marketing: January 2008 Archives
Green Travel and Hybrid Airplanes
An interesting article in the Pacific Coast Business Times on Avantair, a company in Camarillo that promotes "environmental responsibility in general aviation."
Avantair, a Clearwater, Fla.-based exclusive seller of fractional shares in Piaggio Avanti P.180 aircraft, keeps one of its few sales and only two maintenance facilities in the United States at the Camarillo airport. Dubbed by the company as the “hybrid of the skies,” the aircraft boasts the fuel efficiency of a turboprop and the speed and comfort of many jets.
To further the appeal of the P.180 as a green air transportation option, Avantair recently formed a partnership with TerraPass, an organization dedicated to the management of climate change.People aren't going to stop traveling via air anytime soon (unless the bird flu hits - then all bets are off. Would you get on a plane with 200 people, knowing that someone with the sniffles might have a virus that could kill you in three days?). And so, aviation becomes yet another industry that is moving towards being "green", in terms of fuel consumption, emissions and of course marketing. And look what happens when a company decides to take the lead in environmental responsibility. Others follow, which begins as a trickle and may turn into an industry-wide flood.
I particularly enjoyed this paragraph, if only for Ms. Goodspeed's name: “When people join a fractional program, they fly frequently. They want to have the best options possible to them,” said Ginger Goodspeed, Avantair’s Camarillo customer service manager.
Following Avantair’s partnership with TerraPass, NetJets, a major private aviation company and fractional seller, announced a plan to take several steps to offset its climate impact, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, offsetting unavoidable impacts and investing in research for environmentally efficient aviation technologies.
Social Network Marketing for Artists
An artist here in Ojai inquired about some web marketing assistance. I had a hard time pinpointing exactly where he was going
to get the most bang for his buck.
Search engine optimization probably won't help much because an artist has very little textual content on the pages. We could do some standard link building, but its fairly expensive and I don't think its going to have the kind of impact we'd both like to see for his site.
So I recommended that his best bet right now is to concentrate on social media, particularly social networking sites that focus on artists. Basically, an artist need to sell himself through his imagery, and traditional search engine optimization doesn't really cut it - an artist is better off seeking the communities where people are looking for art.
I did some research and found the following online communities that are chock-full of artists.
Search engine optimization probably won't help much because an artist has very little textual content on the pages. We could do some standard link building, but its fairly expensive and I don't think its going to have the kind of impact we'd both like to see for his site.
So I recommended that his best bet right now is to concentrate on social media, particularly social networking sites that focus on artists. Basically, an artist need to sell himself through his imagery, and traditional search engine optimization doesn't really cut it - an artist is better off seeking the communities where people are looking for art.
I did some research and found the following online communities that are chock-full of artists.
For an artist's own site, even without a lot of text, there are still some opportunities for visibility on the web. Be sure to name the files intuitively, and use the available attributes in the image tag (alt="" and title=""). This should increase visibility in Google Images and other image searches.Maccaca
Amateur Illustrator
MyArtInfo
ArtUproar
deviantART
Saatchi Gallery
Bebo
Ning Artist Search
Social Media SUPER List
ArtFlock.com (added 01/25/08)
Folio Link (fee)
ArtSpan (fee)
Really Simple Websites
A friend asks:
If I want to register a domain name for a non-profit idea of mine, and build
a simple inexpensive website for it, what service do you recommend for
registration?
Websites these days are commodities. For a simple "brochureware" website, I'd first look at whoever you already have domain(s) registered with (your "registrar") to see if they have anything you like. That would make it easier.
If working with your current registrar isn't a concern, I think godaddy.com, 1and1.com and register.com are good choices, based on their prices and templates offered. Following is a box for GoDaddy, where you can search for a domain, and select an appropriate hosting service.
And here's a link to 1and1.com, which a number of clients have been happy with, particularly considering their low prices. They have a really nice admin area for managing domains and emails.
Websites these days are commodities. For a simple "brochureware" website, I'd first look at whoever you already have domain(s) registered with (your "registrar") to see if they have anything you like. That would make it easier.
If working with your current registrar isn't a concern, I think godaddy.com, 1and1.com and register.com are good choices, based on their prices and templates offered. Following is a box for GoDaddy, where you can search for a domain, and select an appropriate hosting service.
And here's a link to 1and1.com, which a number of clients have been happy with, particularly considering their low prices. They have a really nice admin area for managing domains and emails.
