Images_Digital_Edition_August_2019

www.images-magazine.com AUGUST 2019 images 19 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT likely your account will be added to someone else’s list. You can see all lists you are a member of — and this will also display all their followers who may also be a target audience for you ■ Find existing lists online – there are tools to find existing lists based on whatever your search might be. Use these to identify, and potentially replicate, existing lists ■ If you use social media management tools like Hootsuite and Crowdfire, you can integrate your lists and create custom feeds to use and monitor on an hourly, daily or weekly basis Lists require a bit more effort than conventional social media techniques, but the results can lead to an increase in your following, plus increased coverage and engagement, which can only be a good thing for driving traffic to your business’s website. Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk O n the 18 June, at the Montcalm Hotel in London, the PCIAW (Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide) held its inaugural Summit for the professional clothing industry. There were 20 international speakers, introduced by PCIAW chairman John Miln and opened by board director César Araújo, president of Anivec and CEO of Calvelex. Adam Mansell, CEO of UKFT, presented on Brexit; Dan Murray, commercial director of Sedex, on an ethical supply chain; Leanne Howard, sales executive from Gerber Technology on size and fit; and Steve Zalkin, president of NAUMD, on the uniform market in the US. Each talk was presented to guests of the Summit with the intention of offering them exclusive advice and information to help further the success of their business. The topic on everyone’s lips, and the most witnessed presentation, was on sustainability. The presentation, given by Cyndi Rhoades, CEO of Worn Again Technologies, was titled ‘A circular future for the professional clothing supply chain is on the horizon’. Her presentation asked the question, ‘If we ban plastic, what will we do with it?’ Less than 1% of end- use textiles are recycled into new textiles, making it imperative that the garment and textile industry considers the circularity of raw materials. Cyndi divulged how Worn Again Technologies take in PET flake and textiles, process them through sorting or solvents – to separate, decontaminate, extract and regenerate – and then deliver the virgin equivalent of PET pellets or textiles. The focus, it appears, is on businesses’ consumption of end- use textiles as it becomes imperative that they shift away from raw virgin materials to those that offer the same quality with less of an impact environmentally. You can read more about the presentations by visiting the PCIAW website. The association will be holding a second Summit on key topics in 2020. T witter lists are one of the biggest hidden secrets in social media, an under-utilised tool to help gain followers and interact with potential new customers. The challenge for businesses is that the platform has more than 330 million users, and more than 500 million tweets are sent each day through these accounts. Twitter lists allow you to cut through the cluttered news feeds and interact with accounts based on interests, keywords and topics. They also give you the chance to keep one eye on your competition! Simply click the three dots (…) next to an account name and click add or remove from list. This will give you the option to create a new list or add accounts to an existing one. This is ideal for garment decorators as you can group lists of potential customers by sector, existing customers, local schools and many other targeted groups. Simply engage with these lists on a regular basis instead of using a slapdash approach or using your general news feed. To get started here are some tips for help with maximising your lists: ■ Create separate lists for your target audience – a list for existing clients, prospects, accounts of interest and so on ■ Create a list dedicated to your competition – keep track of what your competitors are offering in their social media campaigns and keep a private list to see what is and isn’t working for similar businesses ■ Grow your followers – as well as creating your own list, it’s Maximising Twitter lists THE PCIAW SUMMIT LeahWestcott Graham is editor at the PCIAW, the only UK and worldwide association dedicated exclusively to the professional clothing industry, its supply chain and associated industries. www.pciaw.org