With new research finding two in five Britons are getting 'bored' of social media, have a think about how promotional items could help you spice up your social media marketing.

While usage of social media remains high among Brits, they are increasingly wanting more from these kinds of service, the study, by YouGov's Media Consulting team, found.

Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of the UK online population have used Facebook within the last month, but 41 per cent of the UK online population claim social media is getting stale.

The research suggests that marketers need to flesh-out the ways in which they develop engagement opportunities.

Some 44 per cent of Britons, for example, would not be more positive about a product their friends have followed or liked and 43 per cent are unlikely to talk about a brand on a social media site even if they heard something positive about it.

Dan Brilot, YouGov's media consulting director, said: "It appears that whilst social media can be a key tool in the brand marketer's armoury, in particular to maximise commitment amongst those already highly engaged with the brand, it has not quite reached the effectiveness necessary to be considered as a truly mass media marketing tool."

There are plenty of ways promotional products could help you jazz-up your social media platforms. You can of course advertise your address on promotional pens and printed mugs, and you could post out promotional merchandise when people ‘Like’ or open dialogue via your Facebook page.

"'Social media ‘growing up’ in UK'". YouGov.

Posted by Robin McCrink

Have a think about how promotional products could help you welcome new-starters to the workplace.

New workers can feel the whole first-day-experience a little daunting: it's a completely new environment, with lots to learn and lots of new people to meet.

Using promotional items to make your new employee feel welcome is a great idea – it can help them feel settled, and it's also a great way to communicate the core values of your company.

According to Ruth Sanderson, managing director of bluepeapod.com, one way to integrate new staff within the office is quite a simple one: make sure their desk is clean and tidy.

"Nothing says 'we welcome you to our office' more than having the new person's office space set up ready for them," she said.

As well as making sure the computer is properly connected, the desk isn't cluttered with paper and bits and bobs, how about putting a welcome pack on the desk.

You could include a company factsheet, brief guides to workplace policy and a 'who's who' – and why not pop some promotional products like printed keyrings in there as well.

Posted by Robin McCrink

More and more firms among the UK's small business community are turning to the web to sell their products and services, according to research.

A study of more than 1,000 small companies by PeoplePerHour.com found the number embracing ecommerce has risen year-on-year by nearly a third.

Promotional items can help you launch your move to the online sphere – think how you could imprint your Facebook address or domain name onto printed mugs, promotional USBs and even promotional umbrellas.

According to the research, the past year has seen a 31 per cent rise in the number of small businesses exclusively selling online, and a 27 per cent increase in the number of small businesses selling more than half their products and services via the web.

This is up significantly from the same survey last year, which found just 18 per cent of respondents said they sold goods wholly online, with 37 per cent claiming to make more than 50 per cent of their sales online.

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, PeoplePerHour chief executive, said the move to ecommerce is hardly surprising, but said there is a paradigm shift in the way small businesses market their products and sell their products and services.

"The biggest incentive to sell online is the reach it affords you. Before widespread broadband internet, you were limited to a small, local market. Now nimble, forward-thinking SMEs can trade globally in minutes."

Posted by Robin McCrink

Have you thought about how promotional items could help you implement an in-house fitness programme?

It's a good idea, because according to one business expert, a firm that has healthy workers is likely to see increased business productivity.

Motivational speaker Roger Harrop said that encouraging staff to cycle to work and back, do some exercise in their lunch break or take part in company activities like five-a-side football are some of the ways to drive business productivity.

"It is good for the productivity of the business if employees get fresh air and get their endorphins moving [through exercise]. There cannot be any doubt about that in my view," the expert stated.

With a recent study by the sportswear brand Helly Hansen finding that more than two million British workers exercise during their lunch break, now is a great time to use some promotional items to implement some internal fitness schemes.

Let's say you land some reduced gym memberships for your staff – how about giving them printed keyrings to attach their membership cards to?

Or if you're setting up a five-a-side tournament, how about some proper corporate clothing to set up the first company football team?

Posted by Robin McCrink

Promotional products could play a key role in a new marketing campaign to promote one perhaps unlikely facet of the UK – the weather.

It is customary for Britons to enjoy a grumble about the weather.

But the government wants to convince visitors the weather is not as bad as people might think.

Announcing the 'Great' campaign, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt told the Times: "We have lower rainfall than Paris. We have to make sure people understand the reality about the weather.

"It is not always as hot as New York but much more pleasant. Come and get a suntan in St James's Park — you'll find that it is much more pleasant than a crowded beach on the Med."

The advertising campaign, which rolls out in 14 cities across the world, will see subway trains wrapped in the Union Jack and Grand Central Station filled with 'Great' images.

But can our weather really boost tourism?

We think it just might – and we also think promotional products could help firms, pubs, charities and, well, just about anyone, drive the marketing campaign.

Here's a few ideas.

Promotional mugs

What, alongside the weather, is a key part of British culture? We'd say drinking tea. So why not connect the two together – get hold of some promotional mugs and print some weather-related moans on them, like 'Isn't it cold out?'.

You could fill the printed mugs with some warming tea and give them out at roadshows and events.

Printed umbrellas

As a bit of a joke, how about some promotional umbrellas to drive the campaign? Maybe even imprint some statistics on the brolly, showing the reality of our weather (according to Visit Britain for example,  London is drier than Rome, New York, Brisbane, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.

And hey, if it does chuck it down, at least those tourists will stay dry!

Brands failed to play Cupid with their customers this Valentine's Day, according to a study.

Valentine's Day is now one of the most lucrative of sales opportunities for brands and unlike Halloween, it provokes emotional responses in people – making heart shaped promotional items such as hand warmers, keyrings, milk chocolate hearts or the ever popular Love Heart Sweets great gifts.

But research by the marketing agency United found the vast majority of brands running Valentine's Day campaigns missed an opportunity to promote their brand values and evoke a more emotional response from consumers, the Drum reported.

Instead, they bombarded consumers with cut-price deals to get quick sales.

Analysis of more than 200 Valentine's-themed adverts that ran in national media in the week running up to the day revealed that 64 per cent made their main theme price, against just 15 per cent of the advertisements which were found to centre on brand values.

Steven Dodds, planning partner at United, said: "The majority of communications we monitored were one hit wonder discounts clearly hoping to generate quick sales.

"However, such communications are failing to resonate with customers that want deeper relationships with their favourite brands."

"Brands choosing 'value over values' for Valentine's Day". The Drum.

Posted by Robin McCrink

A pot of tea has long been a great British tradition, but today the tea pot is falling out of favour and increasingly being replaced by mugs.

Research from department store Debenhams found that demand for teapots has halved over the past five years.

However, this does not mean that Brits are enjoying fewer brews. With a massive 165 million cups of tea being consumed every day in the UK, demand for mugs has trebled in the past few years.

With people's lives being ever busier, a mug is a much more convenient way to make a cup of tea, especially in the office. However, this does not mean that people have to drink a sub-standard hot beverage.

Tea tastes just as good out of a china promotional mug and you can fit a lot more in them than a teacup – meaning your afternoon cuppa will keep you going for longer in the office.

Companies which want to get their name out there could send local offices some special promotional mugs for them to use during their tea break. People will appreciate the gesture and they'll be sure to remember your name.

1 Debenhams starts campaign to save teapot

Posted by Robin McCrink

Small businesses looking to choose a new domain name need to remember one thing: keep it simple.

That is the view of Thomas Darré Medard Frederiksen, chief operating officer at One.com, who said a concise, simple and easy-to-remember name is possibly the most important point to consider when selecting a domain name for your company.

A short, snappy and to-the-point web address is also important when it comes to using promotional items to market your brand – you'll need something simple to advertise on promotional pens and mugs.

Mr Frederiksen said it is vital that the name is easy to spell, remember and communicate to potential customers and suppliers.

"A complicated domain name with alternative spellings, for example cars4u, will make it harder for prospective customers to remember and find in search engines," Mr Frederiksen said.

"A domain that is harder to find will often result in the web user clicking on competitor sites during the search, leading to a possible drop-off in traffic."

Posted by Robin McCrink

UK businesses have only one chance to get it right when it comes to customer service, according to a study.

Research by Enterprise Rent-A-Car found 62 per cent of UK consumers say that one bad customer service experience is enough to make them never buy from that company again.

Some 34 per cent said they thought customer service in the UK has got worse over the past decade.

The two factors most likely to annoy customers are rude and unfriendly staff (46 per cent) and a company that is slow to respond to problems (33 per cent).

Think about how promotional products could complement your customer service strategies – if you need to apologise for bad service, why not give out promotional umbrellas or printed USBs as complimentary gifts?

Mike Nigro, UK managing director at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said we are seeing the emergence of the "one chance high street".

"This research highlights the importance of high-quality, well-trained employees who deliver great service each and every time," he said.

"It also shows that consumers are accepting when things don't quite go as expected, but it's how issues are handled that can define great service."

Posted by Robin McCrink

Small businesses could be looking to buy promotional merchandise to complement their marketing strategies this year.

Research commissioned by Iconnyx found more than half – 54 per cent – of UK small firms are to increase their 2012 budgets, with investment in sales, marketing and IT all up.

Some 79 per cent of firms surveyed said forecasts for 2012 had not affected their budget.

Prominent areas for budget spend include marketing (67 per cent), sales (63 per cent) and IT (50 per cent).

Respondents said email marketing, website development and social media were among their marketing priorities.

See our recent feature on how promotional items can help small firms grow their business.

Tim Walker, managing director at Iconnyx, said: "It's really positive to see the strategy of investment despite all the doom and gloom out there.

"It shows that smaller businesses are more resilient to current economic uncertainty, and the government should recognise and reward them as a major contributor to the future of UK growth."

Posted by Robin McCrink