Marketing and Manipulation

an interview with Mallory DeMille

Hi! Tell us about your background and and your work.

My name is Mallory DeMille and I create social media content that comments on the wellness industry, marketing, influencers, and multilevel marketing companies. My background is in business, marketing, communications and social media, but also fitness. I have a degree in business and a diploma in fitness & health promotion.

Influencers often blur the line between genuine recommendations and paid promotions. How can you tell if something is an ad?

In today’s online standards, if something in an ad, it should be indicated as such. Either ad, sponsored, or paid partnership should appear in the content somewhere. This isn’t always the case though. Typically an affiliate link or discount code is another indication that there’s likely some sort of financial affiliation between an influencer and a company. All of that said, in an online world that praises authenticity, it appears influencers intentionally make it harder and harder to tell if recommendations or advice has a financial incentive.

Sometimes it feels like we see ads for things we were just thinking or talking about. Can you explain how targeted advertising works?

Sometimes we forget that everything is connected. I recently signed a lease for a new home after a few weeks of searching. Now I’m being fed various ads for household furniture and goods. Overall it’s an incredibly well orchestrated advertising system that we are unaware of. I know there’s speculation that our phones are listening to us, and I’ve certainly had that feeling too, but it’s largely debunked and actually goes to show just how sophisticated the system is.

What are some of the most common or effective advertising or persuasion strategies we should be aware of to protect ourselves from manipulation?

In the spaces I predominantly cover (wellness and MLMs), I’m most wary of when influencers try to leverage a tragedy in order to sell a product or protocol or business opportunity. I think we should be most aware of where our pain points are so we can be more aware when folks are trying to prey on them. This is incredibly common in MLMs - targeting folks who are looking for answers to their financial, community and health struggles.

Sometimes people selling a product will present themselves as experts. How do we determine whether these so-called experts are legitimate?

If someone’s credentials are hard to find, on social media or their website, that’s usually a red flag. But it’s important to also remember that there are folks with so-called “proper” or “good” credentials that are also selling snake oil or don’t have positive intentions. All in all, it’s more important to look at what the body of evidence is saying versus what a single person is saying. For me personally, I’m skeptical of anyone selling a product.

We see lots of ads about limited-time sales or big discounts. What do these offers actually mean, and how can we evaluate whether something’s truly a good deal?

I’m skeptical of anything being sold via influencers that seems to always be on sale or always have discounts. You’ll often see in MLMs that there’s constant sales, and it’s always “the best time to join”. This is a form of urgency sales. Limited time is one example, but so is limited quantity. It’s how these companies get you to forgo or blue critical thinking before buying.

What else should we ask or look into before buying something we see advertised online?

I always ask myself 3 questions when I see an influencer promoting something online:

1. Would the person trying to convince me I’m somehow unwell profit off me believing that?
2. Do the claims they’re making actually mean anything or are they just mashing buzzwords together?
3. Would I still be interested in this if it was a TV commercial with no faces or anecdotal stories?

How can people connect with you online?

You can find me on instagram: @this.is.mallory

You can find me on TikTok: @mallorysthoughts

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Critikid has a mock social media feed for kids to practice spotting misinformation and manipulation in a safe and controlled environment before they face the real thing. Learn more.

Read other Media Literacy Interviews.