●
Can market to and collect indications of interest from customers within their councils’
zip codes. Refer prospects that come from outside council jurisdiction to the council finder at
www.girlscoutcookies.org. Family members are the exception to this rule.
● Cannot have customers pay online (such as through a shopping cart function on a website the
girls create). Girl Scout magazine subscriptions, nut and candy product sales and the Digital
Cookie Program are the exceptions to this rule and use the MagNut (Nut-E) and Cookie (eBudde)
companies provided site.
● Must sign the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge (available at
http://www.girlscouts.org/help/internet_safety_pledge.asp) before doing any online activities,
and all online activities must be under the supervision of adults.
● Cannot expose their own or any other girl’s email address, physical address, or phone
number to the public. When writing email messages or online announcements, girls should sign
with their first name only, along with their group number or name and their council name.
See Chapter 4, Safety-Wise for additional information and guidance regarding online product
marketing and sales.
Setting Up a Troop/Group Website
Troops whose girls meet age criteria (13 years or older) and have parental permission may set up a
group Facebook page or website. This site must be approved by the council, yes, but it can be a fantastic
way for girls to share information, market Girl Scout products, and talk about their Take Action projects.
Don’t violate copyright law by using designs, text from magazines or books, poetry, music, lyrics, videos,
graphics, or trademarked symbols without specific permission from the copyright or trademark holder
(and, generally, this permission is pretty tough to get!). Girl Scout trademarks (such as the trefoil shape,
Girl Scout pins, and badges and patches) can be used only in accordance with guidelines for their use.
(The Girl Scout trefoil, for example, may not be animated or used as wallpaper for a website.) Check with
your council’s website for complete graphics guidelines and approvals.
It is important to remember the twofold purpose of the Girl Scout Cookie Program when selling cookies
or other products. The primary purposes of these sales are to help girls grow and develop and to
generate the revenue necessary to provide Girl Scouting to as many girls as possible. For this reason,
girls should be directly involved in any sales that are made, whether in person or over the Internet.
Contacting Prospects Electronically
Girls may use Facebook, Twitter, text messages, IMs, and emails as online marketing tools to let family,
friends, and former customers know about the sale and collect indications of interest. Product-related
email is not intended to be spam (unwanted texts or emails), however, so remind girls to be sure that
their messages will be welcomed by the receiver.
When girls are marketing cookies online, remind them to always use a group email address (such as
[email protected]), an adult’s personal email address, or a blind address (one that does not reveal
the address to the recipient). In addition, be sure to discuss with girls the need to treat customer email
addresses from current and past years—as well as phone numbers, IM addresses, Facebook accounts,
Twitter handles, and mail addresses—with respect; they are private and must be kept so.
Using Social Media
A girl (or group of girls) over the age of 13 may work in partnership with an adult to market cookies and
other products online, using the social media account (such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or LinkedIn)