All this talk of “fake news” has me a little crazy: fake news, gaslighting, living in a post-factual world. … Whatever we call it, we never know exactly what we’ll see when we click a link.
Marketers long have faced scrutiny for fake news — even if no one called it that. We’ve been accused of adding spin, exaggerating the truth and manipulating a story to make it sound more convincing. Some even have been accused of simply making stuff up.
Of course, it’s our job to put our brands in the best light possible. That’s precisely how we engage customers and sell products or services. But here’s the clincher: Those stories we spin — and the goods and services themselves — truthfully must benefit the end users.
I’d like to believe that for the most part, marketers take this role seriously and communicate in an open, honest fashion. But the truth is we sometimes get carried away. Taking a little too much creative license in our branding, messaging and distribution efforts can make us part of the fake-news phenomenon.
The key is not getting too caught up in the marketplace’s latest tactics. Here are a few guidelines to help avoid the frenzy and maintain balance.
Don’t get competitive.
It’s easy to become consumed by tracking our competitors’ moves and then trying to one-up them. But constantly working to outdo our competition could put us in a tail spin….