Now, this is a subjective thing. As it is easily understood that not all brands have the ability or funds to implement bigger things.
But, the least can easily be done, which means using their social media platforms to raise awareness and spread information.
Social causes and issues like environmental issues, girl child education, racism, and many others.
Bigger brands whose niche allows them to bring some necessary change in their product or service owing to the cause they have been voicing for, then that will also be appreciated.
From the above five tips, we learned that Instagram’s ethical marketing only focuses on the idea of making the marketing environment a better place.
It also tries to maintain a good and healthy relationship between customers and sellers.
Ethical vs Unethical Marketing
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In the above space, we have given a brief idea on ethical marketing. Naturally enough it can be understood that unethical marketing stands the opposite of that.
In unethical marketing the marketers try to misinterpret the user with false information.
Ethical marketing always tries to stay authentic. In the sense that, they will not give a deviating idea about the product on social media just to lure the audience.
On the other hand, for unethical marketing, the scene is quite different in this aspect. By that we mean that social media is a place where folks tend to enter subconsciously to look at things that look fancy.
In unethical marketing, they try to raise the standard of the product through the pictures and make it look more tempting in order to gather an audience.
Again, ethical marketing is socially cautious as we have discussed above. If they bring in any social cause in terms with their brands, they do it for a good reason and not just try to exploit the customer with pictures on Instagram.
They will also take necessary changes into account as much as possible so that the need is served.
While in case of unethical marketing, unfortunately, the idea is always to exploit the customer in one way or the other.
One such example is to advertise amongst the public that the said products are a lifesaver in the current times.
Especially, during covid there are so many products that have claimed to be of utmost importance and thus tried playing with the vulnerability of the public.
Another difference that can be considered is environmental reasons. In ethical marketing they take necessary care that there is no damage to the environment.
But, unethical marketing is a different scenario. In unethical marketing, they will just claim that they have caused no damage to the environment.
But, in reality numerous examples can be found where damage to the environment is directly done just to make the product look shinier.
Wrapping up
We have talked about ethical marketing in social media, mainly Instagram, and the strategies that follow in detail.
From the above discussion, it will not be wrong if we conclude that ethical marketing is the future and there is no alternative to that.
Well, let us admit that the customers have grown smarter, and cheating on them is not as easy as it used to be.
With the numerous options that are available and the research material also on the internet that can be accessed with a tap, consumers cannot be fooled or misled.
Also, it becomes tough on the brand’s end to build trust with their customers.
The consumers will only connect to brands, where they feel that the needs can be fulfilled and not just get lured by what comes on their feed.
That is why Ethical Marketing in social media is the one-stop destination for brands for a good future in business