What is marketing without persuasion? Does it exist? Many products are marketed through the act of persuasion because it’s the easiest way to get people interested in a product. But where is the line drawn between ethical and unethical marketing persuasion?
A podcast called Persuasion and Control by Sam Harris and Zeynep Tufekci discussed the topic of persuasion and went into detail on how Social media sites can use Al enabled marketing to track data based off moods, key words and recent searches on the internet. This marketing technique collects your information and places advertisement banners throughout your social media to persuade you to buy things you wouldn’t have normally purchased.
Personally, I found this podcast boring and dry. I honestly couldn’t listen to the whole thing because I am not nor have I ever been a fan of podcasts. I am a Kinesthetic learner, so I will not retain any information sitting and listening to someone speak for an hour without some sort of visual… however, I do find this to be an interesting subject.
Is Al enabled marketing ethical? Probably not. I feel that this form of marketing is invasive of individual’s feelings and a breach of privacy. But does it work? Absolutely.
By using this form of advertising, marketers can gather the information needed to sell products to their target audience. I feel that although it’s invasive, it’s a smart way to get people to find and buy the product you’re selling.
In conclusion, I am uncomfortable with the idea of marketers tracking my internet usage to sell products that correspond with my life, but I understand that it’s a successful way of marketing. My thoughts on the subject are conflicted. What do you think? If you have any thoughts on the subject, let me know in the comment section. I would love to hear the different opinions and ideas. Lastly, feel free to check out blog posts from Sam Harris here and let me know what you think!
The Road to a Happy Heart 