Would you like to know how to market your ethical business? Many of us who are in this niche tend to be the last kinds of people who like ‘marketing’. You likely are a fan of simple living, and don’t want to try to get people to buy things they don’t need, even if that’s web themes, e-books or ‘green products’. However, the truth is that you are marketing more of a ‘swap’ for other items that people may buy elsewhere.
By creating a simple ethical marketing strategy, you can help people buy sustainable items or services from small artisan companies that promote zero waste, animal welfare and human rights. And considering the huge profits that some of the less ethical companies make, there is obvious a market. So how do you reach those who likely would prefer your products, if you don’t have the big budget to reach them?
- Move with the times. Most people prefer to buy from companies that put ethics before profits. The big guns don’t do this (they don’t seem to be moving from factory-farmed dairy or polluting fast fashion anytime soon). They prefer ‘greenwash’, so already you are at an advantage.
- Weed out anything in your business that should not be there. From over-written blurbs to products that don’t sell. Simplify and rebrand. Artist Hans Hofmann once wrote ‘simplicity is the art of eliminating the unnecessary, so that the necessary may speak’. In other words, the less choice there is, the better it is to find the good stuff. This has been proven where customers were offered 3 types of jam. If offered 20 types of jam, they get overwhelmed and walk out the store.
- Focus on one social media outlet, rather than all of them. Taylor Stanford discovered that pinning every image from each post (not just the featured image) exploded her blog traffic, and she now makes a healthy passive income. She says not to have too many affiliate links in one post. A few are fine, but not 50, or apparently Google will blow you a raspberry. It prefers detailed posts on one micro-subject.
Ethical Brand Marketing
Ethical Brand Marketing is a wonderful little company founded by a vegan animal welfare activist (she sells her own organic message t-shirts if you’re interested!) She has heaps of free info on her site and a great free download on how to identify customers and market to them, if you sign up to her newsletter. She is a member of The Ethical Move, a company with a pledge to give the marketing industry a better reputation, by being transparent, honest and nice! Her services (including a free phone call to see what you need) are ideal if you have invented some zero waste boon, that no-one knows exists! Also see the post on how to build your blog traffic.
Ethical PR Agencies
Be discerning in your choices. Most small businesses can’t afford to lose their income (especially in the present climate) by paying hundreds or thousands to PR companies. But if you need a little extra help from experts with contacts, here are some better choices:
- Smoothie PR offers responsive PR for foodies blogs and businesses. For a monthly fee, you get access to journalists looking for info, and the founder’s expert help.
- PR Fire is a good service run by seasoned journalists. The base press release service (write it yourself) is £60 (with VAT) and far cheaper than most, and you also get feedback 2 weeks later, on how it did.
- Journolink (around £50 a month) gives you one press release, and then access to regional and national journalists, who are pitching for interviews, just filter your area or niche, and then you can reply back, for interviews, etc.
- Promote Vegan and MAD Promotions are just two of a growing number of small PR agencies working to promote plant-based businesses. The Plant-Powered PA is a nice little virtual assistant in Wales, offering affordable admin and basic marketing.
Make Your Mark in the Workplace shows how to brand yourself in the workplace, condensed from an expert with 50 years experience into 100 bite-sized tips. His clear and down-to-earth advice has worked for him, and can work for you.
