Sales, Marketing & Social Media

Resources to make your business grow

Effective sales and marketing lies at the heart of successful business growth. Promotional and advertising campaigns – and deciding on the most appropriate media and creative execution – can build awareness, generate leads, acquire new customers and make a business stand out. Market research can help identify and create new products and markets. Customer relationship management strategies can help build business from an existing client base. Here are some resources that can help your marketing drive your business forward.

Engaging through social media

Social media is a valuable means of finding your customers online. The largest social media networks, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, are all free and public, and represent a huge opportunity when it comes to having conversations with your customers and promoting your small business.

Whenever you’re talking to your customers, you want to be at your best. Here you’ll find some practical support when it comes to presenting your business and starting conversations through the most popular forms of social media.

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  • Approaching social media

    How to make the most out of social media, including a guide to which channels might be right for your customers and, therefore, your business

  • Setting up Twitter

    How to build a strong Twitter profile that represents you and your business

  • Setting up Facebook

    A step-by-step guide to building your Facebook page

  • Setting up LinkedIn

    Getting started on LinkedIn, including how to create your professional profile

  • I haven’t got a website yet – what else can I do?

    If you haven’t got a website yet, an easy way to start is to get your company name and contact details on the internet, so customers can search for you. Follow these simple steps to create a Google+ profile

  • Avoiding mistakes on social media

    Some helpful advice on social media etiquette – the best ways to talk to your customers while still guarding your business’ reputation

  • Get further digital skills help

    If you want to learn how you can use digital tools and services to help your business do more online, you can find a range of resources on the Digital Skills website

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The Chartered Institute of Marketing

Online resources to help you plan your marketing strategies

Export Market Research

You can obtain free independent advice from United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) on how to carry out marketing research on potential export markets. In certain circumstances, financial support for a market research project can be provided

Market Visit Support

A UKTI service that helps companies with visits to overseas markets, either as part of an organised group or on an individual basis