Marketing with Integrity: Authentic Marketing That Speaks Volumes

Let me share a recent occurrence that drove me to write this post on authentic marketing.

Against my better judgment, I accepted a friend request on Facebook from someone whose personal profile had a suspiciously businessy name. I knew I shouldn’t have, but since we had a few respectable mutuals, I figured, “What the heck?”

Within minutes I received a message asking, “How are you?”

Now, I don’t know this person, and they certainly don’t know me. So, naturally, I rolled my eyes. Neither of us truly cares enough about how the other is doing to warrant this message.

But, because I believe in giving people a shot, I replied, “Great, and you?” To no one’s surprise, the next message was, “I have something for you.”

Cue the instant frustration. It’s bad enough that our Facebook feeds have been taken over by ads and spam…I do NOT want my private inbox taken over as well! Honestly, this is a terrible, transparent marketing tactic

The Marketing Tactics We’re All Tired Of

Let me share some of the all-time worst offenders when it comes to annoying marketing strategies:

❶ Cold DMs or fake check-ins: Like the story above—don’t pretend to care about how I’m doing when what you really want is to pitch me.

❷ “Hurry! You’re missing out!” marketing: Overused urgency is something pretty much everyone sees right through.

❸ Endless follow up emails: If I haven’t responded after five emails, I’m not interested.

❹ Invasive website pop-ups: Websites with multiple pop-ups begging for my email before I even know what the site offers are highly annoying.

❺ Automated messages pretending to be personal: When the chatbot says, “Hi, [Insert Name]! We noticed you looked at [Item]…” we all know it’s a bot. It’s not fooling anyone.

❻ Begging for likes, shares, and comments: Let your content be valuable enough that people want to engage with it naturally.

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What Should You Do Instead?

Here’s what actually works when it comes to organic, authentic marketing:

❶ Share your success stories: Rather than invade someone’s private inbox, share your success stories on your personal social feeds in addition to your business ones. Over time, you’ll establish a reputation as a successful expert without being pushy.

❷ Provide real value: Don’t start any conversation with a potential client with what you need. Give freely at first—whether it’s advice, a resource, or a genuine compliment. And, always give more than you receive.

❸ Let your content do the talking: Invest your time in creating stellar content that you’ll never have to ask people to share.

❹ Make it personal & don’t fake it: If you’re reaching out to someone, do it because you truly care and don’t combine your expression of that care or offer to help with a sales pitch. And, if you use AI, make SURE you use it for inspiration, not for a script!

❺ Respect boundaries: No one likes having their inbox or feed flooded with repetitive messages. Less is more.

❻ Be patient: Authentic marketing takes time. Not everyone will buy or sign up right away. If you’re in business to genuinely help people, your authenticity will eventually shine through.

Focus on Authentic Marketing

We’re all tired of the constant bombardment of marketing from all directions. It’s gotten too crazy. And, people are already tiring of AI, so use it wisely! In fact, I’m already starting to observe that AI is creating an even greater demand for authenticity, so be prepared to offer authentic marketing!

At the end of the day, people appreciate real, honest interactions. Be a problem-solver, not an inbox-spammer or an AI addict, and you’ll see the difference in your results—and your reputation.