This April Fools, I posted the below post to get my audience’s attention in all the wrong ways. Instead of promoting ethical SEO services, I made the most unethical social post possible. It was the epitome of unscrupulous marketing and underhand sales tactics that ethical marketers are sick of seeing. When I started my business, I knew I wanted to work differently from what I had seen in my career so far. So, I ensured that ethical marketing strategies were put at the front of my business and not as a nice-to-have afterthought.
In the article today, I’ll show you what is oh-so-wrong with the fake post I shared and how marketers can do better. I’ve used ethical SEO services as my examples here to showcase sale tactics that work without being icky!
Ethical SEO Services: Against Traditional Sales Tactics
You will see several sales tactics employed if you read the social media post I shared on April fools. Below I will discuss why each is a problem and not how I should promote my ethical SEO services. The different tactics include:
- Charm pricing – £99.99 – a psychological tactic to make the product appear cheaper
- A countdown timer – Only 10 minutes – Generating anxiety and rash decisions
- Lying about availability – only 5 places left – False scarcity rushes consumers into buying
- Using social issues to gain leverage – Stress Awareness month – Pretending like you care about the issues when all you want to do is sell.
- Claiming I have a secret recipe and guaranteeing results – There is no secret recipe for anything, least of all SEO!
Read on to learn about each of these in more detail
Charm Pricing
Charm pricing, or psychological pricing, is a pricing strategy that uses odd numbers, often nines, to demonstrate perceived value to shoppers and convince them to buy. For example, prices often end in 99 pence instead of a round number, such as £8.99 instead of £9.00. But It also works for whole pounds, e.g. £99 instead of £100. While this may seem like the most standard of sales methods, we should be able to convince consumers of our products and services without psychological manipulation. To change
Countdown Timers
The use of countdown timers in marketing makes consumers rush their purchases. Countdown timers can be seen across the digital world, from reserving tickets to sale item prices. But, they are often entirely false; simply hitting refresh on a browser often puts the clock back to a starting point, and this is why they are so terrible. Countdowns should only be used for services and products with an end time. For example, a concert or festival genuinely needs to put a countdown on for early bird releases or final places. But an everyday product, such as underwear, doesn’t need that undue stress. Consider whether you genuinely need to put a timer on a purchase. If so, consider the design of the timer, so it provides precise information rather than a scary clock ticking away.
Availability honesty
As with countdown timers, rushing consumers by falsifying scarcity is terrible for overconsumption and raising anxiety levels. When you state there are only so many left, it can make purchases buy something they may have decided not to if there wasn’t the sense of scarcity. This is particularly problematic for goods because it’s like the shop has more in stock or can order them easily. With services, availability should be based on your actual capacity and not to induce more sales.
For example, at the end of a deal, you may not have as many sign-ups as you may have liked. So many marketers turn up the heat and say there are only a few places left. In truth, there is plenty of space. Be honest in your marketing, and if you haven’t gained the traction in a campaign that you wanted, maybe you need to change tactics and offerings, not trick people into purchases.
Utilising social issues to leverage marketing
As more people change their purchase behaviour to become ethical shoppers, businesses have jumped on various bandwagons to sell their wares. From rainbow capitalism to girl-boss feminism, many companies use social issues to leverage marketing rather than investing in the people those issues affect.
It’s OK to use awareness days and months to celebrate people, especially if it is tied to your organisation’s mission. As an ethical marketer, I am actively trying to improve the green credentials of my business, so I often promote environmental causes such as Earth Day. While I am an anti-racist, I don’t feel it’s my place to talk about the struggles of people of colour in this country. Furthermore, using events like Black History Month to peddle my wares would feel completely unethical. Woke washing is a rising ethical issue in marketing.
The Secret Recipe & guaranteed results
Lastly, there is no such thing as a secret recipe for SEO services. As with all digital marketing, success is built on thorough research, actioned steps, quality analysis and a lot of time and effort. Any marketing that says they can guarantee you get to position one on Google is lying. This is not because it isn’t possible (I’ve done it for many clients) but because it’s never guaranteed. Your site needs to perform well, but there are also external factors, such as the work your competitors do. If there were one secret to success, we wouldn’t have countless marketing agencies dedicated to SEO. It’s a skill, a craft, and a lot of hard work; if it were easy, everyone would be a winner. The message here is: beware of false promises.
Ethical SEO Services from Middleton Marketing
So, if you desire ethical SEO services that don’t rely on trick tactics and physiological pressure, why not call Middleton Marketing? My SEO services are available year-round; you’ll never see a 99p on the end of anything I do. I’m honest about my availability and what I can do for you. I never make promises I cannot keep, and I know that one size doesn’t fit all, so my ‘secret recipe’ is to tailor my services to your needs. Please get in touch with me today if you are sick of dodgy marketing tactics and need honest advice.