One thing we never fail to tell our prospective clients: online marketing isn’t for those seeking instant gratification. It takes a substantial investment of time and effort to identify and reach your target audience; it takes focus and persistence to reap real bottom-line benefits. So when we launched the Apparel Network website back in August 2014, the principals knew they had only taken the first step on their journey into the world of Internet marketing.
In order to grow and sustain a robust and engaging online presence, B2B businesses must offer more than basic brochure-type content on their website — and Apparel Network is no exception. They signed Panoptic to build and manage their business blog and get them started with social media marketing.
B2B Blogging
Apparel Network’s blog has been a great tool for acquiring new traffic and leads and showcasing the company’s expertise in the field of clothing and accessory manufacturing. The blog rounds out the content on the main website by focusing on the following topics:
- Garment Production
- Manufacturing Logistics
- Streetwear / Urban Wear
By regularly publishing content that addresses everything from the garment sampling process to intellectual property laws in China, Apparel Network provides valuable information to its target customers while simultaneously showcasing its manufacturing expertise. Including commentary on the wider world of fashion signals the company’s niche specialty — streetwear/urban wear — to both readers and to the search engines, increasing the likelihood that potential customers will find it in search.
Basic Social Media
Creating accounts on different social media channels is a great complement to blogging. Apparel Network is present on three major social media channels:
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn provides a networking platform for businesses and business professionals and has been extremely helpful in promoting Apparel Network’s manufacturing expertise to other professionals in the industry.
- Twitter: Twitter allows the company to share catchier, more lighthearted and less technical content which engages a larger audience.
- Google+: As a social media platform Google+ has been a massive flop, but it still provides some SEO value and every business should claim and optimize their Google+ profile.
As part of their monthly SEO and content marketing package, Panoptic blogs twice a month and posts to Apparel Network’s social networks twice a week.
In Conclusion
Since implementing the second phase of Apparel Network’s online marketing plan we’ve seen very promising results and inquiries via the website have increased. Each month, more new visitors discover the site and the company’s rankings in organic search have risen.
