UTILISING SOCIAL MEDIA | DAVID OSGAR It’s no longer new to say that social media is a part of our everyday lives. Whether someone uses online platforms consistently, or tries to stay away from them as much as possible, ultimately our reliance on technology, and especially mobile devices, means that social media influences many aspects of our modern lives. In business, social media can have many important uses, especially within the world of signage and wide-format print, both of which are extremely visual and engaging sectors. In this special article we take a look at how to best use platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram to bolster your position in the industry, but also improve your company’s image online. Understanding the Social Landscape When it comes to driving sales to your company, many may think of email marketing, Google results, and sponsorship as the best drivers. By comparison, social media can appear as just “something you do in your spare time” or a trend of the early 2010s. However, any marketing specialists would argue that different sales channels should be seen as part of the same goal and incorporated into an entire marketing plan, rather than picking and choosing certain parts. Ecommerce platform, VB Media, which specialises in online solutions for the print and signage industries, is a big advocate for having a strong digital presence in order to drive sales to your business. In its “10 Ways to Drive Traffic” blog, the company describes a website as a platform or utility, which needs support in order to attract traffic. VB advises using marketing methods such as paid advertising, printed marketing, email marketing, and video as ways to drive traffic to your website. One of the ten ways VB also suggests is social media, which the company describes as “an excellent tool both for generating leads and building brand awareness,” adding: “Most importantly, social media enables you to build a community by engaging with your audience.” “At its heart, social media is about building social connections, so you cannot simply use it as a ‘free’ tool for distributing marketing content,” says VB, which emphasises that focusing on engagement, such as replying to comments, and liking and sharing other posts, is all part of a good social media strategy. VB advises a “4:1:1 rule”, in which businesses share four carefully curated pieces (created and shared by other users, with credit given) for each original and promotional piece it posts. Furthermore, VB suggests identifying trending topics that are relevant to your products in order to keep up with social trends, which in turn will make you appear up-to-date and ‘in the loop’. As customers across different age demographics all embrace various forms of social media, David Osgar looks at the best ways for signage and print companies to use different platforms to strengthen their brand and reach new customers The Importance of Social Media for You and Your Business “Unless you have unlimited marketing resources, it is often best to choose one or two social media platforms and focus on using them as effectively as possible. Spreading your efforts too thinly can often result in having many profiles that look unused and lack engagement, which can be a worse look than no presence on a platform at all,” says VB Media. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, and Pinterest are all social media websites highlighted by marketing specialist, Hubspot, which details the different audiences each platform can attract. Facebook and X are suggested for brand awareness and community building, whereas platforms like TikTok or Pinterest are largely seen as B2C hubs which are used by Gen Z and Millennial audiences. Similarly, Instagram is known for its high-quality photographs and videos which can be used for product discovery by users who enjoy the in-app shopping experience the site provides. Instagram features advanced ecommerce tools for brands and includes a lot of user-generated content which can be perfect for wide-format printers and 38 email: editor@signlink.co.uk Issue 261 - October / November 2025
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