You might think a chatbot is a new revolutionary Marketing tool, but this is not the case… they have actually existed for decades but only in recent times businesses have to exploit them and the opportunities that come with having an on-site bot.

A well optimized chatbot is a great way to boost conversion rates and generate more online leads and sales. Bots were initially built dominantly to deal with customer service, aimed at improving efficiency in resolving problems and queries from customers. But they have since developed further to become more Sales & Marketing based.

There are two main types of bots – the intelligent bot and the scripted one. The scripted uses pre-defined points and responds in an automated manner. Whereas the intelligent bot is continuously developing, analysing customer text and learning from conversation and experience using AI.


The development and growth of the chatbot is dominantly owed to Facebook who using their Messenger app allowed bots to be integrated into their platform. With over 4 billion users (as of September 2019) using their messenger app, the potential for businesses using bots is huge.

There are many benefits as to why you should use Chatbots for your online business including:

  • Chatbots have massive potential: In Marketing terms bots are still in their infancy. They will continue to develop and grow and will soon be at the forefront of most websites service efforts.
  • Chatbots are simple to build: There are many providers out there who make building bots easy and a simple drag and drop exercise. Of course, there is bespoke but with bots in their infancy now is the time to explore the cost-effective options available.
  • Chatbots help grow your brand image: A chatbot represents your business, its values and brand. It is a great way of brand building and helping convey a message as to what your business is all about.
  • Chatbots simplify customer service: They take out the human aspect of dealing with an enquiry, stripping it back to its simplest form and provide users short, concise, clear information leading to greater customer satisfaction.
  • Chatbots are actually cost effective: The cost of developing a chatbot is minimal compared to the cost of having someone dealing with online enquiries and issues. With the potential lead generation, they can also provide using AI, the bot become one of your most affordable sales tools. 

A social calendar is a great way for your business to improve your Online Marketing’s efficiency and work weeks and in some cases months in advance.

With businesses using so many Social Media platforms, it can be a bit of a daunting task to stay on top of it and plan accordingly. But don't be too put off, using a Social Media calendar allows you to plan and schedule campaigns for maximum impact, it will also help identify any gaps which may need plugging.

Managing your Social Media schedule also allows you to tailor your campaigns to certain times of year, focus on certain events and seasonality and maximise your inbound efforts.

To help plan your calendar, there are 100s of templates readily available online, but this can be done simply on Excel, Google Drive or anywhere you like. It is not just planning your content that is simple but scheduling it is also easy with Social Media management tools like Buffer, Hootsuite & Crowdfire.


Here are a few simple reasons why you might want to consider using a Social Media calendar:

Improve your online efficiency

Social Media calendars help you to avoid scrambling. Sit back & relax knowing you have heaps of content planned on your accounts. This will also free up time to focus on other aspects of your businesses Marketing strategy.

Plan for multiple platforms in one place

A calendar allows you to plan for individual platforms instead of the same post on every Social Media account. Craft different messages for different platforms to improve engagement. The most obvious one is LinkedIn; ensure you post more curated thought leadership content instead of a generic post.

Track, plan, monitor & manage your strategy

Calendars allow you to track, plan and monitor what is working, what is not working, and you can tweak it accordingly as you are going along.

Reach more people

Using a calendar helps you reach a wider audience, plan content around events & holidays. Using these in the posts will help you reach a wider audience than a standard post.

One last thought...

It is great for businesses to be efficient and ensure they are on top of their Social Media strategy but there is still room for spontaneity. 

For those things that you never know may pop up that may be relevant to your business, customers and trends you can engage with keep a balance between planned and real. Customers want a business with a personality not just post after post.

In March Instagram introduced a brand-new checkout to their app. Consumers can now buy their favourite products without ever leaving the app, but what does this mean for the Social Media platform? And how could it possibly affect garment decorators?

But there is a catch, for now anyway…

Instragram checkout is only available for several leading global brands such as H&M, Mac, Nike and a few others. But this is seen as the next step in the Instagram strategy, turning influencers and social engagement into sales.

It works by simply attaching a checkout button to posts where customers click and simply fill in their details once and they will be saved for future purchases. This will likely be a popular tool with customers as its an all in one checkout, where your customer information remains secure and purchases can be completed without going to an external site. 


Of course, there are limitations. This feature requires heavy investment and is only currently available to some of the worlds leading brands at a substantial cost.

The biggest drawback however is the customers effectively become Instagram’s as consumers are using their checkout and not the brands checkout. Problematic for businesses looking to manage their sales funnel and manage their conversions the brands currently using the checkout will not be able to identify users, their behaviours or any complex information, they will only receive the basic order details.

While this is only at very early development stages working with big brands, who is to say it won’t be introduced to businesses using Instagram for their Marketing & Advertising?

The garment decoration industry is a highly visual one, companies using Social Media to sell their print and embroidery rely on imagery of previous work and case studies to push their business and their quality. The checkout itself if introduced for small businesses would be an ideal fit for the industry.

With UK businesses already spending millions of pounds on engaging with influencers and Sponsored Online Advertising on Instagram there will be some that will see this as a step in the right direction where you can measure Return On Investment (ROI) can be measured in a more quantifiable way. 

Facebook live is a live video streaming service like that of webinars. It is a way for you to interact with your customers, engage your audience and promote your business is come capacity.

For garment decorators this presents an exciting way to market your business, promote your products and services. Discuss your latest products, show off your latest work, review products, discuss your offerings/USP and even go as far as brand something live. These are fun ways of engaging with both existing customers (and hopefully potentially new customers!)


To run a successful Facebook Live video, it needs to be carefully planned, here are a few tips to consider:

Test your equipment: Prior to going live, before any trial run ensure that all your equipment is in full working order. Ensure your laptop/desktop/smart device is running at full capacity. Having a slow device or a device with a chance of break may affect how well your video is produced. You want to produce a quality professional video not one that may end at any given moment.

Have a trial run: Before going live have a run-through, it should be both scripted and un-scripted. You want to know what you are going to talk about, but you also want to mix this with more personable chat with viewers, this leads to higher levels of engagement. Test the equipment, have a few run throughs and once you are 100% confident flick the switch and go live.

Engage with customers: Quite a simple but important one, engage with people live. Use their names, interact, ask questions, thoughts and try get their feedback. A Facebook Live video and any webinar should be a two-way experience.

Invest in a microphone: Invest in a good-quality microphone to deliver your customers a crystal-clear message, you don’t want your video to be muffled, voice distorted or break up. Investing in decent quality recording equipment will improve your recording experience, the streams quality for both you and your viewers.

Schedule your broadcast: People working won’t have time for webinars. Ensure that your broadcast takes place outside of working hours, viewing figures are likelier to be higher outside of the hours of 9-5, an early evening slot gives you the chance to expand your audience and its potential reach compared to doing it during the day.

Don't forget to promote: Running a successful webinar is one thing but don’t forget to promote it for a few weeks, build up hype through Social Media, Email Campaigns, Blogging or whatever other advertising medium you use.

One last thing to consider, something very-obvious but after watching numerous webinars test out your internet connection. Test that the signal strength is all okay and ensure that there are no disruptions to your live video. 

Instagram is one of the leading Social Media platforms with over 800m users worldwide. In our latest blog we will look at why your business needs to consider using Instagram along with some practical hints and tips to get you started.

First things first, why Instagram?

With 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 main other Social Media platforms it is the 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!


We have put together our top five tips to get your business started on Instagram:

  • 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, a great way to grab potential customers attention. To increase a posts potential reach do not forget to include the relevant customers ‘handle’ in the post.
  • Optimise your profile and call to actions: A basic tip but an important one, ensure your profile is optimised, a nice crisp clear hi resolution brand logo as your profile picture, a brief description of who you are and what you do and importantly add contact information. Similar with your posts don’t forget to add calls to actions, ways to get in touch and convert the lead.
  • Embrace the #hashtag: A major bone of contention with many users, the use of the hashtag. Some love it, some loathe it, but Instagram is all about the hashtag - so embrace it. Users use hashtags to search for posts, it is almost a way of indexing your post in the plethora of posts online so ensure your post has all the hashtags it can to get found online by users and expand a posts reach.
  • It’s not just a Marketing tool: A hidden gem within Instagram is the Notifications feature, 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’.
  • Grow your local reach: Increase your local coverage with the locations feature.Instagram allows you to find local users, search for local businesses, people, influencers etc. Increased engagement with these can only enhance your businesses Instagram feed and increase potential business. 

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