Business Ethics & Video Marketing: How To Represent Your Brand Accurately Online

In the age of social media, more brands are relying on playful images and short-form video content to market themselves and their product. Video marketing has become more accessible than ever – you can create a compelling video marketing campaign just by pulling out your mobile phone and using a video editor for free online. But with the opportunity to bring thousands of eyes to your brand comes great responsibility. 

When creating content for video marketing, it’s crucial to adhere to a Code of Business Ethics, upholding principles like fairness, responsibility, honesty, integrity, and compliance. Failure to do so can lead to a loss of trust, negative brand perception, and potential legal issues. From editing your videos honestly to following relevant legislation, read on to find out how you can take steps to reflect your brand accurately online when commencing a video marketing campaign. 

Edit Your Videos Honestly

How you edit your videos can greatly enhance the story you’re telling. It can be tempting to edit videos in such a way that exaggerates certain traits of your product, but you must uphold your integrity. Filters that distort colours, airbrushing that smoothes away all imperfections, and misleading product demonstrations can create false expectations and disappoint customers. 

Editing should clarify, not deceive. With easy-to-use online templates, you can edit your videos into Instagram, Youtube or TikTok ready formats and create compelling, authentic narratives, even with minimal video editing software experience. For example, you could use slow motion to capture the precision of your product, but you shouldn’t use slow motion to alter your product’s performance. Your audience values honesty, and it’s crucial to maintain their trust.

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Create Content Responsibly & Sensitively

Missteps in content creation can alienate your audience, staining your reputation and harming your bottom line. When creating content, you should ensure it accurately reflects your company’s commitment to ethical practices. Your video marketing campaign must be respectful – offensive language, cultural appropriation, reinforced stereotypes, and graphic content have no place in an ethical business. 

Keep in mind that your content will reach a diverse audience, and it is your responsibility to communicate positively with them. While you can still take a stand on hot-topic social issues, consider running your video past a test audience to ensure you’ve treated all stakeholders fairly and respectfully. It’s not only the ethical choice; it’s the most likely to set you up for success.

Partner With People You Align With

Influencers provide value to businesses by endorsing, promoting, or acting as the face of a brand through social media platforms. When collaborating with these individuals, you should ensure their values align with your company’s ethos before diving into a collaboration. If their behaviour is unsavoury, your partnership may seem like you endorse their actions and could reflect poorly on your business reputation. 

You can vet potential business partners by researching their digital footprint and past collaborations. Have they been involved in a recent scandal? Do they properly indicate when their content is sponsored? Do they espouse extreme views? Though time-consuming, this research is worthwhile. Once you’ve evaluated if they are an appropriate collaborator, your partnership can significantly boost public interest in your brand.

Respect Other’s Intellectual Property

With such a wide range of talented marketing agencies, companies release inspiring campaigns every day. However, borrowing content in any way breaches business ethics and can put you in legal hot water. Creating your own materials for a video marketing campaign is the best way to reflect your product and vision. If you don’t have the resources to film an entire video, you may supplement your campaign with legally acquired, licensed content or copyright-free materials. Do not use stolen content – even if you don’t get caught, it will undermine your brand’s reputation and commitment to fair practices. When in doubt, brush up on your country’s intellectual property, copyright, and trademark laws. You can jump on trends, but make them your own for a unique spin on a popular angle.

Promote Causes That Matter To You

Consumers want to know what brands stand for, and promoting a cause important to you is a great way to accurately represent your company online. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives help associate your brand with meaningful causes. Use your video marketing strategy to tell an authentic story about your brand’s tangible impact and encourage viewers to get involved. 

By highlighting your CSR initiatives in your video marketing campaign, you demonstrate that your actions align with your core values, showcasing your genuine purpose beyond your products and solidifying your brand’s identity online.

Monitor Comments & Accept Accountability 

Conversations in the comments under your videos can play a role in shaping public perception. Sometimes, commenters will say critical things about your brand. In these instances, you cannot get defensive. Engage with your audience respectfully and take accountability for genuine errors, addressing mistakes with humility and grace. This will showcase your brand’s commitment to transparency and improvement. Address positive and negative comments as if they are equally valuable feedback for the growth of your brands – because they are!

In the case of offensive or false information spread through online engagement with your video content, maintain a level head. Report these comments and contact the platforms for moderator action if necessary. But it’s important to remember that you can’t ever fully control online output, and to understand that this is a risk of video content production. That’s another reason why it’s so important to treat your customers with patience and respect, even if they’re not happy!

Present your Brand as a Reputable Voice Online

The power to represent your brand positively and accurately is in your hands. Here’s a summary of how to do video marketing in the best way.

• Edit your content to highlight your product’s best features, but don’t exaggerate or intentionally mislead consumers. 
• Craft your videos responsibly, keeping your diverse audience in mind. 
• Research influencers before confirming partnerships – these collaborations walk a thin line between boosting and hindering your brand’s growth if you’re not careful. 
• Closely follow legislation on intellectual property to respect others’ work. 
• Tell the authentic story of your brand’s impact on the world, but accept accountability when you fall short. 

With these tips, you can maintain your integrity while launching an exciting new campaign in multimedia format.