As documented in a great Orlando Sentinel story written by Sarah Lundy, more bloggers are combining their blogging passions with a little business acumen and getting some rewards. Sarah writes about a growing population of bloggers that receive products from companies for a period of time so they can review and blog about it. Have no fear, though, because the companies never tell the bloggers what to blog about, nor do they provide guidelines of what they can or can’t blog about.

In the story, Bess Auer, a popular Central Florida blogger of the blog, Central Florida Top 5, talks about how she’s gotten involved in a few projects that have turned out to be really fun. She also points out that being involved and blogging about certain subject, such as cars provided to her by Chevrolet, have helped her increase the traffic to her site - a win-win scenario.

Esther Crawford, the head of ShePosts.com, is also included in the article talking about the opportunity facing women bloggers and trends they can take advantage of.

Even though the companies aren’t involved with the content that appears on the blog, transparency is still required by new laws coming from the FCC. Bloggers are supposed to state clearly that they received product from a company if they then blog about it.

Do you use your blog as a way to write about other products? Tell us about it here!

A while back we offered insight into the right kind of colors to use in your small business marketing. Do they really matter and, if so, what kind of guidance can help you choose the right mix for your small business. Today we pose a topic that will reverberate throughout the marketing and business community since it has to deal with the ongoing BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its affect on business and local lives.

Should you avoid using the color green in your marketing, advertising and promotions since today it makes many people think (negatively) of BP? This includes all branding and printed pieces like direct mailings, postcards, promotional flyers, and newsletters. It also includes online marketing and communications, like emails, landing pages, blogs, websites and even social media themes.

Drive down any street and if you see a sign that’s shouting the color green, I bet you initially think it’s a BP gas station. Not just because the color is a vibrant part of their gas stations on almost every corner, but also because we’re now used to seeing it on a nightly basis on almost every television news report.

Ever since late spring, when you think of BP (and that green), do you get a warm, happy feeling or just the opposite?

Consider that there was a time not long ago when BP’s brand and use of green was actually helping the company in its public opinion and perception. But with the spill, these perceptions have taken a nose dive for not just BP but many others in the oil industry.

Perhaps this is an unfair blog post calling out the color green, but with all the negative attention and perceptions being shaped through BP’s efforts, is it time to pull the plug in using green in your marketing?

In our related blog post we learned that green represents several characteristics when it comes to marketing for a company. Abundance, cool, nature, growth and fresh are all part of the green value proposition in marketing. If your company represents any one of these characteristics, it might be time to find an alternate color.

Here are other colors and what they represent:

White: mild, pure, youthful, clean

Red: excitement, sex, speed, passion, danger, strength

Orange: vibrant, warmth, playfulness

Pink: security, soft, nurture, sweet

Yellow: sunshine, happiness, cheer, warmth

Blue: reliability, coolness, belonging (also the most used color)

Purple: dignity, spirituality, royal

Black: mystery, sophistication, seductive, elegant

Silver: scientific, prestige, cold

Gold: expensive, prestige

Keep in mind we’re not saying if you have green predominantly displayed throughout your marketing people will start picketing outside your facility. That is absolutely not the message. Nevertheless, companies spend tens of millions on every aspect of marketing because they take every inch of strategy very seriously. The chosen color is no different than any other element of this decision-making process.

There’s no doubt that BP has created a very negative perception for itself. The use of green in their marketing is now easily identifiable with every aspect of the company. Perhaps the color of oil is the only color more identifiable with BP. If you can consider switching over to a color that’s out of the negative limelight (pun not intended), it may be wise to do so

What’s your take? Is green an innocent victim of the BP fallout?

Chrisanne Sternal is founder of UnderstandingMarketing.com and Sternal Consulting, which advises entrepreneurs and small businesses on all aspects of their marketing strategies.

Because of this, BP gas station owners are turning towards marketing to help commuters better understand that their money isn’t going towards the large oil company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Gas station marketing has always been a strategy filled with opportunity because there are so many independently owned units.

Some BP gas station owners have started Facebook and Twitter pages to post pictures of their gas station as well as information that educates consumers on where the money goes. BP station owners have also launched guerrilla marketing campaigns by having friendly faces and people in costumes out on the streets in front of their station holding “independently owned” signs and placards. And finally, BP station owners in Florida are encouraging members of the BP Amoco Marketers Association to stop by stores so they can chat one on one with customers and offer promotional flyers with information.

What kind of gas station marketing have you seen by BP owners?

As entrepreneurs continue to kick around some world cup marketing ideas for small business, the rest of the world wakes up on Friday awaiting the start of the global four-week soccer tournament.

Allison Ross of the Palm Beach Post blogged about specials, deals and promotions at local small businesses in and around South Florida. You already know about Tucci’s Pizza free food deal, so here’s a run down of several others, courtesy of our friend, Ms. Ross:

Gol! The Taste of Brazil, a Delray Beach Brasilian eatery is offering some tasty goodies every time Brasil or USA scores a goal.

Taverna Opa, a popular Greek restaurant/bar in the heart of Palm Beach will reward you with a free shot of Dos Lunas tequila every time your team scores (but you must be wearing your team’s jersey).

Wowies Sports Grill in Boca Raton seems to have gone all out in their World Cup marketing efforts. Not only are they offering food and drink freebies via a coupon, but they’ve also teamed with Major League Soccer Talk, World Cup Buzz and EPL Talk to claim their bar as the “official” viewing place for World Cup games.

On a larger scale, Bruce Horovitz of the USA Today writes about global brands competing for the most online and social media buzz surrounding the games. One social media monitoring firm believes Nike has the edge, capturing 26 percent of all social media marketing buzz. Nike’s “Write the future” advertisement has been a smashing success on YouTube.

Bruce also talks about how many of today’s big brands have relied on social media to generate online buzz across various communities, such as Facebook, Twitter and other video sharing sites. Clearly, there is still a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs to follow this strategy and take advantage of World Cup marketing ideas for small business by making its own online video and distributing through a social media community.

What are your small business World Cup marketing ideas and examples? Keep them coming!