Ethics in Social Media Marketing: How do practitioners balance ethical considerations with strategic goals in practice?

The digital landscape has evolved into a complex and potentially harmful environment. This study shifts the focus from platform owners to the practitioners who actively operate within the social media marketing (SMM) space. Central to this research is the concept of Ethical Marketing, which refers to the integrity of professional behavior. The study draws on the Business Ethics as Practice approach, which emphasizes ethical engagement as rooted in self-awareness and moral sensitivity. Motivated by the ideal of a non-exploitative digital ecosystem, this thesis aims to raise awareness and deliver strategic recommendations for ethical compliance. When genuinely implemented, such practices have been shown to enhance long-term business success. Therefore, a critical tension remains: are ethical stances authentic or self-serving? This research assumes that monetary profit often sidelines ethical responsibility towards consumers, who remain marginalized in marketing considerations. To explore this under-researched intersection of strategic and ethical imperatives, 10 semi-structured expert interviews were conducted. Sampling criteria was occupation only, defined as active engagement in the SMM field. Therefore, different accounts, ages, and nationalities form a broad sample. Such a heterogeneous group enabled nuanced and diverse findings. The central research question guiding the inquiry was: How do social media marketing practitioners manage and balance ethical considerations, such as data & privacy, transparency & authenticity wellbeing, or other negative side-effects, with economic needs while strategically ensuring the consumption of brands, products and social media content? Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed eight key insights: (I) Business objectives, especially profit, can compromise ethical integrity (II) Unethical practices are widespread within the SMM industry (III) Participants showed ethical awareness and active engagement (IV) Organizational practitioners reported stronger monetary prioritization than freelancers (V) Internal pressures can undermine ethical intentions (VI) Social media presents greater complexity than previous analogue marketing environments (VII) Ethical challenges impact not only users but also practitioners themselves (VIII) Digital addiction emerged as a frequently expressed concern. Overall, the findings suggest a fragmented landscape. While ethical awareness among practitioners is evident, the dominance of monetary objectives and the severity of emerging ethical challenges call for urgent reconsideration of marketing practices to prevent further harm.