The Write Blog

Now that it’s being recognized as legitimate, everyone’s clamoring for social media marketing services. Savvy business owners are looking to social media marketing for higher website traffic, larger profits and the increased brand visibility everyone’s shouting from the rooftops about.

But what about online reputation management? That’s one part of social media marketing that sometimes gets lost among those other benefits, which are often perceived as being more lucrative. How could you possibly know what everyone’s saying about your company in the far-reaching corners of the Internet? What does it even matter? Well, it matters plenty. One disgruntled customer can now be heard far and wide, often negating the effects of all the money you’ve spent dumped into your social media marketing campaign.

Web 2.0 has given customers their voice back. It’s no longer David vs. Goliath when a consumer is mistreated or has an unpleasant experience with a company. Web 2.0 has evened the playing field and returned power to the consumer. Unsatisfied consumers won’t hesitate to log onto sites like Consumerist, hit the comments section, and start driving nails into your company’s coffin. Or they go to forums or networking sites and post negative reviews. If particularly vitriolic, one review can unspool the five positive reviews of your company posted directly above it. It might not be fair – that bad experience might have been the result of a bad-apple employee that has since been let go – but that review is there.

Blog and forum members visit these sites because they are particularly concerned with quality of product and experience. They’ve got a little bit of a watchdog complex in them. So when customers get on there and complain, they’re doing so to the most attentive audience possible.

What does this mean? You’ve got to fight for your reputation. And you need to be proactive about it. Start a customer loyalty campaign that encourages recent clients to post positive reviews, or at least search for and respond (appropriately) to any negative reviews posted. These responses can be vital, because it gives readers a chance to see that your company cares enough to respond to consumer complaints.

So if you haven’t started already, I highly recommend getting out there and claiming your company’s reputation and identity. That way, any negative review that finds itself posted will have less steam because your company will already be established as a clean, fair, and caring company.

Check out this post over at Duct Tape Marketing. I like what the blogger says about how everyone now has two brands: online and offline. The post lists 34 online reputation management sites and is extremely comprehensive. Check them out and get started on protecting your company’s most important asset: its image.

Copyblogger’s “Four Ways to Target Online Buyers with the Right Words” has a great analysis/advice section for marketing to eco-friendly, socially conscious, tree-hugging types (among other types of consumers). Green is the new black, and it seems a lot of businesses are trying to revamp their marketing efforts to promote a more “green” brand.

But some of these companies are just using this newest wave in the green revolution as a cheap advertising and PR marketing opportunity. Greenwashing – deliberately misleading customers about the environmental practices or ingredients in a product – has become so prevalent that the Federal Trade Commission is getting involved (some good examples of greenwashing can be found at NPR’s Greenwashing blog). Years ago, the FTC laid out clear rules for using words like “biodegradable,” “ozone safe,” and “ozone friendly” on product labels.

A lot has changed since then, and the FTC’s new green guidelines for advertising are eagerly anticipated and long overdue. Look out for the new FTC guidelines in the coming year if you plan to market in the green industry.

A confession: I’m a wannabe treehugger. It’s so easy to get caught up in the do-good rush of a label that is Cruelty Free! Sustainable! Free range! Naturally derived! Renewable! But in actuality, these words have no real definitions, and their use is not currently regulated by the FTC (however, if you see the “USDA Organic” seal on a product, you know it’s been certified as the real deal).

So as the American consumer becomes more jaded in this greenwashed society – especially when corporations like Shell, BP, and GE are regularly accused of greenwashing their marketing campaigns – here are some tips about giving treehuggers what they want to hear (and generally just good marketing advice):

1. Be Specific

Forget generic claims like “All-natural” – it’s an obvious greenwashing term that means nothing. But, if you can be very, very detailed about your product, your company may gain some points in the green revolution. Consider the difference between labeling your product as “All-natural” versus “Our products are grown at our farms in Greensburg, Kansas. We don’t use pesticides or toxic chemicals of any kind, and we harvest everything ourselves so that we can deliver our best product straight to you.” The latter is obviously more detailed, and seemingly more reliable than the nebulous, broad-reaching, unsubstantiated claim.

2. Be Relevant

Don’t include irrelevant “eco-friendly” features about your products – unless your product is new or the feature is new. For example, claiming that your paper towels are “100% Biodegradable” is irrelevant – all paper towels are biodegradable. And a certain major beverage company, in an advertisement for their new “eco” water bottle, claims that the bottle is “100% Recyclable” – which is great, but the bottle has always been recyclable, and all plastic bottles are recyclable anyway.

Don’t drive people away with silly or misleading information; instead, include information like this only if your product is new or improved.

3. Be Transparent

In other words, don’t try to hide anything. If you want to gain reputability in the green community, always refer consumers to your website on your product label – true eco-conscious consumers will check! Make sure everything, such as all ingredients used, your refinement and manufacturing processes, company affiliates and associations, philosophy, and pictures, are clearly spelled out on your website. It’s not always easy to make a name for yourself in the green community, but after establishing your credibility and earning consumer’s respect, you’ll have a long and prosperous relationship with your devoted followers.

Recession, or no recession? I’m no economist, but even the experts can’t decide if we’re in one, beginning one, ending one, or if the economy’s just a little slow.

The R-word strikes fear and anxiety in the heart of everyone – doesn’t matter if you’re CEO of a major corporation or self-employed entrepreneur. In a blog post titled “How to Market in a Recession,” John Quelch, marketing expert and Harvard Business School professor, writes about different marketing techniques to use during a recession.

But this is a hot topic, and it seems that a lot of bloggers have joined the marketing-recession dialogue. After surveying some various internet resources, here are my four top online marketing tips. Best of all, they’re free.

1. Focus on Content

This comes from Ian Lurie’s Conversation Marketing blog. So if you want to maximize your customer base, go over your content. Look at your website, pay per click ads, and even your marketing materials that aren’t web-based. Ian Lurie says that each page should be a “perfect sales letter.” Now, all writers know that perfection in prose rarely happens. So don’t be afraid: edit, re-write, change up your wording, pay closer attention to branding on your site – constant improvement and constant updates will get your higher up in search engine rankings and better conversion rates.

2. Use Time, Not Money

The genius thing about web 2.0 and social media marketing is that they’re free for anyone to use. But they do consume a lot of time. If you’re a small business owner with more time than money, start looking at how you can tackle these two beasts.

The easiest way to do this is to start blogging. Blog about your business, industry news, whatever (see our previous post about blogging). From there, you can move on to the more serious social marketing sites, like marketing via Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter profiles, or getting your blog readers to Digg/Reddit/Stumble your blog articles.

3. Know your customers — Track Results

Know who your customers are – and where they’re coming from. How is your cold-calling campaign holding up to your pay per click campaign? If you haven’t already, you need to research, quantify, and get some real numbers about which marketing techniques are working, and which aren’t. Then you can focus your time and marketing dollars accordingly.

Also, get to know your customers – or your potential customers. Who are they and what is important to them? Are they cash rich or cash poor? Is their business or industry recession proof, or are they at the mercy of the markets too? Understanding your clients’ situation can help you predict their needs and market accordingly.

4. Adjust Prices

In a recession, promotions like sweepstakes, mail-in-offers, and the like, don’t get as much attention as price breaks, according to John Quelch’s blog. So adjust your prices, offer more credit, give temporary price breaks to existing customers. A small cutback on prices now can help convert customers and create lifelong devotees, ultimately bringing in more money than the price cut lost.

Technorati Profile

If you don’t know what you’re doing, then writing an effective press release can be easier said than done. But follow a few simple guidelines, and you’ll be on your way to successful promotion and publication. Listed below, you will find three steps to creating a first-class press release.

1. Know the purpose of your press release. A press release serves to market your business in a “newsy” format, and it can be one of the best ways to distribute information about your company. Before you even begin writing, decide on your main objective. Is there a big event you are trying to promote? Have you released a new product? Have you made important new business acquisitions that the public should know about? Make sure that whatever you write about is of interest and importance to the public. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to get your information out.

2. Follow the correct format. There is a correct format to follow when writing a press release. If you don’t follow it, your work will convey the message that you are unprofessional and that your work should not be taken seriously.

First, make sure to include a catchy headline that conveys the reason you are writing. (Sometimes, it is necessary to include a brief, italicized summary of the copy underneath the headline. For example, PRWeb.com, one of the largest PR release sites online, requires this.)
Next, be sure to include today’s date and the date you would like for the information to be released.

When you are ready to write the body, make sure to include a powerful lead and several paragraphs with all pertinent information. Quotes add credibility to your writing and make a strong statement.

Conclude your press release with a concise paragraph about your company – this is called a boilerplate – and be sure to include your contact information. The end of your press release is signified by typing “###” or “-30-” a few lines below your text. If your copy is more than two pages, write “-more-” at the bottom of the first page.

3. Include the right information. The most important thing to remember when writing a press release is to write it in a “news” style tone. Consult an AP or Chicago Style manual is you are not familiar with the standard conventions for abbreviations and punctuation. As stated above, a strong lead should give the reader a reason to want to keep reading, and the following copy should be factual evidence that supports the subject of your press release. Many times, newspapers and other publications will publish portions of your press release without revising or rewording anything as long as your copy is clear and free of errors. Write a press release that is newsworthy, relevant, and interesting, and you will be on your way to publication in no time.