Marketing Green Online

HELEN M. OVERLANDSustainabilityCamp 2008

Marketing Green

Online: Actionable Strategies for Marketing the

Environment

Marketing Green Online: Actionable Strategies for Marketing the Environment

Today:

1. Who Am I?

2. Who Are You?

3. Reach Out & Engage Someone

4. SEO: Get Found in Search Engines

5. PPC: Get Free Ads, Pay for Traffic

6. Putting it All Together

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm

GreenGTA.cGreenGTA.caa

Helen M. Overland | Helen M. Overland | SustainabilityCamp 2008SustainabilityCamp 2008

Who Am I?

Director, Search Engine Marketing with non~linear creations – www.nonlinear.ca

Projects with large well-known brands

Proven Success: Generated sales in excess of $500k with an $18k budget

Over a decade of experience

Speaker at marketing conferences such as Search Engine Strategies and Search Marketing Expo

Co-Founder, GreenGTA.ca

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Who Are YOU?

Your Online Marketing Plan?

Step 1. Build a website

Step 2. Get people to visit

Step 3. Get donations/sales/volunteers

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Who Are YOU?

Get Your Ducks in a Row

1.Clarify your brand: What do you stand for?

2.Who is your audience?

3.How will you engage them? When?

4.WRITE IT DOWN!

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Reach Out & Engage Someone

Successful marketing campaigns are Holistic

Use a group of tactics with a higher goalInvolve stakeholdersChoose tactics wisely

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



In June 2008 alone, there were over half a billion visits to social networking websitesSource: comScore, Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase their Focus on Cultural Relevancehttp://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2396


MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Wikipedia

Twitter

facebookRSS

Google

Yahoo

Reddit

Email YouTube

GoGreenTube

care2

Million Acts of Green

getinvolved.ca

diggBlogs

FlickrLinkedIn

GreenNexxus

GreenopolisFriendfeed

LiveJournal

MySpace

Press Releases

delicious

StumbleUpon

Furl MyBlogLogWindows Live

Furl

OneWorldTV

Plaxo

Yammer

Ning

BeboFriendster

Multiply

PerfSpot

Skyrock

Nowpublic

Rabble

Charity Village®

Widgets

So many communities… so little time!


MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



RSS

Google

Yahoo

Email

GoGreenTube

Blogs

GreenNexxus

Press Releases

Narrow It Down


Where to Reach Out? Where your audience is!

Volunteers: Reach students (MySpace, LiveJournal, Facebook)

Donations: Reach employed adults who are interested in your goals (Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Delicious, Flickr)

Media coverage: Reach reporters & bloggers (Press releases, RSS Feeds, digg)

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Environment & Social Change Themed Online Networks

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Tips & Guidelines

1. BE HONEST – Be Yourself

2. Be Helpful & Approachable

3. Be Consistent

Also: Read the Cluetrain Manifesto and/or Wikinomics:http://www.cluetrain.com/

http://www.wikinomics.com/book/

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




RSS Feeds Reach people who are interested in your

news Syndicate your headlines into other websites Make it easy for people to remember you Make it easy for reporters to get your news

Your RSS Feed News releases Events Successes Calls for assistance

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



SEO: Get Found in Search Engines

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization: The art and science of appearing in

search engine results when someone looks for something

Why Use SEO? Visitors from search engines are

interested in your content Technically, it’s Free advertising People are looking for your

information, products, and outreach. Increase awareness of your activities

and reach a wider audience

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Basic SEO You Can Do “At Home”

1. Write content often

2. Write a catchy title

3. Use Keywords in your URL

4. Install and USE an Analytics program

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Write a catchy title

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



•Accurate

•Contains keywords

•Intriguing enough to cause people to want to read the story


Write a catchy title

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



•Clearly shows that it answers the question (the query)

•Accurate

•Contains keywords

•Intriguing enough to cause people to want to read the story


Use Keywords in your URL

Unhelpful URL: http://www.example.com/site/default.asp?id=4356923&lang=En&num=432

Should be:

http://www.example.com/toronto-solar-panels/

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Install and USE an Analytics Program

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Google Analytics is Free! At minimum check monthly:

1. Traffic up or down2. Popular pages3. Keywords that are bringing traffic

PPC: Get Free Ads, Pay for Traffic

What is PPC?

Pay Per Click:

Ads are free – you pay only when someone clicks on the ad

Why Use PPC? Visitors from search engines are

interested in your content and are action oriented

Efficient use of budget

Determine your own budget

Determine location and time of day

Opportunity to TestMsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




How Does PPC Work?3 Primary types:

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Search

Content

Map


PPC Tips

1. ALWAYS set a spending limit to control your budget

2. Always run and use analytics

3. Use exact or phrase match to better control when your ad appears

4. Write ads where the keywords appear in the title

5. Offer something - don't just advertise

6. Make sure the landing page is relevant for the keywords

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm




Write ads where the keywords appear in the title

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Putting It All Together

Summary / Next Steps

1. Clarify your brand

2. Know who you are trying to reach

3. Develop a plan – use your time efficiently

4. Engage people where you are likely to meet your audience

5. Use the search engines

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Thank You!

Helen M. Overland [email protected]

MsSEM.com | GreenGTA.ca

Marketing Feed: twitter.com/semlady

Environment Feed: twitter.com/greengta

Download this presentation after Monday, Nov 17th at:

www.mssem.com/marketing-green/

MsSEM.coMsSEM.comm



Business

Marketing Green Online