Twist of Lime » MarketGreener

New MarketGreener/Twist of Lime Site Launched!

2009-11-02T19:12:27Z

Welcome to the newly redesigned MarketGreener and Twist of Lime sites. Or is it the newly redesigned Twist of Lime and MarketGreener sites? Whichever it is, they’re now joined at the hip!

I launched MarketGreener just over two years ago as a way to dip my toe into the world of blogging. Since then I have learned a lot about blogging — including what it is and isn’t for me — and I’ve garnered a decent audience along the way. While not a huge following, there are some regular readers among you and a lot of others who have simply stumbled across this site. And since my focus from the beginning has been to write about what I find interesting or helpful in the world of marketing and sustainable business practices, I’ve tried not to use it as a soapbox for my business.

But then, about six months after establishing this blog, I left the world of the gainfully employed to start Twist of Lime, a marketing and content services agency. My first site was built by me using Dreamweaver. And while I was confident with my DW skills and proud to have successfully built my own site, I have always known that design is not my forté and that the previous site was not the strongest calling card for someone trying to make a sizable chunk of his income from building Web sites.

I’ve learned a lot in the past year-and-a-half, both from my clients and my teammates. The result of some of that knowledge is here in this redesigned site. Design was done by my wonderful wife Miga, who’s own skills in Web design are growing, and the development was handled by Alexis Sarthou, whom I have known and worked with since my Circumerro days and is very talented in the ways of building WordPress templates (yes, this site is powered by WordPress!), among other fine development skills. And, from time to time, some of what I do on the business side does and will continue to show up here on MarketGreener.

Please take some time to check out the new site. There are still a few tweaks to make and I welcome any and all (constructive) feedback. And I hope you continue to read the blog, and that you enjoy it enough to share it with others. Please bookmark it, join our email list or subscribe in a reader. And as always, enjoy!

Spread the good, green word!

What’s Really In It For Me? Volkswagen Engages Through Fun

2009-10-14T03:11:58Z

There’s no doubt that if you want to engage people in your cause you need to not only answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”, but you have to make sure what’s in it for people is something they’ll enjoy getting out of it. This video by Volkswagen’s ad agency in Sweden, DDB Stockholm, is apparently going viral because it demonstrates just that.

You want me to take the stairs instead of the escalator because it’s good for me and saves energy? No thanks. You want me to take the stairs instead of the escalator because it’s fun? Sure! These people aren’t saving energy and burning a few extra calories. They’re having fun! And never mind the fact that there’s no car in the video. You’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll hardly notice. But then that’s part of the point. This is one of a series of videos in a new initiative by Volkswagen to try to get people to change their old ways by making the new way fun.

Engagement is a funny thing. While there’s definitely a growing, albeit small, number of people who will do the right thing because it’s the right thing, the reality is most of us are pretty selfish and want something for our sacrifice, no matter how small. Whether you’re selling a product or trying to get people involved in your cause, engage them in a way that will be worth their while. It’s not easy, but when done right will get people on board with you and put your brand well above your competition.

Enjoy the video, and when you’re done, check out more at thefuntheory.com.

Spread the good, green word!

Wyo Biz Council Idea Expo A Success

2009-11-02T18:15:31Z

I’m finally getting caught up on things after last week’s Wyoming Business Council Idea Expo. While attendance was down some from previous years, I felt the program was very worth while. Of course, my completely biased opinion is based on the fact that I gave two very well-received seminars. I had gone prepared to present only my search engine optimization seminar but was asked at the last minute to talk also about social media marketing. This seminar turned out to be one of the best-attended of all during the Idea Expo.

Social media marketing is obviously very hot right now, and the interest Wyoming businesses are taking in this topic is understandably high.

Wyoming is a business-friendly state and one with a high number of small businesses. A big reason for this is that there just aren’t a lot of people in this fairly large state. The population is quite dispersed, even around some of the larger cities and towns, with many people being spread out around and between communities. And many of the state’s businesses rely on people very far away to be their customers. Some of these businesses are based here because they could be based anywhere yet the tax structure and quality of life are quite favorable. (That is certainly the case here in Jackson Hole.) And some of these businesses rely on tourism by people from all around the world. (Also the case here in JH.) And because of this, these businesses recognize the importance of being found online.

So, for someone like me, the opportunity to share my knowledge and meet people who are genuinely interested in what I do is a great one. As an added bonus, I was interviewed by a reporter from Casper’s channel 13 news. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put on this event and to those of you who attended. It was a pleasure meeting all of you.

If anyone wants to view the slides from either of my two presentations (including my presentation on email marketing, which was not presented), you can view or download them at the temporary page on my dev site (to be launched very soon!): www.twistoflime.biz/seminar-presentations/.

And if you’d like to see the news report about the Idea Expo, you can view it below. Enjoy!

Spread the good, green word!

Chris Hansen To Speak At Idea Expo

2009-11-02T18:17:04Z

Well folks, it’s official: I’ll be speaking at the Wyoming Business Council’s Idea Expo the end of this month. The Conference runs Monday and Tuesday, September 28 and 29. Specifically, I will be giving my seminar on The Basics of Search Engine Optimization on Monday afternoon at 4 pm. Before that I will be either participating in a panel discussion on using social media for business or giving my own presentation on the same subject. Haven’t heard yet which it will be, but I’m going prepared.

According to the Web site:

“The purpose of the conference is to inspire innovation in Wyoming businesses of all sizes. If you are a CEO, manager, specialist or have any interest in business, then you should to attend the Wyospace.com Idea Expo is not your ordinary business conference.”

I’ve never been and it seems like a great opportunity to meet other businesspeople from around Wyoming.

If you would like to view slides from any of my previous seminars, please visit the seminar presentations page.

Spread the good, green word!

Product Packaging News Recycled: Less Is Still More

2009-10-14T03:14:03Z

In the past couple of weeks, two seemingly opposite articles about packaging have piqued my interest.

First it was this one from Fast Company: “Will ‘Active Packaging’ Undermine Apple’s Quest for Sustainability?”

Then it was this week’s Marketing: Green column from MediaPost: “When It Comes To Packaging, Less Is More.”

I’m not sure which is most disturbing about these two articles, the fact that we’re still having conversations about the amount of wasted materials in product packaging today, or that Apple, while touting the new MacBooks as the Marketing: Green column points out what has become obvious:

Reduced packaging yields cost savings that go right to the bottom line, the perception of a greener footprint, and a potential lead marketing position in a highly competitive market.

The only thing I can figure is that Apple (a) has conceptualized packaging that even if they don’t ever create would be a good thing to patent in case someone else wants to use it, and (b) has enough money to burn that they don’t really care much about being green (good if it helps boost sales but not necessarily a way of life for them).

For me, when it comes to so many things—especially packaging—less is more. To see where we should be heading, check out this interview with Patagonia and 1% for the Planet founder Yvon Chouinard about how they increased sales of long underwear by reducing the packaging.

(If for some reason the video isn’t working, please visit http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/noah-robischon/editors-desk/patagonias-underwear-designed-exposure

[ad#homeinpost-3]

Spread the good, green word!

Tips To Make Your Employer More Environmentally Friendly, Part 2

2009-10-14T03:21:03Z

Editor’s note: MarketGreener has accepted some guest posts by the good folks at uSwitch, a utilities price comparison Web site aimed exclusively at businesses to help them save money on electricity. This and the last post are from uSwitch.

Areas to investigate
These are three areas which are worth looking at, because they can be simple to organise, can save money and don’t require much effort to operate as schemes.

1. Energy use

A few simple procedures can make a significant difference to how much energy the business uses and so pays for. If it’s possible to introduce an energy monitor, it will be easy to show this.

Heating and lighting are simple to tackle, as it takes little more than a bit of thought to save energy. Office equipment uses a lot of energy, so introducing a few simple procedures will make quite a change. Get people to:

Turn off lights in empty rooms
Keep doors and windows shut when the heating is on
Turn off PCs, photocopiers and printers at the end of the day
Use any power-down or sleep mode functions the PC has
Unplug phone chargers when mobiles are charged

For increased energy savings:

Leave plenty of space around radiators, as putting furniture in front of a radiator means it will need to work harder to heat the room
Unless it’s really cold, try to keep the thermostat at 19°C. Heating costs go up by 8% each time the temperature is increased by just one degree
Don’t heat unused space, such as corridors or storerooms
Turn off or reduce the heating whenever the workplace is empty
Replace bulbs with energy saving ones
Invest in ‘ecobuttons’ – for a few pounds, this gadget will put a PC into an energy saving mode with a simple press of a button

2. Recycling

Business recycling is growing. A number of organizations are now accepting and even collecting recyclable waste from companies. Find details of recycling services local to you.

Items which can generally be recycled at work very easily include:

paper and cardboard
plastics
printer cartridges
drinks cans

Find out what can be recycled by other organizations and arrange some collection points at work. These might include:

mobile phones
old computer equipment
textiles and clothing

If your business produces a significant amount of a particular type of waste, see if the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP) or US Business Council for Sustainable Development (USBCSD) can find someone who can use it.

Find out what else can be recycled at Recycle Now.

3. Travel

Travel initiatives can make a significant impact on an organisation’s carbon footprint. Ideas to include in a travel policy at work include the following plans.

Car sharing, where two or more people travel by car together for all or part of a trip, can cut down on travel costs and reduce carbon emissions. On an average day on British roads, each vehicle carries 1.6 people, with approximately 38 million empty seats. For many people, it may reduce the stress of the daily commute and other may feel an increased personal security when walking to and from the car.

Car clubs, which provide members with access to a vehicle on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. Vehicles are usually parked close to homes or workplaces. For some people, joining a car club and having access to a car means they don’t need to own one, which could be a consideration in saving money.

Cycle to work schemes, where employees are encouraged to cycle, saving money and getting healthier. It may be possible to introduce a scheme for employees to buy tax free cycles through work. Cyclescheme explain how it works. For other ideas about cycling schemes, Wikipedia Community bicycle program has a number of useful links.

Alternative transport for business travel can be introduced. Some companies in London give employees Oyster cards as a practical alternative to company cars. Others give rail cards, which the employee can use for personal as well as business travel.

More efficient company cars could be used. These can help reduce carbon emissions and local air pollution, and will often save money on vehicle tax and other charges. A fuel efficient new car could also save the equivalent of three months’ worth of fuel over a year.

Awareness
Most people are happy to be involved in environmentally friendly initiatives. If you can get schemes off the ground, you probably won’t need to convince most people to take part. But you probably will have to make them aware that they have been introduced! If you do, you will find a great deal of support and make a real difference to your place of work.

This article was produced by uSwitch For Business a utilities price comparision website aimed exclusively at business’s to help them save money on their electricity bills.

Spread the good, green word!

Tips To Make Your Employer More Environmentally Friendly, Part 1

2009-10-14T03:21:48Z

No-one can ignore environmental issues. Most of us are becoming used to recycling at home and many consider ethical sources for food, clothing and other goods. But business has been slower to catch on. Is there anything you can do, as an individual employee, to make your workplace more environmentally friendly? This practical guide gives you some ideas to make a difference at work.

Be practical
In the current economic climate, many people are more worried about their immediate financial position than the future of the planet. If you want to make changes, you’ll need to offer practical reasons and plans.

You may have seen the TV advertisement being run by a major supermarket, showing how employees are getting involved in environmental schemes, which save the customer money on their shopping. That’s the kind of reasoning people are likely to listen to.

Research
Find out what is already happening in your organisation.

Do they have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy?
Are there any existing environmental initiatives?
Is anyone else already running schemes?

In order to implement new ideas, or expand existing schemes, you need to know what is being done already and if anything has been previously rejected, the reasons for that.

Think about what initiatives could be introduced which would be simple, or make a difference to the business. Find out all the information you need to present to make the case.

Plan
Work out the business case for introducing/expanding environmental initiatives.
The boss will want to know:

What are the benefits to the business?

Cost savings, such as lower business energy costs
Anticipating compliance – voluntary best practice will make it easier when legislation forces business to act
Employee motivation and retention – research shows a correlation between high retention and a company’s values matching those of its employees
A better reputation – many consumers would prefer products and companies which have socially responsible credentials

Getting colleagues on board means thinking about the benefits for them, plus making things simple to do. Any initiatives which demand extra time or disruption are likely to have limited success, whereas those which are simple to adopt will do well.

You may find information and ideas to help your plan at Business Link and Carbon Trust, including details of interest free loans for which your company may be eligible.

This article was produced by uSwitch For Business a utilities price comparision website aimed exclusively at business’s to help them save money on their electricity bills.

Spread the good, green word!

TetonRaptorCenter.org Launched

2009-10-14T03:22:40Z

TetonRaptorCenter.org was launched earlier this week.

I’ve been privileged to work with the good folks at the Teton Raptor Center here in Wilson for much of the past year. From helping them with some fundraising materials to their marketing for Old Bill’s last year, it has been a lot of fun. But the most rewarding so far has been the project that has been in the sights since last fall: a new Web site.

A little background: the Raptor Center in its current form is a relatively new organization, but the activities of the Center have been ongoing for quite some time, going back pretty much as long as area wildlife biologist and raptor expert Roger Smith has been caring for raptors in the Greater Yellowstone area. Officially, Roger and his wife Margaret Creel established The Raptor Fund as a non-profit back in 1992 but have lacked a place for this organization to call home—unless of course you consider their home such a place. Since they didn’t consider their own home appropriate, they sought to establish such a place.

Having been re-established as The Teton Raptor Center, the organization, through much negotiation by their dedicated board members, was able last year to secure a lease for the Hardeman Barns at the old Hardeman Ranch in Wilson from the Jackson Hole Land Trust. With that development and a commitment to providing help for raptors and education about them, the Teton Raptor Center was on its way toward establishing themselves as a prominent non-profit organization here in Jackson Hole. And with a great new physical home established, they then needed a cyber-home for their organization.

As of Monday afternoon, April 27, they now have such a home. That was the day we flipped the switch on TetonRaptorCenter.org. Check it out; see what they’ve been up to, view some of the great photos we’ve managed to get online so far, and try to support them in their effort if you’re so inclined.

[ad#homeinpost-3]

Spread the good, green word!

Where The Heck Is "Wydotanatah"?

2009-10-14T03:23:30Z

"Wydotanatah": my phrase; my territory.

When I conducted my first marketing seminar I was merely looking for a way to reach a captive audience of potential clients among businesses here in Jackson Hole. Now that I’ve reached that audience, I’m continuing to look for ways to reach others here locally in Jackson Hole and in the region beyond.

Jackson Hole as a business community is unique in many ways, some of which include:

It’s small but dense. There’s a lot of business for a community of roughly 20,000 people.
It’s relatively savvy. There are a lot of mom and pop shops but even they realize that they they need to compete at a relative level with the national (and even multi-national) corporations that have a presence here.
We’re a long way from anywhere. Our closest metropolitan area is Salt Lake City, and that’s a 5-hour drive. (Sorry, Idaho Falls.)
We’re closer to the state capitals of the three closest states than we are to our own. It’s true: by car Helena, Montana, is 4.5 hours; Salt Lake City, Utah, is 5 hours; Boise, Idaho, is 6 hours; and Cheyenne, Wyoming, is 6.5 hours.

But the one way that we’re not unique is that businesses here in Jackson share many of the same challenges that businesses throughout the rest of Wyoming—and in many parts of the sparsely populated West—share: if we want to do business throughout the state, we need to travel to do so.

Recognizing that means that you also recognize that there’s little difference between traveling to Casper from Jackson to do business than there is in traveling to Bozeman to do business (except that Bozeman may be a little more geographically interesting). For that reason, and in respect to the client from Kemmerer, Wyoming, whom I just brought on, I’ve consciously expanded my regional influence and coined a name for it: “Wydotanatah.” It includes Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah and it is my territory defined.
[ad#homeinpost-3]

Spread the good, green word!

Jackson Hole Chamber Marketing Seminar A Success

2009-10-14T03:24:41Z

Twist of Lime's Chris Hansen highlights the finer points of organic vs. paid search.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about my first seminar presentation. But I had spent a lot of time preparing—I knew my stuff and I’m comfortable in front of an audience. All in all, I have to say it was a success. (I know I should have plugged it here first, but most of my MarketGreener readers are a different audience than the Chamber’s members. Perhaps that will change…)

While the Chamber billed it as a “No/Low Cost Marketing Seminar,” I prefer to refer to it as Online Marketing 101. I covered the following:

Optimize your Web site for improved user experience and search results.
Interact with your customers using social media.
Create and send effective email campaigns.

Your Web site should be the foundation for all the marketing you do, whether online or off. I covered a bit of Search Engine Optimization basics, a social media overview, and the benefits of using an email service provider for email marketing—perhaps the most important section for this group.

It was a great experience and I thank Chamber Director Tim O’Donohughe and Events Manger Maureen Murphy for being open to my idea and letting me run with it. I think those in attendence really got a lot out of it.

I will make the slides available to attendees early next week.

If anyone is interested having me present to their group, I would be happy to do so.

[ad#homeinpost-3]

Spread the good, green word!