Beware of Hypocritical Marketing Advice

As business owners and entrepreneurs, we’re constantly bombarded with advice about the best strategies and tactics to grow our companies. However, it’s important to take any recommendations with a grain of salt, particularly when the messenger isn’t following their own counsel.

I came across a perfect example of this recently. On Facebook, I saw an advertisement claiming that YouTube ads work better than Facebook ads for most businesses. Yet this ad was ironically advertising on Facebook, not YouTube! The marketer behind it clearly wasn’t practicing what they were preaching to others.

These kinds of “do what I say, not what I do” vendors raise some obvious red flags. If a tactic or channel is truly superior, wouldn’t a rational business utilize it themselves over alternatives? The fact that this ad was promoting YouTube on Facebook suggests the marketer’s own testing found Facebook to still be a better allocation of budgets.

Beyond the hypocrisy, blanket claims rarely ring true given how performances vary significantly by industry, product, audience and creative. What’s better depends entirely on those individual factors. A one-size-fits-all declaration is an oversimplification meant to sell a service, not impart reliable guidance.

When advice directly contradicts someone’s actions, it’s a clear sign to scrutinize their motives. Are they truly interested in your success, or just looking to boost their own bottom line? Beware of those dismissing their competition while not putting their full weight behind the solution themselves.

The best counsel comes from role models genuinely walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Focus on learning from peers demonstrably using strategies to gain results for their own businesses before yours. Actions will always speak louder than overly promotional words.