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We are happy to introduce a new feature called Vendor Subscriptions!
What are Vendor Subscriptions?
Vendor Subscriptions is a self-serve product that allows Vendors to sign-up as a business on the forum where they are able to purchase a vendor subscription. This grants Vendors the opportunity to engage with our users by posting about their business in the Deals and Dedicated Business Forums where they can answer user questions and offer helpful advice and information on their products and services.
What are the benefits of Vendor Subscriptions?
Vendors can:
- Engage with our highly knowledgeable, passionate, and enthusiastic audience.
- Grow their business and build brand awareness.
- Drive traffic to their website.
- Showcase their products and services.
- Tell their Company story.
- Conduct market research.
Note: Vendors on Supporting or Premium Vendor plans can only start threads to advertise their products in the Vendor Deals or Business Forums located in the Vendor Member Section. However, these Vendors can offer their products or services to the community members by replying to the conversations if their reply is contributing to the conversation and is relevant.
How does Vendor Subscriptions work?
1. Discover Vendor Subscriptions and learn about the packages by visiting the “Business” link in the footer of the forum.
2. Register as a Business by clicking the “Register as a Business” button at the registration screen or visit your “Account Details” page and find the “Register as a Business” link there.
3. Find your business on the Business Directory page. The link to the page is found in the footer of the forum.
4. Find your business listed under your User Profile.
5. Vendors on a Supporting or Premium Vendor plan can mark their reply with a “Business” label. This helps users, as well as admins and moderators, identify the Vendors’ replies on the forum.
6. Discover a new “My Business” menu option.
7. Visit your Business Dashboard that serves as a hub for all other business-related links.
8. Update your Business Settings on the Business Settings page.
9. Vendors on the Premium Vendor plan can create a Dedicated Business Forum by visiting the “Business Forum Manager” page.
10. Manage your plan on the “Plan and Payments” page.
11. Vendor FAQ page located in the Help section of the forum was updated with the Vendor Subscriptions related questions and answers.
What is coming up next?
- Keyword Alerts which will send notifications when a specific word or phrase is mentioned on the forum.
- The ability to add additional team members to your business account.
Update - Nov 15, 2021
We are proud to announce the release of a new Business Dashboard to help Vendors view and understand the performance of their Vendor Subscription efforts. The new dashboard features performance stats specific to Vendors' engagement and exposure on the site.
How to access it?
The Business Dashboard can be found by visiting the “My Business” page by clicking on the avatar at the top right of the page:
What Metrics Are Featured Within The Business Dashboard?
A snapshot of the Vendor's Subscription activity in the last 30 days is reported on and is broken out by:
- The number of threads created
- The number of thread views
- The number of replies received
- Most recent threads
- Most viewed threads
- Most replies
Update - Nov 25, 2021
With Release 135 next week Free Businesses will be hidden from the Business Directory page if:
- 0 posts were made after signing up as a business (Free Business will still have a "Business" tab on the user profile page with the business information).
- no new posts were made in the last 90 days (Free Business will be automatically archived and the Business tab on the user profile page will be hidden).
- Once the Free Business is archived due to inactivity it will stay archived even if the user starts posting again.
- The user with the archived business can reach out to the Customer Success Team at VS with the request to un-archive the business.
