Green Marketing

Green marketing is everywhere.

Eco aka organic aka green has finally been ‘recycled’ into mainstream marketing. I love it.

So I want to give a little shout out…a little yippee for all you marketers out there who are recognizing the value in sustainability both in business, in your marketing campaigns and in life in general.

Being green isn’t about putting on your Birkenstocks and hugging trees and running around yelling about the environment – although if that’s what makes you happy, go for it. Being green is a consciousness, a state of awareness that change needs to be beneficial not only to ourselves but to the people, the planet, the life around us. It’s a movement away from the accepted selfishness, the me, me, me that plagues our society into a circular understanding that we are all in this together and it’s up to us and our children to change for the better.

I know, I know…you are rolling your eyes right now and shaking your head ‘cause I’m back up on my soapbox.

But you know somebody’s gotta do it and I happen to believe this is a uniquely positive opportunity for businesses to step up and step out and a fabulous opportunity to engage in educating and talking to your clients and customers on a level that’s never been reached.

I’m not talking about greenwashing, here. I’m talking about honest, open, relationship building at the grassroots level.

It’s not always easy to walk your talk but in truth, that’s what it’s all about. So that’s it for my Friday green rant. Not so complicated, really. Just a little shout out to say – Go get ‘em, get out there and sink your toes into this new green marketing grass. You might find that it feels pretty good!

I love information lists with links. I just absolutely love them. 

Now, I’m sure that says something about my personality but in truth I’m not a list-maker. I’m more of a mental “lister” with too much information slogging around in my brain so by the time I’m ready to implement my mental list information it’s been replaced by something totally unrelated.

The resulting consequence is usually forgetting something I really need at the grocery store or not being able to locate that truly awesome link I just saw 10 minutes ago…

So, before I forget, I want to share with you a list I came across chock-full of  places to market yourself, your biz and connect in that socialized web way that’s become oh so common and cool. This is a synopsis of a list I found over at Green Biz.com

Ready? Grab your bootstraps and let’s go.

These sites work to connect online users to facilitate offline interactions. You can schmooze with likeminded  individuals about all sorts of things from green dating (is there such a thing?), carpooling, to  green events, political rallies and meetups.   

Green Events, Political Rallies, Local Meet Ups and Social Activism:  11th Hour Action, Care2, Do Something, Meetup, Step It Up, TakingITGlobal, WorldCoolers,  2People, Change, GreenVoice, idealist, just cause, Razoo, tree-nation, Wiser Earth and Youth Noise among others.

Arrange Carpools: GishiGo, GoLoco, pooln and WorldCarShare

Rent, Loan or Reuse Items: freecycle, gigoit, loanables and rentoid.

Socializing and Dating: Care2, Earthwise Singles, dharmaMatch, Green Drinks, Green Passions, Green Party Passions, Planet Earth Singles and VeggieDate.

Then there are sites that encourage the end user to make a commitment or personal pledge and pass it along to their circle of friends and family: Actics, Low Fly Zone, Make Me Sustainable, PledgeBank, The Carbon Diet, Who On Earth Cares (Aus) and Yahoo Green.   

General interest sites encourage consumers to connect and share online with others that have a similar affinity for a green(er) lifestyle: beTurtle, Common Circle, Dianovo, ecoMetro, Eco-munnity, Good Tree, Green Bin, Holistic Local, Lime, Neutral Existence, rethos, Zaadz and Zelixy among others.  

Shopping sites encourage users/members to post reviews and product  favorites.  Examples include FiveLimes and Sustainlane.  Traditional social shopping sites such as Kaboodle, StyleHive, ThisNext and Wists include an ever increasing range of eco-friendly and natural products.

As I said this particular link list came from GreenBiz.com. An excellent go to place for all things green. So I can't, technically, take credit for all the juicy info but I can take 100% credit for sharin' the marketing love.

So, apparently this blog is known, somewhat, for being a green-ish blog. Someone even emailed me and suggested I get a "nom de plume."

Fancy shmancy, I know. Don't you just love it? For all you rednecks out there "nom de plume" is French for "pen name."

The suggestion? Sustainable Sonya…yeah, hmmm. I’m not so sure that has a nice sweet sexy ring to it but I’ll take it, nevertheless.

Here’s my post over on Riverwired. Um, you have to scroll a little to see it but do feel free to meander and take a look at the other very informative blog articles on the page. And, while I’m not exactly sure how my post got there, it’s quite cool, if I do say so myself.

Now, if by some crazy stretch you don’t know what Riverwired is, let me explain.

RiverWired is an online community – a GREEN online community. And for all you Ashevillians (that’s the "nom de plume" for people who live in Asheville, NC – all those hippie-ish, treehugging, dreadlock wearing, super cool individuals) our city was featured in a video series on Biodiesel right here on RiverWired. The video is about using biodiesel to heat your home instead of fuel oil.

Hmmm, I wonder if it smells like McDonald's french fries…

*Note to self…call Blue Ridge Biofuels today to see about replacing fuel oil with biodiesel.

Technically, RiverWired “is a content and social networking site dedicated to all things green.”  It’s a place to hook up with other businesses and individuals interested in all shades of green.  You can join groups, add your blog info, photos and videos and connect with your market in a way that is personal and, well, fun.

There are many and I mean m-a-n-y other places you can market your green business and share your green angst. This is just one drop in the big green marketing bucket.

Ok, so my advice? Go on out there and start talking to people. These are your potential customers and maybe new friends…who will, (hint, hint) TELL other people about your business.

And the hands-down, number one, absolute, most effective kind of marketing is????????

YES! Word of Mouth.

Just sharin' the eco-friendly love in honor of Blog Action Day. Check it out…

"The 11th Hour is the last moment when change is possible. This film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course."

Check out the trailer here. 

So, today is the day…the much anticipated, Blog Action Day!

"What is it?" you might ask and why is this important? Well, let me expound a little on this whole idea. It's quite cool - one topic, thousands of participating blogs and tons of blog readers. The topic is 'green.' The being good to the environment kind of green. AND all the blogs that are monetized will donate their proceeds for the day to an environmental charity.

Check out treehugger, gigaom, lifehacker…yep, the really big blogs are in on it too, not just us little guys. It's looking like the cumulative effect of all these blogs will be to spread the "word" to thousands upon thousands of people and open up a plethora of new ideas and spaces to get the environmental conversation started!

So, in keeping with that line of thought, here's my official Blog Action Day post.

I thought it would be cool to create a listing of online green resources, places you can use to answer your questions and get started on the green pathway to enlightenment.

Here goes… 

• Green Info link
• Wikipedia's Environmental Issues
• Low Impact Living
• Healthy Living with a Twist
• Your Green Home
• Digg's Environmental Stories
• Zero Footprint Calculator
• Sign a Petition for Cleaner Air and Adopt a Square Mile of Sky

Ok, that's it for now…more 'green' resources to come so check back later today!

Does your business have them? Here's the scenario:

You recognize the new green trend in products and services. You see that being green is hip and even Wal-Mart and Oprah are jumping on the bandwagon. In true capitalistic fashion, you want to get in on the ground-floor and be the new go-to place for green products so you open up a slick new online shopping portal.

But in the background, you are driving your suburban (not the flex fuel kind), while slurping non-shade grown fairly-traded coffee and stopping at micky d's on the fly for a cheeseburger at least once or twice a week.

All those non-green activities add up to some really dirty green secrets. Which, by the way, is not good for business. We all know what happens with secrets…they eventually come out.

And when secrets like that are out, there's no putting them back in the box. Besides, who wants to do business with a company that doesn't walk their talk and live up to the standards they themselves are touting?

These "just in" green marketing statistics from the Center for Media Research confirms that clients and potential customers are already distrustful of companies that call themselves green or eco-friendly. In a study compiled by Ipsos Reid, "seven in ten Americans either ‘strongly' or ‘somewhat' agree that when companies call a product "green" (meaning better for the environment), it is usually just a "marketing tactic."

Wow. Bummer.

Clearly it's important to avoid dirty green secrets but there's a stereotype already hanging around in the background brain activity of your consumers that will also have to be overcome.

So, get your marketing on board with who you are as a company. If you are attempting to sell and compete in the green market, you HAVE to walk the green talk and be transparent about it. Be prepared to make the same concessions and the same changes in your own life to foster your business and create your authentic brand. 

What you'll find is that when your personal path begins to align (authentically) with what you are creating in your business you'll see your efforts streamlined and working out spontaneously in a way that is beneficial for all.

So, go ahead, air out those secrets. Be as transparent and you can and commit to personal change and growth so that your business can also grow a beautiful sustainable shade of green.

Yeah, I know, you’ve been waiting on that last tip for green marketing. Just sitting on the edge of your seat in silent mouth-watering anticipation. And, believe me, I recognize the fact you probably feel like you’ve been waiting…

and waiting…and waiting…

And then, maybe wondering if I dropped off the face of the planet.

Luckily, no, that did not happen. However, as you probably know, life is strange and things happen. Mixing being completely swamped (work, kids, school, sports, more work, etc) with a lack of ‘green’ inspiration makes for very lackluster blog posts. So, I decided to wait for that light bulb moment when inspiration strikes. And guess, what? Today, it happened.

It didn’t come in the form of marketing information, it came via a personal conversation I had early this morning with a family friend. The topic wasn’t really surprising – relationships between the sexes.

Um, yeah, I know. That topic can be a veritable quagmire especially when two friends (one male, one female) are trying to express their own personal opinions.

And it was a quagmire I found myself in at the close of our conversation. I wasn’t happy with the outcome. I didn’t feel like I expressed myself in a way that he really understood and then I found myself wondering (not aloud, thank goodness) why I was even expressing my opinion about this particular topic because how could I expect him to understand, he is a MAN, after all.

I know all you women out there are probably chuckling and nodding your heads right about now and all you men, please just indulge for a few more minutes because I am making a point.

I ended up in that quagmire because of stereotypes and skewed perceptions. His idea of the particular topic did not match my idea of the particular topic. I believe it’s healthy to throw around ideas and express opinions but as we got further into the conversation we both ended up expressing opinions based on our own stereotypes of deadbeat dads, divorced women, the perfect marriage and stupid men.

It was a deep pit with a lot of mud, doubly so because not only were we reverting to stereotypes (which drives me nuts, by the way, even though I am as guilty as the next person for making blanket stereotypical statements), but there was the whole man – woman thing going on where it was a lot like being in a foreign country and not being 100% fluent in the native language.

I consider myself to be very open-minded. But today, I threw my hands up in exasperation and to be honest was kind of ready to run for the door. Leave him to his thoughts and opinions and stereotypes. That’s when the light bulb moment hit. It didn’t just get very bright, it started blinking very loudly in neon.

I kept thinking you can never know who a person is, truly, until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes - experienced a similar joy, heartache, anxiety and love. Until you throw away your stereotypes, have a commonality and empathy you won’t know them in a way that counts and really means something.

It’s a big step. Most people can’t get there. They can’t put aside their stereotypes and perceived ideas about what should and shouldn’t be.

Which leads me to my point.

Green marketing tip # 10 is a whopper because if ever there was a group that had stereotype written all over it, it’s the ‘green’ market demographic. If ever there was a group that needed to not only be understood but empathized with it’s that same group. If you want to speak to this market demographic and have them listen and trust, you have to step out of your conventional comfort zone and step up to building an authentic relationship with them.

So, there you go. Finally, green marketing tip #10. My advice? Throw away your stereotypes. Walk your talk. Step out of your conventional comfort zone. Be real.

There are many products that are not geared to an online environment. However, with the growth of the web and online purchasing by consumers there’s an increasing need to speak to the senses. Seeing, smelling, touching a product are all important but don’t lend themselves, obviously, to an online shopping environment.

So, what do you do?

This product has just been selected to be THE product luxurious enough and exclusive enough to grace the hands of Hollywood stars at the Emmys in September. Yes, it will be featured in restroom lounges for both men and women.

Gasp! I know, I know…B-I-G.

There will be buzz around this particular product as Hollywood continues down the ‘green’ pathway of enlightenment.  Plus, I mean, look here, these are STARS. Not just any product can make the cut. As it just so happens, these products are all natural, luxurious, sophisticated and exclusive. In fact, “The purity and quality of each product defies the imagination with transporting fragrances and nourishing formulas for the skin.”Wow. I want some.The descriptive words alone have created a desire.

But wait! There’s more…

All those famous people get to experience these products? Well, why not me? I may not be famous but I have a discretionary income and I like luxury just as much as the next girl.

Now, I REALLY want some.

I just found out that Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman and Alexis Bledel use these products. You know, I think that Nicole Kidman is kind of cool. If she uses it, it must be pretty good.

Now, I REALLY, REALLY want some. But do I need it?

Not only do these Hollywood ladies like this product, they’ve TALKED about how great these particular products are and how they’ve improved their lives. Plus editors of illustrious publications like Vanity Fair, Lucky and More have picked this as a winner and explained the health benefits.  Ahhhhhh, the power of testimonials!

Now, I REALLY, REALLY want it and I’m sure I NEED it.

I’m gonna buy it. Then, I’m gonna tell my friends about it.

I hope you get this little scenario. It’s about building perceptions of a product so that the customer doesn’t necessarily NEED to actually get their hands on it before making the decision to purchase.

There you go…green marketing tip #9. Stay tuned. Still more to come!

Okay, this tip applies to you if you are selling a product or service. Once you know who your market segment is and hopefully pinpointed WHAT they are looking for product-wise. You can further establish your positioning and branding by being a resource.

Providing resource information to your customers is extremely important. It legitimizes who you are, builds trust and furthers the relationship you are creating with your customers. Ideally, you want a long-term relationship with each and every customer. By giving them more than what they ever thought they needed, you are taking steps beyond what is expected and moving into the realm of good friend and partner.

So, how do you go about becoming a resource? First off, think about the whole ‘green’ market area. It’s rather new and while it’s a growing trend there are still a lot of terms being thrown around and concepts that are crying out to be clarified.

Recommendation #1
Get a good list of working definitions going. I mean, what does photovoltaic REALLY mean? How about hydro-electric? Sustainable? Fair Trade? Organic?
Get your terminology down and publish it on your site or blog.

Recommendation #2
You’ve got the catch-phrases and words defined that apply to the ‘green market.’ Now, how do you use it? Create articles and content and guides for your customer that tell them HOW to APPLY these concepts to their lives. Be sure to include how it impacts THEM, not you. This information is unbiased (or should be), helpful and succinct. It can be in the form of daily tips or a full blown article or both. Yes, it might take research, yes, you might have to hire a free-lance writer or two but yes, it will be sooooooo worth it.

Recommendation #3
Tools and calculators are just plain fun. They can be turned into widgets that keep customers connected to you in various ways from their desktops, their newsletters or blogs they read regularly. If you aren’t sure what widgets are, I’ll be talking about them more but for a real quick working definition look here.

Here are a few of my favorite fun tools.

• Earth 911 – to find a recycling center for all sorts of household items from oil to glass to printer cartridges
• Conservation International - Check your carbon footprint and figure out how to offset it
• See Green Now - Check your own green knowledgebase and see how green you really are.

Ok, there you go – Tip #8. Use the recommendations. Do your research. Create your content. Become a resource. It might not happen overnight but with a little hard work and dedication, you can do it. You’ll thank me for it later…I promise!

We aren't quite to #8 but we'll get there, I promise…

Here's an add-on to #7 - more green blog friends to add to your list. If you don't know about making new green friends, check out green marketing tip #7.

JetsonGreen - green building, sustainable architecture, and eco-friendly development with a modern perspective.

Inhabit - devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.

PlanetSave - green news and links with colorful commentary, a dash of hopeful outrage, and a non-ironic desire to save the world since 1999.

YouGrowGirl - a new kind of gardener, seeking to redefine the modern world relationship to plants. This contemporary, laid-back approach to gardening places equal importance on environmentalism, style, affordability, art, and humour.

MetaEfficient - a web magazine that covers the latest green products and technologies.

GreenLove - applying the wisdom of sustainability to the relationships which make our lives what they are.

Stay Tuned. More to come.