This month we worked with Altrincham Unlimited – the Business Improvement District for Altrincham – on a series of Social Media workshops to help local businesses find their feet with Social Media
We live in a digital world where what happens on Social Media makes an impact on the real world
Altrincham Unlimited have an active Social Media presence across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook – but saw the need for all local businesses to work as a collective to enhance the town both online and offline
Altrincham Unlimited worked with Altrincham HQ with 2 key objectives in mind
– Raising the collective impact of Altrincham on Social Media
– Extending the positive social media posts which have come with the Great British High Street Competition
#WDYT (What do you think?) is a government endorsed campaign that gives retailers, towns and cities access to innovative tools that are proven to increase digital skills, local footfall and sales.
WDYT very much sing from the same hymn sheet as ourselves at Altrincham HQ. They acknowledge that Digital Output affects footfall, but realise up to 74% of High Street retailers across the UK do not have an active social media presence.
The reasons are wide and varied as to why businesses don’t use social media frequently
- Company Policy
- Perceived lack Of Time
- Lack of in-house social media skills
- Lack of direction
With these Social Media Training Sessions we looked to tackle the above issues and give an education to businesses as to the benefits of social media
Alex McCann of Altrincham HQ explains what we wanted to get across in the social media workshops
“Most small businesses treat social media like chuggers – they’re in your face, they’re demanding and they also go for the hard sell. It puts customers off
As customers we’re wired to buy into stories rather than adverts
So we put storytelling at the heart of the social media workshops. The idea that every day presents new stories to communicate to your audience and that by telling those stories in an engaging way it actually drives sales
Once attendees understood the emotional drive of social media, we gave some best practice tips for social media across the 3 key platforms for the high street – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter”
A wide variety of sectors attended from Retail, Leisure, Charity and Professional Services took part in the session
Jo Cushing of Hidden Studios said of the sessions “I went to Alex’s seminar provided by Altrincham Unlimited. It was excellent. He gave a clear and interesting analysis of the different forms of social media and a good analysis and breakdown of the best ways to approach each. I came away with some answers about why my social media wasn’t as good as it could be and how to make it better. Very professional”
Gareth Bentham of the Roebuck said “After attending Altrincham HQ training session on social media with Altrincham Unlimited, I could not more highly recommend his services! Very informative and insightful”
Flora Maudsley-Barton of Parsonage Financial stated “I love Alex’ training style – he brings his huge knowledge of social media to my level and explains things in a way that I can understand, relate to and then go and put into practice”
The Altrincham Unlimited team were extremely happy with the sessions with Marketing Manager Kate Gerbich saying “Alex’s enthusiasm for social media and the way he communicates his knowledge is contagious! The Altrincham businesses who attended are already putting his tips and ideas into practice which is great to see”
Marketing and Projects Assistant Abigail Richardson added “Alex is a great speaker and very motivational. Even though I have grown up with social media, and use it frequently from a personal perspective, Alex has really given me some great tips and ideas for using social media as a professional. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a couple of sessions with Alex and he really knows his stuff”
If you’re a Business Improvement District these are the key areas that Social Media Training can help with
* Increase Footfall
* Increase sales
* Improve Events Attendance
* Improve community cohesion
* Positive PR
* Increase awareness outside the town
* Increase Digital Influence Rankings
* Highlight hard to reach businesses / sectors
* Support Award Campaigns
Altrincham HQ have a passion for towns and communities – we’d love to chat to Business Improvement Districts, Local Authorities and Town Teams
NEED HELP WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA?
Chat to us about Social Media Marketing for YOUR organisation , so we can better understand YOU and what will grow your organisation
We can only find out what is unique to your business by chatting with you
Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services
Or
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
