With So Many Voices How Do You Look True on the Internet?
Malcolm Gladwell stated in one of his “Revisionist History” podcasts that he was glad the television networks were going away. He proclaimed that now we have many more voices. 
Well, I don’t believe Mr. Gladwell knows much about television, but now that we have lots of voices on the internet, you have to double your guard on the information you’re seeing. The Washington Post reported that Google, Facebook and Twitter (hmmmm, kind of like NBC, CBS and ABC) are “scrambling to prevent a surge of half-truths and outright falsehood about the deadly outbreak” of the coronavirus in China.
In the face of a pandemic, the internet is battling the conspiracy theories and misinformation that could cause deaths in the U.S. One item the Post reported said that “Oregano Oil Proves Effective Against Coronavirus.” By last week, 2,000 people had shared it. The Post also reported that one video with “dubious information” about the disease’s origin had more than 430,000 views.
What does this mean for marketers? It means you need to make sure your digital marketing content:
- Is absolutely and irrefutably true
- Is authentic or real (such as a real patient versus a paid actor)
- Does not look like over-hyped marketing or advertising
- Is linked to authoritative sources that support your content
- Doesn’t over promise (and then your product or service under deliver)
- Is true to your brand. Don’t follow the latest trends just to look trendy; the problem is that nefarious people out there are already using those techniques.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
