Category: Membership Tips

Advertising Contract for 2021-2022 Chamber Connection Newsletter Out Now

January 19, 2021 | Membership Tips

Advertise with the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce! The Chamber Connection Newsletter is distributed the last week of each month (Example: April’s newsletter will be distributed the last week of March). Ad Sizes & Ad Rates:Business Card (3.5”w x 2”h) $25.001/4 Page (3.5”w x 5”h) $50.001/2 Page (7.5”w x 5”h) $100.00Full Page (7.5”w x 10”h) $200.00 Artwork must be premade and received by the 15th of the month. If the ad is not received by this date, it is not guaranteed to make that newsletter. If it is a recurring ad, the previous ad will stay in its place. Advertisers have the option of changing their ad monthly as long as new ad copy is received by the deadline. All ads must be submitted in JPEG or PDF format. Ads will be full color. Newsletters will…

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A Letter From Chamber President, Wendy Pfeil

January 04, 2021 | Membership Tips

Wow, what a year this has been. When we started our year in January with such promise to the new year, I never in a million years could we have imagined what our chamber, city, county, state, and country would go through. While we could focus on all the negatives, many positives came from this most challenging year. Within 24 hours of the COVID-19 restrictions being announced, your Chamber team was able to make a COVID response page with all the up-to-date information. The information included on this page was gathered from the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health, SBA, US Chamber of Commerce, St. Clair County Health Department, local hospitals, etc. All this information was vetted by our team for accuracy and relevancy to our members. This page became a community lifeblood for not…

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Reasons to Attend Virtual Networking Events

October 05, 2020 | Events | General | Membership Tips

Ever since the pandemic started, the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce has had to cancel all in-person events through the end of 2020. Our mission is all about “Advancing Business. Supporting Community.” and the Chamber has continued to host normal monthly events including our Virtual Happy Hour (Business After Hours), Coffee Cup Connections, Lunch & Learn, and Young Professionals seminars online via Zoom. If you or someone you know isn’t into participating in online meetings, here are some reasons that could change your mind: 1. It’s free!Our normal month-to-month networking evenings including our Virtual Happy Hour (Business After Hours), Coffee Cup Connections, Young Professionals, & Lunch and Learn seminars) typically may have a cost associated with them for in-person events. Now you can access them all for free from the comfort of your home or…

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Beyond Pictures: 14 Social Media Caption Tips

August 04, 2020 | General | Membership Tips

Whether it be Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or another platform, social media marketing can be challenging and finding compelling visuals can be tough. Instead of focusing on business-related images, focus on images that will engage your audience. The reality is that posting about event registrations or making a sales pitch is unlikely to drive meaningful activity. Your audience is human and likely using these platforms on a personal level, so it’s not necessary to engage with them on a solely professional level. To drive interaction, pay attention to how you’re captioning your posts. Captions shouldn’t be an afterthought; they’re a prime opportunity to engage. When deciding if a caption “works,” start by asking yourself: How will my audience react to this content? Will they find it entertaining? How will it make them feel? A well-written caption…

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The New Instagram Gift Card Sales Program For Businesses

July 07, 2020 | Membership Tips

Businesses can now sell gift cards on Instagram. Below we’ve provided step-by-step instructions* to share with our members.   Setting up Instagram Gift Cards for Your Business You can set up gift cards on Instagram to give people a way to support your business. When someone taps the Gift Cards button on your Instagram profile or the Gift Cards sticker on your Instagram story, they’ll be directed to a partner* website to buy gift cards. To enable gift cards, your Instagram account and business must fulfill the following requirements: Have an Instagram business or creator account: Your Instagram account must be converted into a business or creator account. Have a service with an Instagram payment processing partner: Your business will need to set up a gift card account with an Instagram partner using the instructions on the partner’s site. Partner options can be found on Instagram.  Adding a Gift Card…

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