Marketing Strategies Often Erode Community Trust. Here Are 3 Keys to Avoiding Common Missteps. As authenticity wanes, so goes the evolution of communication channels from advertising to influencers. Let's hold the community sacred.

In 1960 you might have seen a clever, Mad Men-style advertisement in the newspaper and believed it. Some doctors said smoking was healthy, some dentists said Coca-Cola was great for children. Fact-checking was difficult and salesmanship was strong.

Years later, you found out they had lied to you. Smoking caused cancer. Sugar gave you cavities. The age of advertising was dead. Ads would still be used, but trust was damaged. The abuse was now visible.

Enter the internet, a new way to reach potential customers: digital marketing. You could simply put a physical 2D ad into a digital display format. Then came Google, Facebook and the social media ad platforms. They were interesting at first, maybe even helpful as algorithms hunted for your utmost desires. Privacy started to become an issue for consumers and again, trust was lost. Tracking went rampant.