Blog

Make the most of Ecobuild

• 20 February 2017

It’s coming up to that time of year again when building product manufacturers are busy finalising their plans for attending what is the construction sector’s largest show: Ecobuild.

For the past 10 years, Ecobuild has dominated the calendar of many construction businesses that are concerned with sustainability.  Every year it attracts over 30,000 decision makers, from architects and developers to local government specifiers and major contractors.  Needless to say, it’s a big show.  In fact, the largest exhibition in the UK construction industry.  So, if you are a manufacturer, supplier to the construction industry or building/contracting company, how do you make the most of attending Ecobuild?

Construction sector blogs – we can help!

• 13 February 2017

When it comes to writing blogs for the construction sector, or actually any blog for that matter, clarity and focus is the best way forward. For example, we are often asked to write blogs for construction firms and building product manufacturers, and we have found that honing in on a particular subject and then writing something insightful, interesting and with a call to action gets the best engagement.

How to grow your social media channels

• 01 February 2017

When it comes to social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it’s not always easy knowing where to start. Here we bring you five top tips to increase your social media presence:

How to help customers find your products.

• 23 January 2017

An increasing number of specified and engineers are using Google Images to navigate the Internet. That’s because it’s a quick and easy way to find exactly the right product they need.

That’s why it’s so important to make sure that the images you display on your website have the correct and full metadata as that will increase the likelihood of your product appearing higher in a search ranking.

Marketing survey reveals latest trends

• 16 January 2017

It’s the time of year when businesses are reviewing 2016 successes and looking ahead with plans for 2017.  You may remember back in December, we carried out a survey of local, regional and national businesses, to find the latest trends in PR and digital marketing.  We had a great response with over 90 businesses completing the survey – thank you to everyone who did get involved!

The most defining moments of 2016

• 09 January 2017

2016 has, without doubt, been a year of surprises and for many, it will go down in history. There have certainly been some highlights along the way and here we take a look at some of the most defining moments of the year:

Top Public Relations tips for 2017 for building product manufacturers

• 03 January 2017

It’s around this time of year that we dish up our predictions for the year ahead.  Here are what we believe will be the top three trends for 2017:

How to get the most out of a PR story over the festive period

• 19 December 2016

Let’s face it, Christmas could be the best or worst time to send out a PR story – depending what industry you work in and the nature of your story.

Often clients say to us ‘should we hold back on sending out any stories in late November and December because they might just ‘get lost in Christmas..

The best Christmas Adverts of 2016!

• 13 December 2016

Year on year, the battle of the best Christmas advert continues and 2016 has been no exception. From Buster the Boxer dog to Kevin the talking carrot, we’ve just about seen it all. According to the Telegraph, the battle for the most popular Christmas advert has reportedly cost businesses around £5.6bn, so it’s no surprise that the campaigns have completely taken over social media.

Bye bye credit crunch Christmas

• 05 December 2016

I remember in my early years in PR, we used to spend much of November and December getting Christmas card, calendar and bauble design competitions organised in schools, working closely with b2b manufacturers to increase their engagement with young people and the wider community. 

How building product manufacturers can best use PR

• 28 November 2016

Some building product manufacturers are missing an opportunity to grow sales by not having a well-planned and carefully targeted PR campaign. This can happen either because they don’t take the time to plan they PR campaign for the year ahead or they work with a PR agency that doesn’t understand the construction sector. In our experience, both have the same outcomes and that is missed sales and branding opportunities.

Why you should be using Google Analytics

• 21 November 2016

In early 2005, Google analytics was born and has since become the undisputed leader in website analytics, with over 29 million websites now using the software according to BuiltWith. Here at Dragonfly, we regularly use Google Analytics for many of our clients so we can analyse how well their website is performing and review and update their SEO strategy.

The trade magazine is dead – long live the trade mag!

• 14 November 2016

I had a meeting with a new construction client the other day, they raised an issue which concerned me “We think that trade magazines have had their day, everything’s just online now, we don’t think printed coverage matters that much anymore.”  So it set me thinking, is the printed trade magazine soon to become a thing of the past and how important is the online equivalent?

Poor copy can spoil a great website

• 03 November 2016

I’ve seen a couple of examples of badly written copy on websites recently, which is all too often the result of a rush to get a website designed and live.  In these cases, copy is often simply pasted onto a new site, with little thought to the importance of good, keyword-enriched content.

So, it set me thinking, do companies know the value of having good quality content throughout their websites?

Regional press coverage- why it’s great for b2b companies

• 27 October 2016

As the majority of our clients operate in the construction and manufacturing sectors, most of the press and online coverage we achieve is in trade journals or blogs that are read by architects, main contractors, developers or homeowners.  However, the value of a well-written, well placed regional press release should not be underestimated.  Recently, a client of ours in the heating and ventilation sector asked us to write a press release and negotiate it into a number of key regional press titles, to help support their franchise network. Articles appeared in such publications as the South Wales Argus, Bath Echo and the Cornish Times.