New Community Marketing Tool

List Your Business, Non-Profit, or Group

Note: if you'd prefer to read all of this off-line, you can download a copy in Adobe Reader (pdf) format.

• Annual listing
• What's on the listing
• Listing feedback
• Setup and maintenance
• Sample
• Signup

In the winter/spring of 2016, SABDA will start to operate a new community web site. The site will serve as a hub for our community, and a guide for tourists and new residents. The site will be maintained year round, and will grow and mature with time. SABDA intends to devote considerable time and resources to marketing the site, and will contract with consultants to design and maintain our marketing efforts. You can watch the site as it develops. We will be very happy to receive as we go.

An important part of the new site will be a section offering full-page listings to businesses, associations, non-profits, and interested individuals. These listings will be free of charge for non-profits and public-service organisations like clubs and churches. Businesses and individuals who make money from what they list will pay an annual fee. The fees collected for these listings will allow SABDA to fund maintenance and marketing efforts for the site.

We welcome and encourage non-commercial listings (posted free of charge), because such things will help make our site content rich. If the site is interesting and useful, it will draw more traffic, and that will help every listing get more exposure. Also, with more information available about your club or service or hobby, life will just get more interesting and rich for everyone. Might your community hall or darts league benefit by having a place where members or interested residents could check your schedule or rental rates, for example? Lots of possibilities!

Annual Listing

The price of an annual commercial listing is $50. At this time, SABDA does not collect HST.

Wondering whether your listing is commercial? If you make money from the thing you talk about on your listing, it will be considered "commercial". Fundraising for non-profits and charities is not "making money". If you have any questions about this important point, please ask. We want to include as many people and groups as possible, and no question will be considered foolish.

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What's on Your Listing

Listings pages will have these features, with slight variations depending on your specific organisation (no map, if you don't have a physical location, for example). These are upper limits; you can certainly include less, if you like:

• your name, and your business/group/organisation name
• address
• phone/cell/toll-free phone/skype
• e-mail address(es)
• link to your existing web site
• map link, which will produce a searchable Google map with directions
• links to your social media sites/accounts (Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, HomeAway, Pinterest, etc.)
• description of your business/services (3 or 4 paragraphs)
• sample menu/list of offerings/prices/mini-catalogue; or announcement space for special events or pricing
• 2–3 photos
• 1 video or audio clip (embedded or linked, depending on source)

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Feedback From Your Listing

An important set of data will also be available to all listers, to help you get real marketing value from your investment in the community. At least monthly, listers will have access to these site statistics for your own page:

• number of unique hits (different visitors) your listing gets
• number of return visitors
• which country visitors to your listing come from
• average duration of visits to your page
• what links a visitor clicks on (Facebook, external web site, etc.)
• the search terms used to find your page

If you do not have a web site for your business, this page will give you a valuable Internet presence for a tiny investment. Every business listed on the site will benefit from the traffic generated by SABDA's marketing efforts, and by the traffic to listings of every other lister on the site. This is an excellent way to break in to the Internet marketing world, with built-in visitors and useful feedback. You may not need to go any further!

These listings are intended to let visitors know what to expect when they arrive in our community, to show just how much there is to see and do here. The more listings there are, the longer visitors will stay on our site, and the greater the chance that they will find your listing. If you have an existing web site or other Internet presence, you can use this listing to drive traffic to your other sites. The site statistics we offer will help you determine what is and what is not working on your listing, in terms of how interesting visitors find your page, and how many visitors follow the links to your other sites.

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Page Setup and Maintenance

SABDA will assist all listers in getting your page content loaded for the first time.

If you are comfortable using tools like word processors or e-mail, you will likely be able to maintain your page yourself. SABDA will retain the right to review all content on the site, but you will be able to keep your listing current and accurate as needed.

If you are not familiar with computer tools, SABDA will assist you in getting your listing up and running. Thereafter, we will provide corrections and minor updates. As well, we will make training guides available to help you learn to make more active changes to your page.

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Sample Listing

This is a sample using data supplied by one of our board members (and a little bit of fake "latin" to fill in the blanks). The page decoration is still in design, but we intend that your content will be the big attraction on these listings pages.

The right side of the page includes all the information visitors might need to reach you, including open hours (or dates or weekdays—your choice), contact info, GPS coordinates (we can help you find yours), and links to other Internet locations (we don't pre-select these; you can link to wherever you have an Internet presence).

Notice that we have included a little photo of this business' road sign, to help drivers spot the physical location from the road. As well, there is a small Google map showing approximate location. Visitors can click to see a larger version of the map, or to get directions from their location to yours.

This sample also includes an embedded video, and a section where the lister can make announcements, advertise a special, perhaps offer a coupon. This section is the place most likely to change over the course of a year.

Many businesses have logos, and these can easily be incorporated as well. This sample has one photograph. You may include up to three in your listing.

We think you'll find the listing options very complete, but we'll be happy to hear your thoughts and suggestions as we go!

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Sign Up!

We're anxious to get started. If you would like to list your business, non-profit, club, or other group, please let us know. If you want to talk to us first, please fill out enough of the the contact section of this form to let us find you, and just check the "let's chat" box. We'll contact you.

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