Images Magazine June 2018

www.images-magazine.com JUNE 2018 images 19 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT How to win at Instagram 3 Embrace the #hashtag A major bone of contention with many users is the use of the hashtag. Some love it, some loathe it, but Instagram is all about the hashtag – so embrace it. People use hashtags to search for posts – they are a neat way of making your posts stand out from the plethora out there. Canny use of hashtags will ensure your post has all it needs to be found online by users, expanding its reach. 4 It’s not just a marketing too A hidden gem in Instagram is the Notifications feature. It’s perfect for research and keeping an eye on competitors and influencers: you receive a notification every time they post a new piece of content. Simple click (…) and click ‘Turn on post notifications’. 5 Grow your local reach Increase your local coverage with the Locations feature. Instagram allows you to find local people, influencers etc. Increased engagement with these can only enhance your business’s Instagram feed and increase potential business leads. Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk R ecently, the Briman Group hosted a dinner at the House of Commons with special guest Jonathan Djanogly MP who sits on the Brexit committee. This was of particular interest for the Briman Group of manufacturers as many of them export finished goods into Europe as well as importing raw materials. Mr Djanogly shared his valued insight and some of the issues and hurdles currently facing the government; this was followed by questions from those present on a range of issues. Our borders are frictionless at present, but if Britain leaves the EU customs union this is likely to lead to increased delivery times as well as potential cost implications too if new tariffs are imposed. Promotional merchandise and apparel are largely ordered and delivered within 10 working days, and as customers leave ordering of merchandise later and later, this will only add to these pressures. The BPMA will be hosting an event on 11 September 2018 specifically around Brexit and the potential impact to our industry; please contact the BPMA to register your interest. If you have any questions or topics for Gordon to address, please email editorial@images-magazine.com with ‘BPMA’ in the subject line. BPMA: UK MANUFACTURERS DISCUSS BREXIT IMPACT W ith over 400m users using Instagram daily, it is rapidly becoming a business’s go-to social media platform. With a higher engagement rate than the other main social media channels, it is a marketing tool your business should seriously consider. The success of Instagram is simple – the brain processes images 60,000 times faster than it does text, so what are you waiting for? Stop talking about garments and get them seen online! Here are five tips to get your business started on Instagram: 1 Upload visually engaging content For the garment decoration industry, social media is all about showing off your latest work and products. Curate posts showcasing your latest work, what is going on where you are and any office antics. Instagram stories can display a series of images or videos over a 24-hour period and appear at the top of the feed – they’re a great way to grab potential customers attention. To increase a post’s potential reach, don’t forget to include the relevant customer’s ‘handle’ in the post. 2 Optimise your profile and call to actions A basic tip, but an important one: ensure your profile is optimised. Use a crisp, clear, high resolution brand logo as your profile picture and include a brief description of who you are and what you do and, importantly, your contact info. Similarly, with your posts, don’t forget to add calls to action and ways to get in touch so you can convert any leads. If Britain leaves the EU customs union this is likely to lead to increased delivery times [L-R] Graeme Smith, BPMA chairman, Jonathan Djanogly MP, and Gordon Glenister, outgoing director general of the BPMA