VerticalResponse Product Blog

Feather Your Social Nest with New Features from Roost by VerticalResponse

Back in December we announced the news that we acquired social marketing leader, Roost. Now, just a few short weeks later, we're excited to share powerful new features to make your social marketing even more engaging.

Here's the scoop on our latest and greatest feature enhancements:

LinkedIn - In addition to being able to create, schedule and publish your campaigns to  Facebook and Twitter, we've added LinkedIn to allow you to further the reach of your messages and expand your network.

 

Top Blog Posts & Breaking News - We've added tons of new, hot content to our Links Library. "Top Blogs" gives you a curated selection of blog posts for your industry and interests providing you engaging content for your posts and campaigns. We've also added breaking news from across the web, so you'll never be at a loss for something compelling to post. Finding and sharing intelligent and engaging content has never been easier.

Quotes Library - We've added a rich Quotes Library to our suggested content section, to provide you a wealth of quotations to use in your campaigns.

Conversations - We've added the ability for you to see and manage all the replies and comments to your posts within the Roost by VerticalResponse interface. No need to go to Facebook or Twitter to reply or comment and get distracted by all the "noise" there. You can do it all from your account. And, you'll get notified of new interactions through a handy little red notification icon (just like in your Facebook account). Learn more in this quickie video.

Here's a screen shot of how the notification will appear.

 And here's how it will look when you click on the details button:

It's quick and easy to manage all the interactions that are happening with your posts.

Stay tuned because we're launching our Roost by VerticalResponse mobile app very soon.

And, if you haven't tried Roost by VerticalResponse, take it for a spin - It's Free!

 

Posted by Kim Stiglitz.

Kim Stiglitz is the Director of Lifecycle Marketing at VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter at @Stiggy1.

Event Marketing Feature Update Including Internet Explorer 9 Support

We just completed a release for our Event Marketing tool with a few enhancements, a fix and full support for Internet Explorer 9 users. These enhancements make our Event Marketing tool even easier and faster for you to create sell-out events in the blink of an eye.

Highlights of the release include:

Enhancements

• We've updated the editor used for designing event pages, invitations and reminders providing a better user experience and improved functionality.
• We've improved the Transaction table which now allows you to click on a name in the  table which brings up a window to email the buyer.
• We've improved the instructions for editing receipts for ticket sales to make it easier to understand.

Fixes

Internet Explorer 9 issues have been fixed, including:

• All backgrounds now display properly in the theme picker under the Design tab.
• Drag-and-drop functionality works as expected when adding lists to invitations and reminders.
• Deleting a widget is fully functional.
• A javascript error no longer appears on the Edit Content tab after creating a new event.

And, when editing new invitations for the first time, instructional text no longer appears within the editor distracting from content creation.

That's it for now, look for more Product news as it happens.

Posted by Jason Whittenberg

Jason Whittenberg is a Product Manager at VerticalResponse and blogs about enhancements and new functionality.

Roost Things We Love - Boost Business with Local Scorecard

As you may have heard VerticalResponse recently acquired a leading social media marketing company called Roost. Their signature product, Campaign Creator, allows you to set up a social marketing campaign in minutes from one easy to use dashboard. In addition to Campaign Creator, Roost also has another great tool called Local Scorecard. Roost's Local Scorecard provides insight on how local the "likers" of your Facebook business page are in relation to your business' actual physical location. 

You'll get a score from 0 to 100 based on the location of your audience in relation to your physical address. With Local Scorecard you will also learn your Facebook local coverage relative to other businesses and gain suggestions tailored to your profile to help develop your audience.

People love to do business locally. It not only supports the local economy, but is usually more cost effective with less travel and shipping expenses involved. The challenge lies in getting the word out about your business to local residents. The awesome thing about Local Scorecard is that even if you're doing a great job with local social marketing, Roost will provide tips on how to do it even better!

My favorite part about Roost's Local Scorecard is the fact that the insight is truly valuable. In the audience development section for example, suggestions are not only relevant, but they are specific to your business and easy to implement. Knowing your numbers and taking a few minutes out of your week to take the suggested action to improve them can really impact your business postively and increase local engagement and patronage.

Roost has also analyzed the data from more than 800 users of the Local Scorecard to show trends that the Wall Street Journal found very interesting.

Stay tuned for more on our Roost favorites. Next we'll cover what we refer to as the 3C's of Roost: Campaign Creator, Circles and Conversations.

Related posts:

• Big News! VerticalResponse Acquires Roost™ Social Media Marketing Platform
• Email & Social Marketing - 2011 - A Year in Review
• 5 Tips for Making Social Media Local

 

Savannah Stewart is the Partner Marketing Coordinator at VerticalResponse and blogs here about all things related to marketing and B2B communication. Connect with her on Twitter at @savannahstewart.

New Enhancements to Our Event Marketing

On December 6, we released an update to our Event Marketing product. This release brings
new enhancements and fixed some bugs that occurred at launch. If you're using Event Marketing you'll notice these changes the next time you access your account. And, if you haven't tried Event Marketing yet, now is a great time to take advantage of it.

Highlights of the Dec 6 release include:

Enhancements

• Transactions can now be voided to free up seats for your events. If the transaction included a PayPal transfer you need to process the refund directly through PayPal.
• Transaction reports can be generated with a specific date range and the results are sent via email.
• The Account Profile section now asks for your Facebook URL instead of your Facebook Group ID.
• Search and Sort options were added to the Transactions report.
• Event administrators can now opt-out of receiving all receipts and confirmations.
• The header color was changed on the Donation Details section to make it more distinguishable.

Fixes

• The Invitation HTML was updated with a default font family to display text more consistently across various email applications.
• The "Share on Facebook" link works correctly on the event Thank You page.
• The number of remaining credits for Pay-as-you-Go customers now shows the same number on both the Invitations and Reminders pages.
• New Reminder emails now appear where they should.

Posted by Jason Whittenberg

Jason Whittenberg is a Product Manager at VerticalResponse and blogs about enhancements and new functionality.

Subject Line Express: Create 18 Subject Lines in 30 Seconds or Less!

Want the gift of time for the holidays? We have you covered. Creating effective subject lines can be time consuming, but now you're able to generate several at once with our nifty new feature, The Holiday Subject Line Express!

It's easy. Simply fill in the blanks on the left-hand side, and watch the customized subject lines populate before your eyes! Then all you have to do is copy and paste them into your VR email marketing campaigns. What are you waiting for?

Another gift to you is the Everything Holiday resource site. It's (stocking) stuffed full with email marketing goodies such as: 

• Holiday Subject Lines
• The Button/Clipart Express
• Happy Holiday Guides
• Every Date You Need to Know-ho-ho
• A Webinar for All Seasons
• It's a Wonderful Blog
• Festival of Templates
• And more...
  

Take a break Rudolph, email marketing is here to pull the sleigh!

Amber Ricchetti is the Lifecycle Marketing Manager at VerticalResponse. She blogs here about all things related to marketing & copywriting. Connect with her on Twitter at @Gldnamby.

Pack the House with New Email Templates for Events

If you haven't heard, VerticalResponse Event Marketing is now live! And to get you started, our talented design team came up with some fun, professional, fully-editable event marketing email templates. Got an event? Give our new event marketing email templates a go and pack the house today. Here's a highlight of some new additions:

1) Send a strong invite with soft tones.

2) Give your event an award winning look & feel.

3) Shine some light on your upcoming events.

 

4) Appeal to the cool kids. 

5) Invite in stripes.

 

6) Walk a Fine Line.

It's easy to locate an event marketing email template in your VR Account. Here's how:

1. Login in to your VerticalResponse account. Don't have an account? Sign-up for free.
2. Choose the new Email Wizard editor or Canvas editor.
3. Choose the Events & Reminders category.
4. Select a template.
5. Add your content and you're ready to send your email.

So what are you waiting for? Send your next VerticalResponse Event Marketing email today.

Related Posts:

• 10 New Templates Let You Have Your Cake and Send It, Too
• 20+ New Templates in your VR Marketing Account
• 30 Easy Events for Your Business
  

Posted by Amber Ricchetti

Amber Ricchetti is the Lifecycle Marketing Manager at VerticalResponse. She blogs here about all things related to marketing & copywriting. Connect with her on Twitter at @Gldnamby.

VerticalResponse Event Marketing Is Here!

It's truly been a labor of love these past few months behind the scenes at VR, and we're    proud to announce that VerticalResponse Event Marketing is now available! With this new product offering comes the ability to easily create event web sites, sell tickets, and promote events through your email and social media networks in a matter of minutes. We hope you'll be surprised and delighted at how quickly you can create and market your events, all through your VR account!

Review Event Marketing pricing and then take advantage of this exciting new product!

Related blog posts:

• Event Marketing is Coming to VR - Stay Tuned!
• Coming Soon! Sell Tickets and Promote Events through VR
  

Posted by Jason Whittenberg

Jason Whittenberg is a Product Manager at VerticalResponse and blogs about enhancements and new functionality.

Event Marketing is Coming to VR - Stay Tuned!

Back in June we told you event marketing and ticket sales were being added to our product offerings, and we're delighted that VerticalResponse Event Marketing is being released very soon! This new tool will enable you to quickly create event websites, sell online tickets, accept sponsorships and donations, and send emails to promote your events − all through your VerticalResponse account.

After the launch, you’ll notice a new “Events” tab in the main navigation bar, and we’ll move the Calendar and Library sections under a new “Tools” tab.

Getting Started & Selling Tickets

To get started you'll simply complete a quick sign-up page. After that, you can create and market your event in no time!

With VR Event Marketing there are several ways to "sell" event tickets:

• Create an online box office on the event website where customers can buy tickets to your events.
• Use the Shopping Cart feature to sell tickets at various price points (or free of charge) that your customers can purchase, and then print a receipt to gain entrance to your event. 
• Embed the ticket widget on your web site, or even your Facebook page, within minutes!

Collecting Funds

If you're selling tickets, the funds can be deposited directly in your PayPal account. Ticket purchases and revenue figures can be accessed for your event at any time, allowing you to quickly gauge how your promotions are performing and whether you need to expand your mailing lists or exposure to social networks.

Get Social with Your Event Marketing

Speaking of social networks, have you taken advantage of our recent Social Media Updates for getting the word out about your email campaigns and events? Well, now’s your chance! Your event marketing programs can also benefit from our social media update to track the popularity of your events among your customers and their social networks. Simply turn on our social sharing features in your email invitations and announcements, and your customers and their connections can promote your events for the widest reach possible. The number of posts, tweets, and Forward to a Friend actions are all tracked through your VerticalResponse email reports dashboard.

Event Marketing Email Templates

Currently in your VR account are new email templates that can be tailored for a variety of invitations and campaigns. If you've already created emails for events you don't have to worry about redoing all the great work you already have, since invitations can be sent through your VerticalResponse account.

Non-Profits

We're proud to offer our non-profit customers free email credits and discounts on our survey and postcard services, and with Event Marketing we continue our commitment to those of you who do so much for your communities. Along with selling tickets and collecting payments you can also accept donations or sell sponsorships for your events. Event sponsors can then be recognized in your invitations and event website to showcase those who donate to your cause.

Feedback

As you can see there's a lot to be excited about, and we hope you're as excited about these new features as we are! To provide input use the Feedback tab in the application, since we're very interested to hear your impressions while working with VerticalResponse Event Marketing. We ask that you continue to provide feedback and suggestions to improve and maximize your experience, and we'll strive to bring more of these great features to you!

Posted by Jason Whittenberg

Jason Whittenberg is a Product Manager at VerticalResponse and blogs about enhancements and new functionality.

The VerticalResponse Button Builder Is Here!

I’ve been writing about call-to-action buttons for a while now and my team kept asking me, "Janine, when can we create a VR Button Builder?" So I’m thrilled to let you know we now have an easy to use call-to-action creation tool called the VerticalResponse Button Builder! The best part? It's absolutely free, and you can use the buttons in your email marketing campaigns and on your website.

Before you run off to create your new buttons, I wanted to share a few tips we’ve learned from testing buttons here at VerticalResponse.

1. Size Matters
When using buttons, the general rule of thumb is bigger is better. The whole point is to make your button stand out and draw your readers’ attention so they click on it. If you have multiple buttons, vary the size based on importance. For instance, if the primary call-to-action is "Buy Now," make that button bigger, than say the secondary call-to-action of "Learn More."  We’ll talk a bit more about this as it relates to position as well.

2. Points for Position
Where you place your button will have a definite impact on how many clicks you get. This is a great thing to test, but keep in mind that to get the most out of your button you'll most likely want the placement to be above the fold for email, and in the top portion of any webpage. If you have to place your button lower, there are a number of tactics to make it stand out from color to space and the language you use.

3. Get More Action
These buttons are called call-to-action buttons for a reason, so use bold, action oriented language on them. Tell your readers what you want them to do. 

     

 

We recommend using action verbs on your CTA buttons including Buy, Learn, Create, Start, Sign Up, Download, etc.

4. Space Out
To draw your readers’ eye to your button, leave enough white space surrounding it so that it will stand out. This is also helpful for anyone reading your content on a mobile device as it will allow enough space for your reader to click on your button with their fingers vs. a mouse.

5. Get Colorful
The last tip I have for you is to use a contrasting color for your buttons as compared to the surrounding elements or background. By using a high contrast color, your button will clearly stand out and encourage those click throughs.

6. Test, Test, Test
What works for one company doesn’t always translate to another, so I encourage you to test your button sizes, shapes, colors and positioning. Monitor which buttons are getting the most clicks and see what works for you.

So, who’s ready to create some killer buttons? If you'd like a little help getting started, check out the tutorial on our help site. I’d love to hear what you think about our new VerticalResponse Button Builder.

-Janine Popick, CEO
janinep@verticalresponse.com

Coming Soon: Sell Tickets & Promote Events Through VerticalResponse

As we look at how customers use VerticalResponse, one of the common themes that
comes up is promotion around meetings, events and fundraisers. We see users sending invites, reminders and requests for participation in events all the time. For a while now we’ve wanted to offer better ways for non-profit organizations, small businesses, and associations to get more value out of our service for the events they're running.

That’s why we’re excited to announce we'll soon launch a new service that combines the best of our email services with the ability to market and track events: VerticalResponse Event Marketing. This new service will be available to VerticalResponse customers for sign-up directly within your VR account.

We’re launching this new service in conjunction with our partner, givezooks! givezooks!
was founded in 2007 and specializes in fast and easy fundraising and event management for non-profits and other small organizations. We think they offer a great solution, and we’re excited to bring its benefits to our customers.

VR Event Marketing will give you the ability to:

1. Create an event web site in minutes.
2. Sell tickets online.
3. Collect optional donations.
4. Email event invites (using your VerticalResponse Email subscription or credits).
5. Share your event on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
6. Sell sponsorships to help pay for your event.
7. Track ticket sales and registration numbers online.

VerticalResponse Event Marketing will be available in Q3 2011. Stay tuned for more details!