Social media is a minefield for even the most creative of people. The platforms are growing all the time, and it’s not just about Facebook and Twitter anymore, there’s LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and Google + to contend with.

We’ve already touched upon the importance of keeping your company’s social media pages relevant and updated, but often getting started and understanding what you should be doing is what businesses find the hardest.

As PR specialists, Vantage is here to help. We create a bespoke strategy that will help to generate leads and keep your business up there with its competitors. Important things to remember are:

• Measure your brand awareness – Sharing content across social media will get more traffic going to your website. Interacting with publications and customers who may have thousands of followers will get you noticed in the right places.
• Don’t spread yourself to thinly – Choose the platforms that are right for you and do them well. Be organised, well informed and consistent with what you do, and consider posting content in advance to save yourself some time.
• Keep it personal – Be friendly and build yourself an approachable online presence that will keep visitors to your profile engaged. More engagements = more social reach and ultimately bigger exposure.
• Paying for social media adverts and boosts are also a great tool for posts you want to get noticed. They are inexpensive to create, you can set your own budget and it will get your content in front of more people.

Social media is your online voice, and is ultimately one of the first things that come up when customers search for your business. If you aren’t up to date, don’t respond to your followers and are just too busy and overwhelmed by the many platforms and features available, then let Vantage take the strain.

If you would like more information on how we can help boost your business’ social media platforms then get in touch with one of our team today at [email protected]

A big thank you to all who visited our stand at the Business Show at Olympia last week, especially those who participated in our Win Free Advertising contest.

And now we can announce the winners!

Congratulations to;

@TwoGuysCreative,

@RT_Page

and EBF Smart Imprint

Take a look at some of our pictures from the show below.

Christmas is the season of goodwill, giving and saying thank you to family, friends and customers.  The British Promotional Merchandise Association ran a promotional products week campaign in October this year, stressing the importance of “thank you” in creating memorable business relationships. People you know well, who appreciate your services and who provide your regular supply of business, can be your advocates in the new year ahead. Give them something relevant, practical and exciting to remind them, to tell others about you and expertise. Here are five fabulous, high perceived value, promotional products that every business should consider using to help get themselves on the road to more recommendations, referrals and repeat busines

The Prestige Promotional Pen

To make an impression at Director level then a plastic biro is not going to do the right job. However, a bit of gift boxed exclusivity can become a very desirable gift from brand names like Waterman, Cross or Parker, promoting a memorable, emotive response from the recipient. Engraved with a discrete reminder of your business, a pen such as the Parker Urban Premium Ballpen can become a cherished gift for life. See the range of Parker pens available for branding at http://www.ad-options.co.uk/shop/parker/

The Perfect Pocket Notebook

With smart phone battery life being unreliable, and many people finding it quicker and more convenient to take notes, the pocket notebook is seeing a resurgence in popularity as a practical business gift. To cut the mustard with a senior buyer though, then a premium brand can ensure retention and use by your key contacts. The Moleskin brand is that famous touch of luxury that can make high quality, real “must have” gift. You brand is in your customer’s pocket or on their desk for repeat exposure and reminder of what you can do for them. Moleskin notebooks are available in a range of sizes, many colours and with hard or soft covers, to create something to target your key contacts. Check the promotional range here http://www.ad-options.co.uk/shop/moleskine/

The Top End Travel Mug

For key executives on the move, particularly in fields such as outdoor events, construction and engineering, then a travel mug will put your brand in their hands. Contigo is a leading brand offering excellent design, ease of use and large print areas to cement your services in a client’s memory. The Byron model with Snapseal technology will impress even the most demanding of contacts. Why not ask for recommendations, referrals and reviews as you had one over? Find out more about the range here http://www.ad-options.co.uk/shop/contigo/

Wonderful Water Bottles

There are many variations of the sports water bottle available as printed gifts but again Contigo have the executive version designed to impress. To keep the busy executive refreshed, the Ashland water bottle with Autospout technology offers a premium practical product with all the qualities to impress your customers. This is a great way to say “Thank you, take care of yourself, we appreciate your business.” Again the large print area puts your brand in their hand for a long time to come. Check out the Contigo Ashland here: http://www.ad-options.co.uk/shop/view/dr1623/contigo-ashland-water-bottle

A Beautiful Business Bag

Christmas is also a time to say thank you to key staff and you can promote team spirit at the same time. A product such as the Capital Laptop bag can make people feel appreciated, valued and promote loyalty in the coming year. A practical and desirable accessory that sees your logo go everywhere with your team when visiting clients, networking and commuting. Key IT customers may also appreciate this useful thank you gift. Find out more here http://www.ad-options.co.uk/shop/view/ba1660/capital-laptop-bag

Whatever way you choose to say thank you to your customers, business gifts can be the catalyst to future interaction. They create goodwill in the moment of giving, they hang around until a need for your service arises and you can highly target who you give them to, so there is little or no wastage of your precious marketing budget. So start the road to more referrals, repeat business, reviews and recommendations in 2018 by showing your appreciation for this year’s business this December.

Stephen Ward is happy to add quotes and further explanations. Call 01772 429111, email [email protected] or visit: http://www.businessgiftuk.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BusinessGiftUK/  

www.BusinessGiftUK.com

@BusinessGiftUK

Video content is slowly marking its place in the B2B sector, with more companies each day integrating video into their marketing strategies. With the popularity and benefits of video becoming apparent, competition is quickly becoming fierce between companies in the B2B sector, who are using video as a strategy to build relationships with their online audiences.

But with this growing competition, it brings forward the issue of how any video content can stand out from the crowd. So, how do you ensure that your video doesn’t become background noise? Or gets lost in the sea of video content?

Well to begin, your video content should have a strategy. You need to know where your video is going, who it is targeting and what is the message. Without these key elements, it is almost guaranteed that your video won’t stand out from the crowd.

It is no secret that creating original and interesting content can be hard, and with so much content to choose from, it’s hard to tell where you should start. But sometimes, the answers to these questions are easier than they seem. We’ve broken down our approach to three key steps to show how a thought-out strategy provides successful video content:

1)  Choosing your content

• Look through your previous content, and determine which content isn’t clear, or hasn’t achieved the engagement or leads you were hoping for.
• Next, check there is a high demand for the topic of your video. If customers don’t find your video relevant or interesting, they will be less willing to watch, learn and participate.
• Make sure your video content is recognisable to your brand. It is important that your video is clearly associated with your brand. Using your company colours is a good way to make sure your video content not only stands out, but helps your customers recognise you.
  

2) Respect your Audience’s Base of Knowledge:

• Often videos make the common mistake of assuming their audience’s need to know everything about the product and their brand.
• Understanding your audience’s knowledge is key to considering the type of language you use. It is important to talk with your audience, rather than down to them. Create your video as showing how the product feels to use, rather than every detail of how the product works; How-To videos are often suggested as content which provides your audience with a lot of value.
• Respecting your audience’s base of knowledge is key to ensuring you don’t commit content overload (A key problem viewers face) and makes sure your audience stays engaged.
  

3) Know What You Want to Achieve and Attract your Audience’s Attention

• So, you’ve chosen your content, you know the approach your video is going to take. Now, how do you gain your audience’s attention?
• First, you need to know what you want your video to achieve. Is it informing your audience about a new product? Gaining new leads? Promoting a new service?
• Once you have your set goal in mind, the decision arises of the best way to attract your audience’s attention.
• Building a personal connection with your customers over time, is a good way to form relationships, ensuring you begin with a circle of supporters when releasing new video content.
• It is also suggested that videos with a dash of personality, especially featuring human faces, are more likely to grab a customer’s attention, as they include a vital human connection which the audience can relate to.

So, there you have it, the 3 (almost simple) key steps to creating a video which can stand out from the crowd. Although they are the basic things to consider when creating video content, these three stages will point you in the right direction and help narrow down how to create video content that is original, compelling and most importantly successful.

Why Not check out how we present our Four-Step Process at Napier through video