Images Magazine Digital Edition May 2018

www.images-magazine.com MAY 2018 images 23 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 6 tips for how to profit from YouTube 4 Build a following: Enhance your video and channel with your very own community. Grow a following, engage with them and encourage debate. Reach out to potential influencers and suppliers, offer product reviews and maximise your visibility and audience. 5 Optimise for search engines: Search engines will naturally pick up YouTube videos associated with your business as it is high quality, consistent content. To get it ranking highly each video needs optimising – include keywords in the title, create tags using your business’s keywords and provide a detailed description of your video and what it is offering. 6 Think mobile friendly: According to Google, 75% of adults watch YouTube on a mobile device. With mobile users more likely to be watching than those on a computer or smart TV, adopt a mobile-first strategy to deliver quality content to your viewers. Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk T he charity sector is one of the biggest users of branded merchandise and apparel for two reasons: firstly, to promote a cause or campaign, and secondly, to generate badly needed funds through retail. If someone wants to donate to a charity, it is far more effective for the organisation to sell a product because then not only are they getting the donation through the ‘profit’, but also they are building up fans who then promote the cause by wearing and using the branded products. I was particularly fascinated last year when Ariana Grande did the benefit concert in Manchester and all the profits from the merchandise store were donated to the families who were killed or injured in the bomb blast. A brand new logo had to be If you have any questions or topics for Gordon to address, please email editorial@images-magazine.com with BPMA in the subject line BPMA: DO SOMETHING FOR CHARITY created for One Love Manchester, signed off and delivered in record time. Most, if not all, of the major charities now realise the benefits of creating their own range of apparel and work with print businesses to achieve exactly that. Many charities have online stores, which are supported by printers offering dropshipping, as well as fulfilment programmes set up to dispatch product around the country as and when needed. Another popular approach is to have branded pop-up tents at local charity events, allowing fundraisers to set up a ‘charity store’ wherever it’s needed. If you want to discover exactly who is who in the charity sector, from the big guys to the small, check out the Institute of Fundraising and sign up to industry’s publication, Charity Times . P roducing video content is still proving to be a growing area for businesses and marketers alike, with Econsultancy reporting that over 5 billion videos are viewed each day. For garment decorators, what does this mean? It gives you the chance to review products and your latest work, discuss your processes and provide customers with an insight into how you can turn their ideas into a reality. Here are some tips and pointers for YouTube success... 1 Invest in equipment & software: A simple one to consider before you start creating video content is what equipment to use. You want your video and sound to be audible with professional quality. Invest in editing software and quality equipment; this does not have to be costly thanks to sites selling pre-owned goods. Just do your research! 2 Create consistent content: Viewers like familiarity and routine. Create a format that works best for both you and your customers. Keep the branding and format of the video consistent, along with the duration and when and how often it is posted. This will help your viewers get to know you, your offerings and your brand better. Keep it simple, and map out your short and long-term strategies. 3 Encourage action: Get your viewers to engage with your video. I don’t mean just in terms of interacting and starting a conversation: pre-programmed notifications can be created to drive your viewers to certain products, pages online etc. Tie these in with any video you create, when relevant. Most, if not all, of the major charities now realise the benefits of creating their own range of apparel