Nobody likes cold callers. However cold calling is still done by some companies (we had a cold call from an energy supplier just today) which means it must work to some degree, otherwise it would surely be a waste of time and money for the firm. We recently read a post on LinkedIn which was discussing if it is right and moral for companies to send unsolicited emails promoting their business and services to LinkedIn connections. This got us thinking, how can a company get the balance correct between letting people know their service is out there and available and doing it in the right way so as not to cause any recipients any undue stress or annoyance.

The Right Balance

It’s such a difficult moral assessment to make.  On the one hand, any new company has to advertise in order to make their target market aware of any product or service they are offering. Word must be spread for businesses to grow and fulfil their ultimate purpose of generating income.

Indeed, there is the argument that if a company advertises in say, a magazine with a dedicated topic, then surely as a reader (or the receiver of the marketing message) you accept that companies want to target those who are most likely to buy their product or service.  In a way this is solicited marketing.  By choosing to pick up the magazine, the reader is already engaging in the subject matter and magazines are well known and expected to show advertisements for relevant businesses.  When it comes to cold calling, it is understandable that this is unsolicited and unwelcome as there was no choice by the receiver to engage in that subject matter to start with.

Moral Social Landscape

So when it comes to social media, where does the land lay?  Our view is that this depends on which social media medium the company chooses to use. Twitter is great for hashtags and grouping together conversations in the wider public view. Facebook and Instagram are more personal and private, whereas LinkedIn tends to lean more towards use by professionals or employment seekers.  Therefore, by signing up to LinkedIn, surely the user is actively choosing to engage with other professionals and businesses. Again though, there is a balance to be had here. In our view, we welcome companies letting us know that they exist and that they want to provide a product or service to us (whether it suits us or not is for us to decide).  What we would not welcome is endless unsolicited messages pushing a sales pitch that is not relevant to us. This indeed can be annoying and truly infuriating. 

The moral maze on receipt of marketing messages on social media, we believe, is one that can be navigated with thought and consideration, as well as using the right medium.