Tuesday, September 30, 2008
by
Gary VanderVen
We've done so
much high-profile advertising and marketing in 2008, and I have to say, I'm
especially excited about this week's ad in Sports
Illustrated magazine and the first Tina Turner concert this Wednesday in Kansas City!
But did you
know that behind the scenes, we're also embarking on search engine marketing and
online publicity campaigns that will aid your prospects and customers in
finding positive results when they search for "Amway Global" or "Quixtar"
on Google and Yahoo?
Efforts
like these will support our other, more high-profile campaigns. We know from
experience that when you introduce the products and the opportunity, people's
next move is often to search the digital space to learn more about us.
I'm writing
this post, not as a marketing person, but as a rules person because we've
noticed that some of our Independent Business Owners may not understand the
rules as they relate to the digital space. We're here to help, and we've seen a
few specific issues that we want to share with you:
1. The posting of an IBO's number and contact information in
comments in blogs or online publications. This is considered non-local advertising and is prohibited by the Rules
of Conduct.
Positive
media coverage of Amway Global and our brands is a powerful
business-building tool. You can share the links to these articles with fellow IBOs, your customers - anyone you know! And, you can always comment on
these articles and share your success story there, if there is an opportunity to
do so. What is not appropriate, however, is to include your IBO number or contact
information within comments posted for the world to see.
2. Sponsored Google Adword and Yahoo searches.
As I
mentioned, Amway Global is purchasing key words, search terms, and online ads
as part of a campaign that benefits all of us.
However, the Rules don't allow individual IBOs to purchase Google
Adwords or Yahoo searches because it is considered national advertising. On the other
hand, we do allow you to promote your business through Google Local and Yahoo Local advertising.
This is still
a relatively new adventure for all us! We are doing our best to maximize the
internet's potential, and to use it to bring awareness to our brands and our
business opportunity.
If you have
a proposal for how you'd like to use the internet to market your business,
please submit it to us for review. We
will let you know if your plans conflict with the rules before you spend any of your advertising and marketing
budget. And please, if you have any questions about local searches, or need clarification after reading the relevant rules,
contact the Rules Department at 616-787-6712 or via email at bcr@amwayglobal.com.
The relevant
rules are Rule 4.3.2 and Rule 9.8.
Happy
surfing!