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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to... Read more…

Shoplifters working in organised groups targeting shops with co-ordinated raids

11 Sep 2023

A warning has been issued that shoplifters in the UK are becoming increasingly “emboldened” and appear to be often orchestrated by organised criminal groups, which steal to order,... Read more…

Indies drinks retailers short-changed in government duty consultation

16 Aug 2023

Independent quality drinks retailers were woefully underrepresented among those consulted by government over the duty changes now hitting businesses, it has been claimed, after industry magazine... Read more…

Mixed picture emerging about Coronation effect on retail

9 May 2023

A mixed picture is emerging about the effect of the Coronation weekend across the UK's retail sector.
Read more…

Learn from the best social media posts of 2022

20 Jul 2022

Each week Maybe* round up the best social media posts from across the UK. See who's coming... Read more…

ACT partner Maybe* in the press over Independents’ Day weekend 2022

14 Jul 2022

It's been a busy first half of the year at Maybe* HQ and they've kicked off the second half with one of their favourite celebrations, Independents' Day. Maybe*'s support of the campaign made 21... Read more…

How to run winning social media competitions and Instagram giveaways

6 Jul 2022

Running social media competitions and Instagram giveaways are an easy way to build your audience and your engagement. But there are a few tips and tricks you need to master, as well as those... Read more…

Maybe* gives shoppers the chance to win £100 for Independent's Day

30 Jun 2022

Independents' Day weekend is taking place from 2-3 July 2022. To celebrate Maybe* have got a tailor-made competition you can share across social media to encourage your customers to shop indie.... Read more…

Win £500 in social media ads every month

23 Jun 2022

Every month Maybe* gives one of our clients £500 to spend on social media advertising. To enter all you need to do is watch the Maybe* training videos or attend their webinars.
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Local Bike Shop Day 2022 celebrated by record number of retailers, orgs and shoppers!

12 May 2022

Local Bike Shop Day 2022 was a great success across the UK, with online platforms thriving as well as a surge in the physical footfall seen in-stores!
Read more…

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Social media tips from indie businesses who have successfully diversified their proposition

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

very week Maybe* bring you social media tactics and top tips to drive your social media strategy forwards.

They introduce you to real life businesses like The Find in Cheltenham and Bourton-on-the-Water photographer, Alistair Currill. Both these businesses are independents which are growing using social media. Here we give you their social media tips so you can learn from and replicate their success using new techniques. 

 

Communicate, communicate, communicate

The Find Coffee House and Artisan Kitchen in Cheltenham is run by David Orme and his team. Offering a haven from the outside world, The Find takes its inspiration from the coffee houses of 17th and 18th century England. Lockdown gave The Find an opportunity to take stock, literally, of everything from their menu and staffing through to social media and the cafe is now using Instagram and Facebook to ‘welcome back' the people of Cheltenham as well as to keep them informed.

"Using social media for continuous updates and information has been key and will continue to be as we re-open. People cannot be expected to keep up with all of the changes and the rules and therefore we created a linktree link on our Instagram account with a list of the rules, menus and other key information so that they can always find what they are looking for easily." says David at The Find.

Top tip: communication. Never assume customers know as much as we do about restrictions. Share all of your reopening safety information in a linktree or highlights. Customers shared the pain of the lockdown with us, let them know, what you're doing, stay on top and they will embrace what you do. Comms is key.

 

How lockdown has helped businesses find new audiences

Alastair Currill is a Bourton-on-the-Water based professional photographer and has been running his company Alastair Currill Photography for around six years in the Cotswolds.

Alastair has long been active on social media to promote his photography work and also his teaching. But lockdown has forced him out in front of the camera as he has taken to Facebook Live to bring to life his top photography tips.

During Lockdown 1 all of the weddings Alastair had booked were cancelled and, due to restrictions, he struggled to do the majority of the work he had planned for the rest of 2020. Rather than resting on his laurels he set up Cotswold Jigsaw Puzzles as a new arm to his business - turning beautiful photography of landscape and animals from around the area into jigsaws for customers locally and even internationally. This helped to keep the main business afloat until lockdown ended.

Alastair believes that even if you were forced to develop a new element to your business out of necessity during lockdown, you can capitalise on this and through social media create a whole new audience.

Using social media Alastair promotes his beautiful puzzles and photography through Facebook communities. Using hashtags on Instagram, tagging in local places - his business has done well.

Top tip: If you created a new service or product in lockdown, don't ditch it upon reopening, look at how you can capitalise on a whole new audience you have created on Instagram or Facebook using the Maybe* platform.

 

With the Maybe* platform, you don't have to be a social media pro to increase traffic and sales. 

Sign up to Maybe* and join the conversation, it's free to get started.

 

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