Andy Ball, managing director of Balls2 Marketing, talks about fake news and staying on the right side of the truth.
Seeing Facebook using printed mainstream media to broaden its awareness campaign around fake news really made me think.
The adverts featured a list of ten things to look out for when spotting fake news. It’s an important campaign, especially as so many people use Facebook as their only news source. If nothing else, I hope it will make people think a little more about what they read on social media.
Facebook’s ad hit all the big-name nationals including The Times, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, and the story was broadcast on BBC and Sky news on the day too. It shows that even the biggest social media platform in the UK isn’t averse to using other channels to reach more people with its message, and that’s something for businesses to bear in mind.
As for fake news, now that Facebook is teaching us all how to identify it, businesses need to make sure that they aren’t contributing to it in any way.
That means marketing your business without any false promises, dishonest promotions or fake news. Not only is it the right thing to do but being caught out for lying doesn’t exactly work wonders for your reputation – case in point: Lance Armstrong.
It’s especially important to make sure you’re telling the truth on social media. It’s live and instant and it only takes a quick Google search for someone to be able to catch you out with a wrong fact, prove you wrong and make it public.
The best way to avoid getting yourself into that situation is to make sure that your messaging is always on the right side of the moral code and as unambiguous as possible.
At Balls2 Marketing, five of our team are members of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and bound by a code of ethics that all of our marketing adheres to. It’s the best way to make sure that our clients aren’t in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
If you’re ever worried about what you’re writing on your next social post, keep it simple with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
