Local butchers shop, Greenwood Butchers, were recommended by a fellow client, Wagtail Designs, to talk to team hype about social media back in 2016. Being a technophobe, owner, John, needed the benefits of social media for business explaining. Well-known to many locals, John always opted for the more personal, face-to-face approach, but it was these customers who told him to get online. Always eager to support a local business (especially one as rare as a local butcher!), we took Greenwoods under our wing, and worked a little hype magic.
The objective was simple: to create an online presence, draw in new customers, and encourage existing customers to pop in more frequently. Competition was fierce, with a chain taking over another shop on the high street, respected farm shops and a large, convenient supermarket on the doorstep. His client base was varied, but with time poor and price sensitivity being key factors, we knew our messaging had to focus on the quality of meat. From promoting where the meat comes from, John’s butchery skills & sharing his cooking knowledge, through to the complete range on offer; there was much to shout about at Greenwoods.
Facebook was an obvious choice for us to use, with so many great features on offer and many of John’s regulars already active on the platform. Also, considering that his client base tends to be more mature in years, they are less likely to be using either Twitter or Instagram. Once the initial set up was sorted, we were keen to spread the word that Greenwoods was now digital! We made signs inside the shop to ‘Like Us’ and followed local businesses, their commercial clients, their suppliers and the wider community, to listen for ‘community related’ content to join in on.
Although Greenwood Butchers is in a prominent location in Boroughbridge, it lacks the advantages that come with being on the main high street, meaning fewer people pass by every day. Ensuring our imagery matched the shop front so people could connect the two together, and using the directions button helped.
We then figured that we had to do our best to encourage people to actually walk through the door; so, we set to creating content that would best display John’s most popular cuts of meat and his famous pies, in an effort to get tummies rumbling.
“The tone of voice is humorous, with plenty of Yorkshire-isms thrown in. Imagery and videos are low-budget, in line with John’s no frills philosophy, so that the audience really believed, initially, it was John at the end of an iPhone.” – Emma
The “Services” and “Reviews” functions on Facebook came in really handy, allowing us to clearly display what services John offered, as well as letting customers leave feedback for others to view. Greenwoods has acquired an overall rating of five stars and many more gushing reviews for the “Best Butcher in town.” Local community groups like “Boroughbridge Babble” often calling on members for local recommendations helped introduce new clients to the delights of Greenwoods.
We found that votes worked well. Simply asking a quick, short question that could be answered with just one click encouraged people to engage with a post, and helped to fight against Facebook Zero, which saw business pages demoted under posts from friends and family.
“Greenwoods monthly statistics have always out performed many other clients, due to their loyal fan base commenting on posts. This would be highlighted when using imagery of John and his son, Josh. The support for them and positivity shone through.” Emma
We didn’t stop at just social media in a bid to support Greenwoods. We created loyalty cards for John to hand out to his regulars, encouraged John to make a special pork pie when the #ShopLocal and #SmallBusinessSaturday bus came to town – never one to miss a good photo opportunity! We approached other local businesses to set up mutual offers, and created our own graphics to advertise this, intending to drive clients through the doors on key dates like Valentine’s and Father’s Day, whilst showing our support for the community.
Over the three years that we have been working for Greenwood Butchers, they have obtained over 250 followers and kept an active, dedicated following. John has decided to close his doors, and we are just as upset as his customers! However, is has to be said that one of Emma’s proudest moments in hype history is persuading John to join Facebook. He might still not have it on his phone, and all of our communication is via paper and popping into the shop to see him, but few local businesses have a page as successful as this one.
If you are a local business like Greenwood Butchers and would like our social media expertise, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.