Are you a small eco-friendly business looking for eco friendly marketing? Did you know that 45 percent of 18 – 24 year old UK adults place environmental issues at number two on the nation’s list of biggest problems. What’s more, almost every year since 1999, the UK Ethical Economy has seen year-on-year growth across all sectors. This is conclusive evidence that sustainability is at the top of consumer priorities.
Businesses of sustainable products/services, or businesses with sustainable processes require marketing campaigns that target ethical consumers. This is in order to capitalise on the growing environmental agenda.
This is what eco-friendly marketing, also known as green marketing, aims to achieve. New customers can be engaged by advertising, why a product or service not only meets a need, but is also the environmentally friendly alternative.
How Do You Stand Out From The Crowd?
You’re working hard and doing everything you can to reduce your company’s environmental impact. But, in a crowded market, how do you get the message out and ensure that ethical consumers hear your voice?
According to Ethical Consumer.org, we are entering a new era of sustainability, with ethical consumer spending in the UK is growing. Figures show that the value of ethical spending in the UK has doubled in the past decade. In 2010 ethical spending was estimated to be worth around £46bn. This figure reached a staggering £98bn in 2019.
These numbers represent the importance of sustainability for business. But, they also highlight how difficult it is to set yourself apart in today’s competitive market.
Terms like ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’ have become major marketing buzzwords because that is what customers want to see. As a result, companies of all sizes are attempting to use sustainability as a marketing tool to sell their goods or services.
But, it’s essential that if your business promotes such principles, it acts on these principles. For eco-friendly marketing to be successful, it has to be authentic and honest.
If you’re a small business looking for eco-friendly marketing then fortunately, there are numerous things you can do, and we can help.
What’s Your Ethos?
Just like knowing your brand story, it’s essential that you have a clear brand ethos for your marketing campaign. This is essentially a mission statement that explains why and how your company is environmentally friendly. And, when it comes to capturing the attention of eco-conscious consumers, these will be your unique selling propositions (USPs). So, pinpointing exactly why they should choose your company is critical.
All of your other ethical marketing strategies will be built on your eco-friendly ethos. And it’s even better if you have facts and figures to back up your efforts, because they help customers visualise the difference your company makes in real terms — for example, “our eco-friendly production line is reducing our carbon footprint by X amount every year.”
However, simply mentioning sustainability and claiming to believe in these values is not enough, you have to demonstrate it, be truthful and accurate.
Is Your Ethos Ambiguous?
As consumers’ environmental consciousness has grown. Many businesses have attempted to capitalise on the trend by implementing “greenwashing” marketing strategies. To avoid greenwashing, which can be damaging to your reputation, make sure your message is clear and unambiguous.
Do you recall how, a few years ago, McDonald’s switched from plastic to paper straws (for the sake of the environment), only to discover that the new straws were not even recyclable?
It goes without saying that your brand values must be authentic if you want to connect with your target audience. This won’t be a problem if sustainability is at the heart of everything you do; just be as honest as possible.
So How Can AIM Internet Help Market Your Small Business (To The Right People)?
Optimise Your Onsite Content To Attract The Right Audience
As previously touched on, consumer interest in eco-friendly goods and processes is on the rise. So, your sustainable messaging will undoubtedly find a large audience. As a result, the search engine results page can be a very competitive place. So, how can you make sure that your customers find your products through organic search?
Optimising your onsite content is the solution. In a nutshell, this means using industry tools like SEMrush to find the keywords and terms that your customers use the most frequently in the copy on your product and category pages. When done correctly, this increases your chances of ranking high on the SERPs. As well as, attracting a large amount of organic traffic to your products.
Plus, ensuring your content answers the user intent; the goal or intention a user has when entering a search term into a search engine.
Effective optimisation is dependent on good keyword research, analysis and implementation. Alongside effective linking and quality content, all of which our SEO professionals can help with.
Related: 4 Reasons SEO Is Important For Manufacturing Companies
Content Marketing For Increased Organic Traffic
Creating content marketing, such as blog posts and guides, can help you increase organic traffic to your website. Your target customers are likely to be searching about your industry or your products. Therefore, by writing rich, informative copy that answers some of their questions, you can increase the chances of users discovering your site organically on search engine results pages.
These guides can be on the subject of anything you believe your customers will find interesting or useful. However, because you will be able to link back to them throughout the content, it is best to stick to topics that are directly related to your products or services. A quick tip, you can see what your customers are searching for by looking at Googles ‘people also ask’ section.
For example, if you’re a manufacturer that uses renewable energy systems and clean technology equipment, you could write articles on your transition to becoming greener. Otherwise, you could detail your processes, or how the quality of your product has improved due to state of the art green systems etc. We have plenty of experience working with eco-friendly businesses, in particular, manufacturing and engineering companies who employ green initiatives.
Creating high-quality content will do more than just boost organic traffic. It also enables you to demonstrate your brand’s values to your target customers, which can help with conversions and brand loyalty.
Filling your site with useful, informative content will assist search engines in establishing your reputation as an industry expert. Subsequently, boosting overall rankings.
Final Thoughts
Good communication from a brand that genuinely cares about its environmental impact is at the heart of any successful green marketing strategy. But we can help communicate those values and help you rise above the noise and grow your business.
If you’d like to find out more about how our west midlands based digital agency can help your green initiative, then contact Sarah at sarah@aiminternet.co.uk or call her on 07816071112.
Alternatively, if you enjoyed reading this blog, why not take a look at a previous one: Marketing Ideas For Manufacturing Companies
