2018’s Scummiest Marketing Tactics

In many ways, it could be said that 2017 was a banner year for marketing and that 2018 is poised to be one as well. Marketers are as creative as ever and advertising efforts are adapting to the content-rich landscape that’s now demanded by consumers. Already this year, we’ve seen some incredible efforts and campaigns.

This article isn’t about those campaigns. In fact, it’s about the exact opposite of them – the worst of the worst that still exists in marketing. The scummiest tactics that are still in use here in 2018.

8. “Share to Win” Competitions

What they are: “Share to win” competitions are contests hosted on social media. To win a prize, a user has to share a post on their own timeline or feed.

Why it’s scummy: Share to win competitions are consider among dirty marketing tactics for one reason – they’re against the rules on almost any social media platform. Facebook in particular bans anything that’s even remotely close to share to win, but even so, small businesses are often able to sneak by and host these kind of contests. The reason share to win competitons come in 8th in our ranking is this – many people who use this kind of tactic have no idea that it’s against the rules at all.

7. Keyword Stuffing

What it is: Keyword stuffing is a practice that’s used to manipulate search engine optimization (SEO). It’s the “art” of cramming the same phrase (or phrases) into one piece of content over and over again to improve it’s odds of ending up on the first page of any search engine.

For instance, if this article was supposed to rank for “balloon shop” a keyword stuffed sentence might read: “This balloon shop is a balloon shop in Minneapolis that sells balloons.”

Inserting keywords into an article is not a bad practice, but keyword stuffing can be instantly identified (in most cases) due to the ridiculous way that content with too many keywords reads.

Why it’s scummy: This strategy is scummy for mostly obvious reasons – it’s just plain annoying. Anything that has the capability of easily frustrating readers without providing any kind of actual value is definitely deserving of a place on this list. In some cases, keyword stuffers goes so far as to actually hide keywords in white space – meaning that no one would ever even read it, the words would simply exist in an attempt to manipulate search engines.

Almost all search engines directly denounce keyword stuffing and have started to penalize the practice whenever it’s identified. In other words, this slimy practice is hardly worth the trouble.

6. Multi-Source Email Campaigns

What they are: Multi-source email campaigns are why unsubscribing from email lists seems more complicated than it should be. They make it easier for companies to keep you on their list, because there are so many different addresses you’d have to identify and unsubscribe from to stop getting all of the mail they send you.

Even reputable companies might use as many as 5-10 different addresses to ensure that they can land in your inbox even after you think you’ve gotten rid of them once and for all.

Why it’s scummy: This tactic takes sixth place on our list because, let’s face it, nobody wants to get stuck on a marketer’s list forever. But knowing this doesn’t deter these same marketers from hoping that you’ll turn around some day and start reading their mail again.

Since they’re concerned about “out of sight, out of mind” they simply create a variety of sources that their emails can come from to ensure that you’ll be greeted with the chance to re-consider your decision someday.

5. Geofencing

What it is: Geofencing is probably one of the reasons that you feel like you’re being watched. Ever walked into a coffee shop only to be greeted with a Facebook ad for the competition?

It’s not just random chance that put that ad there in the right place at the right time. In fact, it’s a calculated decision. Geofencing is a practice made easy by the data your phone and your car are sending back to report about your every move. If you grace the doors of a place that’s within a “fence” it’s very easy for advertisers to know about it and have the chance to place an ad on your device.

Why it’s scummy: Nobody likes their privacy invaded, and nobody wants to be spied on either. While practices like re-targeting are now commonplace online and generally accepted by most advertisers and consumers alike, it somehow feels like a much worse offense to have your very shopping habits watched.

To some extent, we all know that our phones are reporting this kind of data to advertisers, and some of it can be expected. However, there’s still a line that can be crossed. Opting yourself out of geofencing is quite tricky – you’ll have to disable location services for just about any app on your device that requests it.

4. “Our Neighbor” Mailers

What they are: Ever opened up a mailbox with the full expectation that all you’re going to find is a pile of junk that you never asked for? The process of sifting through it adds insult to injury by being addressed coldly – you’ll find all kinds of things sent to “Our Neighbor” or, worse yet, “Current Resident.” The companies that send this kind of junk mail are fully aware that you never asked for it, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop sending it!

Why it’s scummy: Junk mail is so annoying that you could almost consider it as unwelcome as a costly bill. But even so, the process of getting removed from a snail mail list might be the only thing that’s even more difficult than getting off of an email list. You’re pretty much doomed to receive the mail for whatever lists you’re on until the day you move and inherit an entirely new set of mail.

3. “Live Mic” Spying

What it is: Yes, it’s true. You’re actually being spyed on by your own phone. And we’re not talking about geofencing – we’re talking about something even more sinister.

Ever notice that mentioning a brand or product leads to a whole bunch of online ads for that same thing?

It’s because your phone is listening to you. All kinds of apps quietly ask for permission to have access to your microphone, even when you’re not using the app. This is done in order to catch up on all of the key phrases you utter throughout the day so that you can be gently reminded of purchasing decisions in digital format.

Why it’s scummy: Most people aren’t even aware that they’re granting access to their phone’s mic at any given time.

If you are aware, at least you can have the honest expectation that what you say could be used against you. If you’re not, then you’re exactly what these developers are hoping for – an unknowing participant. The most well-known offender? The Facebook Messenger app.

2. Illegal Influencer Partnerships

What they are: If you have more than a couple thousand Instagram followers or a blog with several thousand readers, you’re probably aware of the fact that popularity begets potential advertising partnerships.

Having a few thousand followers qualifies you as a nano-influencer, and having ten thousand or more promotes you to the micro-influencer category. By simply providing free products or a little bit of cash, brands are able to get their message out to the average consumer easily and efficiently.

Why?

Because people are more likely to take advice from someone they admire (or a friend) rather than a brand. But paid partnerships aren’t scummy – not in the slightest! What we’re talking about here is the fact that many brands engage in illegal activity once they’ve started a relationship with micro-influencers.

In the United States, it’s illegal to be paid to promote a brand without disclosing that fact. If someone pays you to post a picture of the meal you just ate at their restaurant online, you’re legally obligated to provide some sort of disclaimer that lets everyone know that you’re being paid to share your opinion.

This can be as simple as adding the hashtag #ad or #sp on Instagram. But unfortunately, many brands are not requiring their influencers to do that and are benefitting from posts that do not appear to be sponsored at all.

Why it’s scummy: Getting a recommendation from a friend or a lifestyle influencer can be extremely impactful. It can completely sway purchasing decisions in many cases. However, according to the law, this kind of “recommendation” requires a disclosure of some sort so that no one is deceived into making a purchase simply because someone else was paid to tell them to.

1. Stealing Content

What it is: Stealing content is a pretty straightforward thing – it’s as simple as grabbing a photo, a blog post, or a video from someone else’s site and claiming it as your own – whether that be directly or indirectly. This is a serious violation of copyright law and can have major implications.

That said, this kind of behavior is rarely identified and even less commonly associated with consequences. Because of that, many people resort to this kind of effort to populate their own site (or social media) with content that’s not even credited or clearly sourced.

Why it’s scummy: Having success on the back of someone else’s hard work is scummy, and very few consumers will ever even identify that stolen content has been utilized in the first place. From a consumer’s perspective, this can have serious implications.

Imagine making a purchase after reading a piece that convinced you of a small business’ expertise in a certain subject. How would you feel to learn that that same company actually stole that company in the first place?