All posts in Online Marketing

Pinterest for Small Businesses

This post is written by Kristen Johnson, a member of Vistaprint’s social media team who focuses on content marketing.

Pinterest has taken the social media world by storm by quickly moving up the charts as one of the most active and engaging platforms around. We first mentioned Pinterest on our blog about a year ago when the network was just starting to generate buzz. Since then, the network has exploded in popularity. In fact, a recent infographic published by Wishpond revealed that the total number of unique visitors to Pinterest increased by 2,702.2% since May 2011.

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What Social Media Network Is Right For Your Small Business?

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This post is by Jeff Esposito, Vistaprint’s Social Media Manager.

We all know that social media can be overwhelming. There are stats and figures that show which network is a hit or a flop with given demographics. As a small business owner, you don’t have the time to be everywhere at once (big companies can’t either) – but what social network is right for you? If you don’t know, answer the multiple choice questions below: Read more…

Valentine’s Day Marketing for Small Businesses

Valentine's Day Marketing for Small Businesses

This post is written by Matina Fell, a Creative Manager at Vistaprint. Matina manages copywriters on the team and is a writer herself, focusing on our Canadian and CRM channels.

Ah, Valentine’s Day. That time of year where you express your true love with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. Most small business owners might be tempted to brush this day off. It’s made for florists and candy shops, right? Wrong. Behind Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the second largest retail day of the year. In 2012, it brought in about 17.6 billion dollars in revenue. With some of our creative marketing tips, you too can reap the rewards of the day of love. Read more…

13 Things For Small Business Owners To Do In 2013

13 Things For Small Business Owners To Do In 2013

This post is by Jeff Esposito, Vistaprint’s Social Media Manager.

One of the greatest things about a new calendar year is that it allows business owners to take a step back and evaluate areas that they can improve upon for the coming 12-month period. This can be anything from improving on missteps of the previous year to expanding or growing your business. Below are 13 things that your business can look at to have a great 2013. Read more…

Improving Customer Loyalty For The Holidays

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This blog post is written by Kate Webster. Webster writes for lead generation resource, ResourceNation.com. She focuses on a variety of topics including mobile marketing.

With the holidays just around the corner, keeping your customers loyal is a smart way to keep sales rising throughout season. Many companies fight for the consumers’ attention this time of year, and you could easily lose their business if you don’t keep up with the latest incentive and marketing trends.

Customers are usually looking for the most approachable company that can offer them the best deal, so make sure that your special offers and product features are intriguing and will help keep your loyal customers happy. From promotional features to incentive programs, you can cater the best options to your business and customers. Read more…

Avoid The Facebook Edgerank Blues

Avoid The Facebook Edgerank Blues

This post is by Jeff Esposito, Vistaprint’s Social Media Manager.

There is no question that Facebook is important for businesses. It offers an unrivaled platform where companies and customers can interact in real-time while allowing the world to see the conversation. If you manage a page for your business, you have probably noticed that the amount of fans you are reaching with updates has decreased. This drop is due to a change in Facebook’s ranking algorithm, called Edgerank, which is calibrated to optimize the user experience. We agree that this is not ideal for businesses; there are a few things that you can do to help make sure you can boost your presence in your customers’ newsfeeds. Read more…

How Much Are Facebook Fans Worth To Small Businesses?

How Much Are Facebook Fans Worth To Small Businesses?

This story was originally published on Boston.com’s Small Business Blog.

One of the questions that I often get from small business owners is, “how much is a Facebook fan actually worth to my business.” My answer is almost always the same. “Zero, unless…”

Depending on what methodology you believe, a Facebook fan could be worth upwards of $100 or as little as $1.00. Some have speculated that fans are worth $10, based on brands advertising on Facebook and the number of impressions they get with actions taken. But until (and unless) Facebook becomes a standalone marketing channel for a small business, it’s going to be nearly impossible to determine what a fan base is worth. In other words, if a business has 100,000 engaged fans but can’t equate what they drive in terms of dollars, they’re worth very little. Read more…

[INFOGRAPHIC] Online Behavior And Small Business

[INFOGRAPHIC] Online Behavior And Small Business

When it comes to small businesses, the online world is becoming increasingly significant. Not only for small business owners — 90% of whom say having an online presence is important — but also for their customers, who are using the Internet to perform key actions such as search for local businesses, and (hopefully) purchase. In fact, of Internet users, 97% say they search for local businesses online, with 61% of local searches resulting in phone calls. And nine out of 10 people call or visit a business when found via local search.

And when it comes to online searches, something to keep your eye on is mobile. It’s another area of growing interest, with 90% of mobile searches leading to action, and over half leading to purchase.

What about you? If you’re a small business owner, where do you spend the most time online? How does local search impact your sales? Check out the numbers below, and see how you fit in.

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6 Tips to Boost The Effectiveness Of Your Facebook Page

6 Tips to Boost The Effectiveness Of Your Facebook Page

This guest post is by Jeff Esposito, Vistaprint’s Social Media Manager.

If Facebook were a color, it would be this season’s black. It has over 900 million users with the oldest Facebook user being 101-years young. This large user base makes it a no-brainer for businesses of all sizes to build up a presence to connect with their customers (if you don’t have a Facebook page yet, don’t worry click here for a quick how to on that). Read more…

6 Easy Ways To Spice Up Your Website

6 Easy Ways To Spice Up Your Website

This is a post from Sara Nash; Sara earned her degree in Public Relations from Penn State University. From there, she worked a PR agency in Boston before joining the PR and Social Media team at Vistaprint.

We’ve mentioned how important it is to keep your content fresh, and earlier in the week, we provided you with a few places to look in your every day life for content inspiration. Now, we give you six MORE examples of how to make your website a bit more interesting, from using images to updating your design:

Images Are Key
When visitors first reach your page, great images are the perfect way to catch their eye. If you are a local restaurant, for instance, take some pictures of your most popular dishes that will get people rushing out their door and into yours. Tip: It’s very obvious when a picture is outdated, so update your pictures regularly. And if you own a storefront, pictures of the outside of your building will help new visitors find you on the street. Read more…