Public relations, online PR, marketing communications and event management

Finishing touches are being made to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show gardens this week where a Norfolk company hopes one of its three clients will win best in show this year.

British Wild Flower Plants, the largest grower of native plants in the UK, is growing three gardens for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show including The Daily Telegraph which has won best in show for the last three years.

£22,000 of the Norfolk firm’s wild flowers will be used in The Daily Telegraph garden, The Brontës’ Yorkshire Garden and DMZ Forbidden Garden.

Beginning 22^nd May, The Chelsea Flower Show is the world’s most prestigious flower show with 550 different exhibitors.

The Daily Telegraph’s garden evokes the beauty and romance of the wild areas of the British countryside, with all of its wildflowers provided by British Wild Flower Plants.

Linda Laxton, owner of British Wild Flower Plants says:

“We have been involved with The Chelsea Flower Show for the past 20 years and it is definitely something we feel very passionate about. We’ve been nurturing these plants since September so we look forward to seeing the finished gardens.  Hopefully this puts Norfolk on the map for wildflowers.”

An East Anglian finance company has experienced a record year by helping thousands of businesses across East Anglia expand.

Credo Asset Finance arranges asset finance for plant, IT equipment and vehicles and has agreed £16 million in the last 12 months and £78 million of finance during the firm’s seven years.

The company has seen a 24% increase in turnover in the last year and moved to new premises after recruiting three new people.

The Finance & Leasing Association says that asset finance is the largest alternative lending option to conventional bank loans and overdrafts for SMEs*.  And Managing director Simon Gray believes Credo’s growth is due to businesses looking for better rates and a surge in firms being refused finance from other lenders.

To help companies who have had difficulty obtaining finance, Simon set up Credo Capital Finance Ltd in 2010 to lend its own money, with more than £1 million lent to businesses to date.

Simon adds; “With bank lending falling nationally, it’s vital that businesses have alternative choices of affordable finance. We have had an incredible year, helping more businesses than ever by providing better rates. 2012 is also set to be a successful year as we are on track to lend £3 million on our own book.”

We are all very aware of Twitter and Facebook, but are you using Pinterest, one of the latest and fastest growing social media additions?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organise and share the images you find on the web. If you see an image you like on the internet, Pinterest allows you to ‘pin’ it and add to a ‘board’ on your profile.

Pinterest is breaking records as it is the fastest site in history to reach ten million unique visits in one week. In January this year, it drove more traffic to online retailers than LinkedIN, YouTube and Google+*.

Used for personal use and by businesses, people use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes and organise their favourite recipes. But as well as being a fun tool to show the stuff you like, Pinterest is also a clever marketing tool.

Here are our top five reasons why Pinterest might be good for your business:

1)    Gives brand a personality. Different boards can show what you are interested in and gives others an inside look into your brand. You can also pin photos of your team and show images of your office.

2)    Drive traffic to your blog/website. Pinterest allows you to provide a link to your own website. It can also help to raise awareness of your brand and get your name out there.

3)    Increases interactivity. You can search for boards that include your interests and followers can like and re pin your images. You can also create a board that lets others upload images to your own profile.

4)    Build SEO value. Pinned photos can link back to your site which Google recognises and hence improves your SEO. So remember to pin regularly, interact with other members and use relevant key words in the description of your photos.

5)    Showcase your work. Pinterest gives you a chance to show what work you have completed. So if you are a design agency, photographer or interior designer, why not use Pinterest to showcase your work?

Pinterest certainly favours particular types of businesses due to its visual nature. Like any social media platform, do your homework to decide if it’s right for you first, but you could soon be pinning your way to more business…

Want some inspiration? Check out our pinterest account.

*- http://www.thewebshowroom.com.au/blog/what-is-pinterest/