I wrote an article for AnnArbor.com about the 9 P’s of Marketing – the fifth and the most important to me is purpose. This article by Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, of Temple University is an excellent article that talks about the why of a brand. I think it fits nicely into my concept of the “purpose.”
This article was originally published on AnnArbor.com – I hold the copyright to my articles so I am republishing it here.
Forum image - courtesy of MightyOhm cc license on Flickr
In business it is vital to know how your company is being perceived out in the “wild, wild west” of the internet. You can do some simple monitoring for free or at a low cost, or you can buy expensive software (recommended for larger companies) or you can hire a monitoring company to do the work for you. This will vary with your needs and company size.
Today let’s take a look at some of the free options for the business listening process — links for each tool are within the title of the product.
I use both Google and Yahoo, because they return different results sometimes. I use them to monitor what is being said about me, marketing friends, my brand and companies I used to work for and their competitors. In a few quick minutes I can scan the surface of content, decide what to follow up on and move on.
If you would like to learn how to use alerts effectively I have posted some training lessons on my blog: Lesson I — the basics and Lesson II — a bit more intensive study
First find out if people are using a hashtag for your company. For example, the hashtag for Ford is “#ford”. So if you put in #ford in the search function of Twitter, you will get all the recent tweets about Ford from Ford and from other users. You do not need a Twitter account to search — however I recommend getting one as soon as you figure out how to use it for your business and retweet (RT) great comments by users.
Second read the tweets! Follow the links — you might be surprised at what you find.
Delicious is a great simple way to monitor various topics of interest as well as to see what is trending quickly. If you have a service or product that can adapt quickly to a new market segment this might be a way to jump ahead of your competitors
This is similar to the Google and Yahoo alerts but also tracks other formats. On the drop down of “type” pick all — so you can monitor a variety of areas in one click.
Track mentions of your business in user boards and forums. Boards and forums truly are the “wild wild west” — participants often use more vulgarity and trash talk more freely. Do not be dismayed by what is written in these arenas; think of them as all night bar conversations. In the case of forums and boards, I not recommend contacting the “talker” in channel — usually it is better to contact them privately if at all. In this instance, being a watcher of conversation might be the way to go. This is a good way to track product conversations, often you may see patterns or wish lists — product innovation trends from real users is a win-win.
Monitoring your reputation is hard work without the right tools. The goal of this post is to make it a little easier with search efforts delivered to you. There are other monitoring tools; I picked a few of my favorites to get you started. Remember if someone comments about your business or product, you should know about it.
Image Credit Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyohm/3412531284/ – thank you for sharing
This was originally posted on AnnArbor.com – I hold the copyright to my articles so I am reposting it here.
Image: Flickr - epSos.de CC license
You don’t have to look far to see examples of green marketing — they’re all around you. Plastic bags that decompose, Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper, and bio-based cleaners all have something in common — they are green and can prove their products are less harmful than their non-green counterparts.
However when a company actively engages in greenwashing — the promotion of a product based on misleading “green” claims — it’s looking to deceive the user into believing it’s helping the environment, when in fact it may be contributing more to its decline. Sometimes the promotion is unintentional, such as a promotion plan that was not well thought out.
Let’s take a look at a few greenwashing examples for analysis, with links for further details.
Adding the term — green, eco-, environmental, bio-, organic and others to your promotion, but the truth is your product or service has little to do with anything green.
Example: Eco-Conscious Female Doll. In 2008 a large toy producer was ecstatic to introduce their latest version of their toy — a doll whose accessories were partially made by excess fabrics and trimmings from their other doll accessories. Problem was, no one saw this as an eco-friendly product. Most of the product, including the doll and accessories are made from plastic (oil consumption and chemicals), very little reused product was put into the new products, and it was all made in China. This led to numerous posts on blogs (especially the mom blogs) and other web sites identifying this as a greenwash by the company. Negative publicity by bloggers and anti-greenwash sites with high readership only hurts your brand or product.
Adding the color green to your logo, literature, name etc. — “if you paint it green, they will buy” attitude.
Example: A cleaning product that has been around for several decades not only used the color green as part of its labeling but also used the word “green” in its product, long before it was cool to use the term and the color. The marketing worked and still does — a lot of people think this product is healthy and good to use in your home. However if you use this product without wearing a mask, you will quickly learn something is not so green about this product.
Adding a leaf or a tree to your promotional messages — probably the most common and simplest-to-execute greenwashing technique.
This example actually hits the trifecta of greenwashing.
1. Added green terminology
2. Added green color
3. Added a leaf to the message
These diapers were touted to be organic, hypoallergenic, latex and fragrance free, and a host of other claims that somehow made it green. However, as many noted — organic wasn’t backed up by being certified organic, nor did the company state how much of the materials were organic. The packaging and inks were not green friendly, and the biggest fail of this product’s greenwashing attempt: The diapers were not biodegradable, which would have made this product a win.
Sadly, all of these promotion types work. People buy into the hype because it is easy and they don’t look beyond the claims associated with the promotion. However for those that are informed and looking for greenwashing — not only do they spot it, but they blog about it, they tell their friends about it, and they send a message to anti-greenwashing websites. Negative perceptions of your product are not the goal. Make your product or service a real ecologically healthy product and then eco-promote.
Further reading:
The seven sins of greenwashing.
A branding primer: Green is a color. Sustainability is a practice.
FTC proposes crackdown on greenwashing.
Image Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/epsos/3384297473/ – Thank you for sharing your images
This article was originally written for AnnArbor.com – I hold the copyright to my articles so it is being reposted here.
Conversations in Marketing – the first in a series
The internet was the first giant, dynamic shift in Marketing in decades. Social Media was the next frontier that marketers embraced and both have changed the way we market everything.
Marketing classes have promoted the 4 “P’s” of marketing since they were developed in the 1960’s by E. Jerome McCarthy. They are classics, still taught today in educational institutions. However many in the industry say there are more than 4 if you want to understand current marketing methods.
Times Square Advertising - Photo Credit - WinterDove - SXC
Contemporary approach with new “P’s”
There are other “P’s” that could be added to the list, but I think this covers the main old and new “P’s” of the marketing world.
The Geeky Marketer 