We can make a difference!
Let’s save the planet!
Future generations are counting on you!
When we talk about being green, it’s easy to sound like benign propagandists. These vaguely inspirational phrases tumble right out of our mouths, charming small children and taming squirrels. Who can disagree with saving the planet? Who doesn’t like petunia chains woven through their hair?
It’s easy to understand the idealistic urge. While effective marketing messages usually focus on the prospect’s problems, all bets are off when your problem is imminent global destruction. That’s not hot (sorry).
So, how do you persuade without painting a doom-and-gloom picture, and without preaching, greenwashing, or crunchifying?
In this article, you’ll learn one good strategy.
Good for the planet? Not so much
When it comes to copy, “good for the planet” isn’t. It’s easy.
And because it’s easy, anyone can say it. Without the evidence to back up your statement, your audience has no way of differentiating
between companies who have made a difficult commitment to sustainability and those who have simply switched to biodegradable bags when they dump waste into the river.
So how do you convince your audience you’re good for the planet without putting them to sleep? A little something called a proof point.
Each proof point you provide adds to your credibility. As Mary Sullivan, a principal at Kickstart Alliance says, “If you don’t have the proof to back it up, don’t say it. It will come back to bite you. It doesn’t have to be data. It can be a case study or some other form of proof. But you’ve got to have something to show for it. Your salespeople will face problems if they can’t prove the message.”
So, if you must announce you’re good for the planet, tack on how you’re good. Here’s an example:
70 percent of our waste gets converted back into energy.
Short and sweet. Details take discipline, for sure. And a bit more legwork. But your audience wants to know the details. Details prove you can be trusted.
Here’s another example that weaves in specific proof points with the standard-issue marketing lingo:
A company is only as sustainable as its relationships. That’s
why Moon Macrosystems invests in clean technology
research and shares our ideas with other companies in the region.
In fact, we just received a $259,000 Silicon Valley Power
Innovators Incentive for our efforts. The clean, energy-saving
technologies we’ve developed will save more than 1,200 tons of
carbon emissions a year–the equivalent of taking 135 cars off
the road. And those are just our own numbers.
Imagine. A company that takes as much care with its
competitors’ sustainability as with its own.
What if you’re good for the planet, but don’t yet have the data to
back it up?
Green technologies develop so quickly that many companies lack benchmark data. How do you prove your newest good-for-the-planet
initiative really is if you don’t yet have proof?
There’s always data. Sometimes you need to borrow it from others. Or extrapolate. Or perform a few quick mathematical somersaults.
Here’s an example. Say your company has just installed solar panels. Of course, you don’t yet have the data for the amount of actual energy saved. But you do know the average capacity of the panels. You can say something like this:
Our new 50-kilowatt solar electric system is expected to
produce enough energy each month to power 15 homes.
Messaging–like saving the planet–is a work in progress.
Kelly Parkinson (http://copylicious.com) helps growing companies stand out from the pack by writing websites, e-newsletters, and other marketing copy. She specializes in healthcare and clean tech.
Tags: copywriting, green, green copywriting, renewable, sustainable
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