Market your sales with postcards!

Do you have a great Father’s Day deal to offer your Sonoma County customers this year? Great! How do you usually market your sales or offers? If you have never tried spreading the word with postcards, this might be the perfect time to try.

Postcards are excellent marketing materials. They are eye-catching little pieces of paper that almost effortlessly find their way into your customers’ hands. The hardest part is probably designing the card (and dealing with the line of customers afterward!), but don’t worry, we can help you out with that.

Whether you are offering 20% off ties or having a storewide sale for Dad to go nuts in, postcards will lead new clients and customers right to your door this Father’s Day.

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Big Changes Are Coming to Your Small Business Facebook Page!

You may have already switched your personal Facebook page over to the”timeline” layout, but what about your business page? All business pages will soon adopt the new layout, so make sure you are prepared!

Take a look at our own Facebook page to see how we accommodated the changes. You’ll notice a few new things right off the bat, including a huge cover photo, and the lack of a side navigation bar.

We chose a cover photo that reflects the nature of our 50 year old printing business. Our spiffy, updated logo is our profile picture, located to the left.

Directly below our cover photo is our general and contact information, as well as application links. We’ll discuss the ways in which you can customize your apps to create more engagement between you and your customers in our next post.

The next big change you’ll notice is the timeline layout. This layout allows you to highlight and promote certain posts over another. We’ll discuss more about this in our next post as well.

 So what should you be doing to prepare for the big change? Be sure to have a cover photo ready, as well as your profile picture. Decide which of your Facebook applications you want to feature, and make sure to double check all of your contact information, as it will be one of the first things your followers see when they land on your page.

Again, while a lot of us were raised to oppose change, 2012 is surely a time to embrace it!

2012 Trade Shows are Coming Up!

Is one of the main ways you market your local Sonoma County goods or services at trade shows? Be sure to grab customers’ attention when you are there with eye-catching banners and other printed materials!

Most trade shows allow individuals a booth or area to market their small business. How will anyone know who you are without a spiffy banner to reel them in? Perhaps it was a flier you had printed for a specific show and distributed around the building that brought a new customer to you.

Look at Laura of Sweet Joyfulness marketing her cupcakes with an amazing banner, printed by Ajalon!

We know envelopes are a vital part of your day-to-day business routines. That is why Ajalon is pleased to offer 10% off your envelope orders this winter!

Envelopes work wonders for:

• marketing goods and services
• sending out invoices
• connecting with consumers through newsletters

Offer expires March 31, 2012

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?

Have you set up your business’s Google+ page yet?

Woo hoo! Google+ business pages have arrived! If you are a Sonoma County local business and have not created your business page, now is the time!

Once you have set up your Google+ business page, it is important to start sharing. One of the easiest ways to get noticed is by posting photos and linking your blog posts.

Like on Facebook, you will be able to add other business pages to your circles, but not personal profiles. So if you are hoping to use Google+ to connect with your customers, urge them to add you to their circles first!

Since Google+ made business pages available on November 9, Sonoma County local business pages are popping up everyday. Both Ajalon Print, Web & Social Media and Invitations by Ajalon are now active Google+ users. Add us to your circles to keep connected!

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

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!