Social Media has slowly become a vitally important aspect of any B2B marketing strategy, setting the trend for B2B companies to learn how to personalize and humanize their approaches in order to achieve a successful and lasting relationship with their customers.

Yet as social media platforms continue to prove successful with expansion of tool sets such as marketing automation platforms; there are still some B2B professionals who are refusing to embrace the digital age. Whether this is due to the certain barriers B2B marketers can face when trying to adapt social media into their marketing strategy, or doubting the success social media can bring to their company, these B2B professionals are still hesitant to welcome a new approach.

Due to previous perceived views of social media, B2B companies have unwittingly created barriers and have been slow to adapt to the social media age. But with the right marketing objectives and approach, social media provides an exceptional amount of power to B2B companies when approaching their target audience.

Social media has opened a digital two-way communication between B2B companies and their audience, offering marketing opportunities that previously would never have been possible. So, what are the must dos of social media? It is obvious that used right, social media can provide plenty of success; but what must B2B companies do to overcome barriers they face and ensure they are using social media to its maximum power?

• Have the Right Mindset
• Often marketers rush head first into using social media with the mindset of achieving leads. However, your first objective when integrating social media into your digital marketing strategy should be to gain a presence through engagement on social media. A plan to gain followers and build your online presence is step one in the journey to achieving leads.

• Position your Brand Right
• Social media can make the most ‘boring’ B2B products interesting. It is all about how you position yourself. Social media platforms allow you to promote your products from any angle, changing your customers perception of the brand. Enthusiastic and frequent posts can position your company as a leader in the market, resulting in a change of perception for your company.

• Humanize your Brand
• It is important to humanize your social media activity within your digital marketing strategy. Through marketing automations platforms, it can be easy to lose the personalization of your brand. This can easily be avoided by using the first-person voice when posting updates on your social media platforms, and writing articles. Using a brand front person to tweet and post updates is also beneficial, as it ensures you continue to add your personalised touch to each post or update within your social media platforms.

• The Power of Social Media Lies in Communication
• Every update, blog post, image, video and comment is communicating with your audience. Each of these activities can lead to a site visit and eventually a conversion, proving that actively communicating with your audience is vital to achieving your marketing objective. This is why it is important to build your followers online, as while they grow, so does the trust and credibility of your brand.

• Promote Content Within Your Social Media Activity
• Promoting your content within your social media updates across all platforms is vital to gaining online credibility within your market. People are always searching for content that interests them, and as such are willing to share this content with their fellow followers. This is a simple, yet essential element of using social media in the B2B industry.

By following these 5 simple tips, you will be able to stay ahead of your competitors and perhaps prove to someone that the power of social media in the B2B industry is real, and happening right now.

For more advice, why not download our Tip Sheet ‘Six Tactics to Maximise your Social Media Advertising Efforts’.

B2B Marketing – Central London

Positive Branding were approached by comic relief to brand Zoe and the teams clothing for her incredible bike ride challenge.

We supplied flock transfers to all the clothing worn throughout the five day 350 mile challenge.  Zoe has raised £1.2 million pounds for charity.

We were glad to play a small part in her brand recognition.

IF YOU HAVE ANY BRANDING REQUIREMENTS – PLEASE CALL US FOR A QUOTE 020 8912 1515.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

Oscar was an original – a witty, accomplished writer and playwright. He was an iconic brand, never mistaken for anyone else. Here are five reasons why your company needs and deserves the Oscar treatment:

Original Spin

Despite the word ‘brand’, no one should ever aspire to be simply one of the herd. You should be out in front, leading that herd, setting standards that make people talk about you for all the right reasons. If you are shiny and new, launching a novice brand can be daunting but invariably, it’s a challenge that should get the adrenaline pumping. Who am I? What makes me special? You need someone to do the solid groundwork. If you are already up and running but need help, you need clear-headed advice on what may have slipped or needs reinvigorating.

Can’t See For Looking

A mirror is a beautiful thing, but staring into your reflection too long may turn you into the mythical pining Narcissus, but it will not give you the impartial distance you need to truly ‘see’ your brand. For example, is the company name strong and original enough, how sharp and distinctive is your logo, your typography, your imagery? Do people find your website bold and easy to navigate or do they flee to competitors in frustration? Remember that the choices you make, the imagery that represents you, will be on your stationery and brochures, an all-encompassing statement of ‘you’. Make the face you present to the world the best it can be.

Where Do I Belong?

Do you know where you are with your company, where you originally aimed to be and where you should be? Strength of position and longevity in brand positioning do not simply happen, no matter how successful companies may make it look effortless. A great deal of work and strategy goes in achieving that position. In a world of butterfly minds and ever-changing tastes and interests, you need to keep people enticed and loyal with inspiring design, a product they must have. Having support and advice takes some of the strain out of a daunting world of putting on events to showcase your brand, or navigating marketing in the mercurial world of social media.

Creativity is The Key That Opens Every Door

Whatever business you find yourself in, constant creativity will always be the best way to build a brand. You need a team around you who truly listen, who are intellectually astute and can think outside the box. Great minds do not think alike, or at least not at first – they can develop interesting angles that you may never have considered, looking at your business as a whole. Taking a holistic approach to your company is an intelligent and lasting strategy, with strategy being the key to life, relationships and ultimate success. A great branding agency can operate across all business sectors, delivering the highest standards within the art and science of brand development.

Iconic Brand is a full service, London-based agency with international reach and has helped the following clients:

• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/ultravision/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/matt-roberts/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/excess-all-areas/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/outward/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/fenwick/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/sse/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/cae/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/connecting-business/
• http://www.iconicbrand.co.uk/projects/chase-templeton/

www.iconicbrand.co.uk

Iconic Brand Agency Limited
11 Greek Street
London
W1D 4DJ

0207 287 2037

Size doesn’t always matter; it’s what you do with it. By implementing innovative features and graphics to match, you can create an impressive exhibition stand with as small as a 3m x 2m footprint. So, if you’ve decided on a trade show, don’t shy away if your budget doesn’t allow for a big plot, take away these tips for exhibiting success from your small exhibition stand.

Your exhibition stand is the very first thing that your visitors will see when they interact with your brand at an exhibition. But, big features aren’t just reserved for big exhibition stands – there’s plenty that you can pack into your plot to make a great first impression and, ultimately, engage your visitors.

These three examples breakdown different features and aspects to give you a ton of ideas for your small exhibition stand.

Coil Candy @ Vaper Expo Show 2018 – NEC, Birmingham

Heading to Europe’s leading vape exhibition that attracts the world’s most renowned brands meant that Coil Candy had to go big to attract the attention of a vaping community that was keen to try products and discuss the latest hardware with the hundreds of exhibitors at the show.

Coil Candy and the Quadrant2Design team included a bunch of features that were fit for purpose of the exhibition at NEC, Birmingham.

✔ Branded counter, with open access to shelving at rear and clear windows to front

✔ Fret-cut backlit rotating header

✔ Illuminated showcases throughout, incl. integrated shelving for product display

Perfect for: Exhibitors looking to attend consumer shows and successfully show off their product in an attractive way. The front branded counter allows a platform to “demo” products and to ultimately draw visitors to your exhibition stand, even on a smaller footprint.

Kaptio Travel @ Travel Technology Europe – Olympia, London

Travel Technology Europe is an established show that has run 15 consecutive years. Kaptio as an established brand themselves needed a space that would welcome discussion and questions in a friendly B2B environment.

✔ Bespoke photo-flooring

✔ Fret-cut backlit panel

✔ Double side showcase, incl. custom cut aperture

Perfect for: Exhibitors looking to create an open-plan meeting point for their clients, as well as an accessible beacon for potential clients. The double side showcase gives the smaller exhibition stand depth, as well as the opportunity to merchandise literature.

Zenith @ Employee Benefits Live – Olympia, London

Thousands of HR, rewards and benefits professionals flood the buzzing show floor at EBL to speak to exhibitors. Zenith created a space that was open to allow an influx of people onto the exhibition stand at once, whilst using the key graphics of the exhibition stand to showcase their USPs.

✔ Backlit fret-cut panel on high-level branding

✔ Lockable showcase, incl. the graphic to front

✔ Endcap with arch aperture

Perfect for: Maximising the floor space to create a networking zone within the branding of Zenith, and to capture attention with a high-level beacon. The lockable showcase is perfect for smaller exhibition stands that can’t necessarily accommodate a bespoke storage area, too!

All three of these smaller exhibition stands have a few very distinctive ways of thinking behind their creation to ensure that they pack a punch.

• Match with the overall objective of the show, e.g. consumer event, B2B networking
• Incorporate exhibiting features that are eye-catching to visitors
• A workable environment for staff on the exhibition stand
• Use strong imagery and graphics to highlight branding
• Make use of bespoke photo-flooring to tie together exhibition stand design
• Make the smaller space work for the client, not against

The Quadrant2Design team have designed and built all types of shapes and sizes of exhibition stands, and are well-equipped to support your smaller exhibition stand design with a free design proposal, drop us an email at [email protected] or call us on 01202 723500 for more information.

by Logan Harrington

This article originally appeared on the Quadrant2Design website.

Last month Event Hosts were delighted to be a part of ICE Gaming 2018, one of the biggest B2B gaming exhibitions in the world, and one of the few events to bring together both the online and offline gaming sectors.

Event Hosts were delighted to supply promotional models, hostesses, brand ambassadors, sales assistants and croupiers to the award-winning gaming event which was held in London between the 6^th-8^th February.

It was really nice to work once again work with some of our existing clients exhibiting at the event, and we also enjoyed working with some fantastic new clients as well.

All in all, the event was a big success, bringing together 30,000 attendees from more than 150 countries and featuring big names in the betting, casino, lottery, mobile, and online gaming industries.

The online gaming sector is continuing to grow every year with a recent report by industry analysts Newzoo revealing that there are now over 2.2 billion active gamers in the world today.

In the UK alone $4.2 billion was spent on gaming last year, making the UK the 5th largest games market in the world.

It is further estimated that mobile gaming will generate $46.1 billion worth of global revenue this year, an incredible 42% of all global game revenues. More than three-quarters of this, will come from smartphone gaming alone.

Event Hosts represented clients from all around the Globe at this year’s ICE Gaming including England, Israel, China, Taiwan and Italy. We are really pleased with the feedback we received and are proud to announce that we have already had repeat bookings and enquiries for ICE 2019.

Here is just some of the amazing feedback Event Hosts and our staff received following this years’ ICE.

“I would like to say a big thank you to you and Vanessa for all your efforts regarding ICE 2018.”

“Vanessa was a pleasure to work with and I only received positive feedback from the team. Please let Vanessa know that we are very happy with her and want to thank her for her great work over the show, she was a great asset to the team and ensured that the flow of meetings and management of guests ran smoothly. She was truly outstanding.”

“We look forward to working with you at ICE 2019.”

“Thank you so much for your assistance.”

“Thanks to you and your team, we were able to proceed with the event successfully.”

“We will proceed with booking for ICE next year with you guys soon :)’”

“’I just want to make sure you are aware how good our hostess was.”

“Besides being professional, taking orders and helping, she actually managed to bring in good leads to the stand which is something I have never seen done so well before.”

www.event-hosts.com