Category: SEO

The construction industry is often very traditional and can be slow to embrace new technology or business methods. However, competition in the industry is high, and those new methods can be important tools to help you stand out from the competition. Construction businesses need to embrace social media to do this. Here’s how you can do it. 

1. Post regularly. It can be hard to post as often as you should, but regularly posting, whether that’s on Twitter or Facebook, can be a big help. Most social media users are following hundreds of other accounts, so your posts will be buried in the newsfeed pretty quickly. If you want people to see your posts, you should aim to post three to five times a week on Facebook and even more frequently on Twitter. Assign this task to a social media savvy employee, employ a specialist or hire an agency to do this. If you’re struggling for content, you can share reviews, industry news, and information about the services and products you use whether that’s sharing the results of a finished project or your suggestions for the best dredging pump.
2. Stick to one or two social media platforms. There are a lot of platforms available now and trying to be present on them all will leave you spread too thin. Instead, focus on one on two platforms when you’re starting out so you can better keep up with your accounts. Claim usernames on all the major platforms so you have them if you need them later, but focus your first efforts on the platforms where your customers spend the most time. You can add more platforms as you get used to creating content for social media.
3. Mix up your content in your posts. It can be hard to know what to post, and most businesses just focus on self-promotion, creating a feed that can be dull to read. Around half of your content should be promoting your business and the rest should be something else. Share news, inspiration or humor that is relevant to your industry. Think outside the box too; all sorts of things can be made relevant. For example, you might be a construction company but you can show the human side of your team by sharing jokes about the industry, or posts about working outdoors and how best to deal with that. 
4. Take before and after images of your work. One of the best forms of content for construction companies is before and after images. Get permission of the property owners before sharing, but they can be a great way to showcase what you can do. If you share these images with your customers that you did the work for, they might share them with friends and family, getting your company in front of more pairs of eyes with positive feedback. 
5. Encourage your employees to follow you. When you first start posting on social media, it can be hard to start building a following and get any engagement on your accounts. Start by encouraging your employees to follow and engage with you on social media. Their interaction will push your company into other people’s timelines and newsfeeds, letting them know that you’re out there. Share your accounts with your staff, and add links to everyone’s email signatures so people know you have these accounts. 

Corporate gifts can be a valuable tool for any business, but the subject is often surrounded by misunderstandings, confusion, or a simple lack of awareness of the numerous benefits gifts can bring to a business. To help bring some clarity to the matter, here’s a look at the most common questions business owners tend to ask about the world of corporate gifts… 

What are corporate gifts?

Corporate gifts are products that are sent by a company to, most commonly, clients or customers of their business. Sometimes, corporate gifts can be used for promotional purposes, such as included in “goody bags” at a trade show. 

What is the purpose of corporate gifts? 

Corporate gifts are, at their core, designed to provide genuine thanks to the recipient – usually for their custom of the business giving the gift. This can mean gifting in order to welcome a new client to the business, or – most commonly – gifting to a long-standing client to thank them for their loyalty and continued patronage. The hope is that the recipient will feel pleased to receive the gift and aware that the company who sent the gift genuinely does appreciate their involvement with the business. 

In addition, corporate gifts can also help to strengthen relationships with clients or customers, which can be conducive to a successful long-term relationship. Corporate gifts can also have promotional benefits thanks to branding, with gifts often including a logo for the providing business. Finally, corporate gifts offer the ability to help a business enhance their reputation for being the kind of company who shows genuine appreciation for their customers – which will always reflect well on the culture of the company itself.

What are the options for corporate gifts?

Any item can be a corporate gift, but there are a few popular options to consider. Flowers and perishable items – such as food hampers – can be a good choice. Another option is to focus on products that are inherently useful to the recipient, such as Bluetooth speakers from the likes of dynamicgift.co.nz, stationery, office items, or flash drives; products that everyone tends to use, and will always be incredibly happy to receive. 

Is there anything that needs to be avoided when it comes to corporate gifts? 

Gifts should always be culturally sensitive where appropriate, so it’s helpful to research the intended recipient and take note of anything that you may need to keep in mind in this regard. What’s more, try to ensure the gifts are reasonable in price and proportionate; essentially, avoid “going overboard” when making your selection – choose nice, useful gifts that you’re sure the client will appreciate, but avoid anything too outlandish. 

Should you use corporate gifts in your business?
Realistically, the benefits corporate gifts can bring to businesses mean that offering gifts is always worth considering. You’ll need to set a budget, choose your intended recipients, and then choose gifts that offer the simultaneous ability to be useful to the receiver while also bolstering your business’ visibility, reputation, and relationships with customers and clients. If all of these goals are met, then you should find that corporate gifts can be a hugely successful tool for your business.

If you want to start a business, then why not one that inspires joy? There are functional and helpful businesses, sure, but the world could do more with those businesses that put a smile on people’s faces, and which contribute to good times. While these types of companies can take many forms, there’s no reason to make things complicated. The simple pleasures are, after all, the best. And we’re also told that happiness exists in the stomach. As such, a business that deals with food and drink have a lot of potential to inspire joy. Below, we take a look at a few essential things that you’ll need to make yours a success.

The Passion

Nobody enters the food and drink industry to get rich. That might happen eventually, but it shouldn’t be the primary motivation. The thing that drives you should be passion! It should come from within. Not only will this passion help you to move forward during the initial few months when things can get tough, but it’ll also be the difference between a good offering and an outstanding offering. It’s always the companies that put in hours upon hours of work trying to make their products a success that end up on top.

The Expertise

Of course, passion has the capacity to take you far, but it must be met with genuine knowledge and expertise. A person can have a passion for playing guitar, but if they don’t have the technical ability to match, then they’re never going to end up with a record deal! You’ll probably already have an idea about which area of food and drink you’re interested in, so look at digging deeper. Playing around with recipes, learning from companies who are already in the game, and refining your offerings will all help you to reach your potential.

The Tools

There’s a big difference between making food or drink products for the consumption of you and your friends, and making products for the public. You’ll need to invest in some equipment if your products are going to meet health and safety standards, and stay fresh for a long time. You can extend the life shelf of your food products by investing in a vacuum packaging machine from First Food Machinery, for instance. As well as the tools for manufacturing, you’ll also need to think about how to transport your goods to the stores where they’ll be sold.

The Promotion

You might have the tastiest products out there, but if you’re not putting enough time and energy into your marketing, then no-one’s going to know about it! How you promote your products will depend on what you’re selling, but there are some established methods that apply to all goods. A website with your back story, free samples, useful information (such as recipe guides) that incorporate your products, and having a stall at food fairs are all recommended. Things might start slowly, but will eventually develop into something good, just keep on pushing your business forward.