ImagesMagUK_Digital_Edition_Feb18

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2018 images 21 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT How to master Facebook Live in a few simple steps message – you don’t want your video to be muffled or break up, or the voice distorted. Investing in decent quality recording equipment will improve your recording experience and the stream’s quality for both you and your viewers. Schedule your broadcast: People are unlikely to have time for webinars while at work. Ensure that your broadcast takes place outside of working hours – viewing figures are likely to be higher outside of 9-5. An early evening slot gives you the chance to maximise your audience and potential reach compared to doing it during the day. Don’t forget to promote it: Running a successful webinar is one thing, but don’t forget to promote it for a few weeks beforehand. Build up the hype through social media, email campaigns, blogging and any other advertising and marketing mediums you use. One last thing to consider – which is very obvious, but after watching numerous webinars I can confirm lots of people forget to do this – test out your internet connection. Test that the signal strength is good enough to ensure that there are no disruptions to your live video. Andrew Langridge is from ETrader, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of websites to garment decorators across the UK. www.etraderwebsites.co.uk W e have an industry packed with all sorts of different companies, working in all sorts of different ways, but no industry-recognised process standard. Achieving an ISO is a start, but many businesses can’t afford this. Here is a suggestion of some of the things you could consider as standard in your business, and which will form a part of a more detailed, and new, BPMA standard. 1 Do you send your suppliers a proper purchase order, ensuring every element of the job is confirmed? It’s amazing how some companies leave a lot of gaps when placing orders. A supplier should confirm with an order acknowledgement. 2 All enquiries should be acknowledged within an hour, with quotes completed within four hours. 3 Do you make sure your quotes are comprehensive? They should include lead times, stock availability, alternative product options, packaging, branding requirements, quantity price breaks, all costs including delivery, product descriptions and images, artwork requirements, and specified delivery date (not early – this can sometimes cause issues too). Terms of business and product compliance requirements should also be considered. Some people put a quote life on this too, eg for bespoke polos it might be 15 days, whereas for standard tees it might be 30 days. To find out more about implementing a standard, documented process, please email editorial@images-magazine.com with BPMA in the subject line. BPMA: WHY BEST PRACTICE IS THE WAY FORWARD 4 Do you provide samples to your clients? This can be particularly important for large orders, where risks are higher. 5 Visual proofs should have deadlines of return to ensure the delivery date is met. 6 All goods to end users should go with plain cover delivery notes. 7 Do you pick up goods that are faulty and have a proper complaints process? 8 Do you follow up with all orders to ensure customers are satisfied with their goods? Not only is this best practice, but it can provide an opportunity to get more business. Facebook Live is a live video streaming service. It is a way for you to interact with your customers, engage your audience and promote your business. For garment decorators, this presents an exciting way to market your business by promoting your products and services. You can discuss your new products, show off your latest work, review garments, discuss your offerings and your USP, and even decorate something live. These are all fun ways of engaging with both existing customers and potential new customers. To run a successful Facebook Live video, it needs to be carefully planned. Here are a few tips to consider when starting out. Test all your equipment: Prior to going live and before any trial run, ensure all your equipment is in full working order. Ensure your laptop/desktop computer/smart device is running at full capacity. Having a slow or inconsistent device 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, always have a run-through. Your video should be both scripted and unscripted for best effect: you want to know what you are going to talk about, but you also want to mix this with more personal chat with viewers as you stream as 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 your customers live: Quite a simple but important one: engage with people live while streaming. You can see their names, reactions and comments while streaming, so use this to interact by asking questions and responding to their feedback. A Facebook Live video should always be a two-way experience. Invest in a quality microphone: Invest in a good-quality microphone to deliver your customers a crystal-clear