Rebranding Your Business in the New Year

Have you heard the rumors about the approaching apocalypse in 2012? We have, and while we’re not quite buying that “the end” is coming, we certainly do anticipate change.

A new year is the perfect opportunity to rebrand your local Sonoma County business. Updating business cards and stationery with a new logo will work wonders to attract new clients, as well as let your current customers know that you are a growing brand.

While a lot of us were raised to oppose change, 2012 is surely a time to embrace it! Contact Ajalon today to begin your rebranding efforts.

Market your local business with a contest on Facebook!

Are you wondering how to attract more fans on your Facebook business page? You’ve posted quality content and implemented a Facebook ad, but it might be a contest that gets you the most “likes.”

With Valentine’s Day approaching, brainstorm ways in which you can market your goods and services to local couples (or singles). Since Ajalon is in the printing business, we might offer 25 free Valentine’s Day greeting cards with a special couple’s photo printed on them. In order to enter, they would have to first “like” our business page, and then leave a comment on our blog telling us how they met. We could choose the winner randomly, or based on the stories collected.

Our contest will bring us new “likes,” interaction, and will spread the word of our business to local customers.

There’s a lot that goes into running a contest on Facebook and you want to be sure to follow their guidelines. Here is an article by SEO expert Mari Smith explaining the fine type.

Have you ever run a contest on Facebook? How did it work out for you?

Attract Customers All Year with 2012 Calendars

One of the easiest and most effective ways to get 12 months of marketing in one print job is by creating a company calendar. Hung on walls in plain sight for anyone to see, an eye catching calendar that promotes your small business will work wonders to attract new and returning customers.

If you are an animal shelter, clients will love to take home your calendar featuring adorable, adoptable pets! Or restaurant patrons just might have to stop by your burger joint for February’s Bacon Cheeseburger after staring at it all day at work. The options are endless.

image via MyZeroWaste

Is your Sonoma County small business on Facebook?

One of the most important tools for your Sonoma County small business is your Facebook business page. Almost 72% of all US internet users are on now Facebook, meaning it is probable that your customers are spending some (or all) of their time on the social media site.

Whether your small business is located in Santa Rosa, Windsor or Petaluma, your Sonoma County customers are trying to find you from the comfort of their own Facebook profile. They are waiting to like your page, share your links and help you promote your brand. Don’t let your business be a blank page, let Ajalon set a business profile up for you!

Not convinced that Facebook is worth the effort? Check out this short video on some 2011 user statistics:

By implementing an efficient and effective Facebook business page, you will allow new customers to find your business and returning customers to interact with your brand. Let Ajalon set up your business page today for only $299!

SEO helps Santa Rosa customers find your business!

Most small business owners have a simple website set up. It used to be that a few simple pages containing the business background, location and contact information was the norm for all business websites. Even though they thought that is all their site needed to get their customers through their front doors back then, they could not be more wrong today.

If a new customer cannot find your website to begin with, any page you publish will be rendered irrelevant. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is going to get your small business website seen on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing.

Titles

Your webpage title is the most important aspect of your SEO. The keywords you use to title the pages of your website will bring you to the top, or the bottom, of search engine results.

For example, Bob’s Towing originally used the title “Bob’s Towing” on their homepage. This was great when customers of Bob searched for “Bob’s towing” on Google, but what about all the people out there who don’t know about Bob?

When Bob changed his title to “Bob’s Towing – Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Towing and Automotive Services,” he started to reach customers who were searching for things like “santa rosa towing” and “towing sonoma county.” By adding a few relative and local keywords, Bob reached a whole new customer base.

Tags

Title tags are important to how your business website is presented to customers within search engine results. This would be a good place for Bob to condense his page title, creating a transparent link that no one will be afraid to click. Ex: “Bob’s Towing – Santa Rosa Services”

Descriptions

Meta descriptions are also important to how your website is presented to customers within search engine results. When a meta description is not provided, the search engine will select content from the page and display it for your customers. By providing a crisp, clear and complete meta description for a page, a customer is more likely to trust and click on your site.

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Are you utilizing SEO within your small business website? Adding simple things like page titles, title tags and descriptions will help bring you to the top of search engine results everywhere.

Sending postcards to Sonoma County customers

Do you have a special holiday deal or discount to offer your Sonoma County customers and clients? One of the most valuable marketing strategies of small business owners during the holiday season is the mailing of postcards to local residents.

Postcards are an easy and effective way to spread news about your business. They also give business owners a chance to show off their creative sides! If you are not already working with a local graphic designer, you have the opportunity to choose graphics and fonts, create the content and design the layout of your holiday business postcard.

Holiday postcards are the perfect size for mailing, displaying in stores and passing on to others. Contact us today to jump in on this awesome holiday marketing strategy. We would be delighted to send you a quote for your 2011 holiday business postcards!

Holiday newsletters keep customers connected to you!

Keeping in touch with your customers is a great way to build a community around your local business. Constant communication will keep your customers returning for your goods and services, and increase your authenticity as a brand. Sending out a monthly or quarterly newsletter is an excellent way to do all of these things and more.

Whether you have been sending out newsletters to your Sonoma County clients for years or are just seeing the benefits of this marketing tool now, there is no better time to send out a newsletter than during the holiday season!

There are several things you can do to create the perfect holiday newsletter:

• send warm greetings and well wishes to your valued customers

• tell customers about your updated holiday hours and/or vacations

• market holiday deals and specials

• tell customers what your local business has in store for the New Year

No matter what kind of information you are trying to spread, we have trouble thinking of a better way to do so than within a newsletter. Don’t forget to work with your graphic designer to work a little holiday cheer into your newsletter design!

Selecting a Graphic Designer for Business Endeavors

Whether you are creating your business’ webpage or producing top-notch printed materials to market to your customers, choosing a graphic designer that works for and with you should be the first step in your endeavors.

A great graphic designer should work with you and your company to understand your needs, and create killer visuals for you to utilize within your business. We know the search can be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help you find the graphic designer of your dreams:

• Keep local. Search local business listings and reviews on sites like Yelp. It will be easier to determine which graphic designer will work best for you based on others’ experiences.

• Ask for referrals. Trusted friends and businesses will guide you in the right direction. If you see a piece of graphic art from another business that you are drawn to, don’t be afraid to ask who their designer is.

• Search design directories and browse designs from contests and competitions.

Your designer will help boost your brand or business by implementing your business persona within your business graphics. Awesome websites, mail pieces and more will draw your customers in and keep them coming back for more!

Is your Sonoma County small business listed on Yelp?

If your Sonoma County small business is not listed on Yelp, be sure to set an account up ASAP! It is easy, free and most of all, will guide local customers straight through the doors of your business.

Yelp is one of the most trusted review sites on the web– consumers are constantly reading and writing reviews about tons of local businesses. Who knows, you might even be ranked in the “Best of Yelp,” just like Invitations by Ajalon!

We encourage all of our customers to review us on Yelp, helping push us to the top of the Santa Rosa Local Services. Facebook is planning to trash their “Reviews” application as well, making Yelp more valuable than ever to small businesses. Are you listed?

We recently made a new Yelp page for Ajalon Print, Web and Social Media.  Review us today!