We are in such a digital/internet age that what I call “guerrilla” advertising is rampant. I recently read an article about “shopdropping”– a term retailers have given to the act of dropping, inserting, and leaving unwanted items on shelves and in products. Individuals leave business cards, flyers, religious or political propaganda, differently wrapped products, etc. in stores. Meanwhile, for those who have web sites with blogs or places where individuals can make comments, many find unwanted promotional posts and “plugs” for other products and services. How can a home business owner stay on top of such “leaches” trying to drum up free advertising?
If I sound a bit judgmental about all this, it is because I am. It really seems unethical and sleazy to me that individuals take advantage of another person’s hard work and effort instead of coming up with some of their own. My personal opinions, however, are not going to stop people from doing it. If you have a web site or other types of advertising that are vulnerable to these squatters, it takes diligence and constant attention to combat them. You will need to police any blogs or posts or public comment areas constantly to make sure these invasive viral advertisers don’t take hold. Deleting any comments is the first step. If you have the software capability or your web host does, you can try banning and deleting the poster from your site all together. I have known a couple small business people that have gone to getting rid of any comment areas or public posting areas in order to combat all the personal plugs, links, web addresses, etc. that were popping up on their business web sites. Periodically Google your business in order to find out what is out there in cyber space on your company.
Any public advertising can also be vulnerable–bus signs, billboards, etc. Again, it really takes your paying attention and working to combat any squatters. I don’t think we will be able to eliminate this unsavory trend altogether, but it has become a reality of doing business that even the smallest businesses has to be aware of.
Also: Low and No Cost Advertising For Your Home Business