ADVICE ON BUILDING A BETTER LOCAL COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Newsagency businesses are local businesses. This is how shoppers see them and how many newsagents see them.

How locally connected is your newsagency? Here are four (fresh I hope) ideas you could consider to show off a local connection. This collection of ideas is all about things you could do that are newsworthy for the local newspaper or local radio station:

1. Tell the town's story. Invite a school class to create a diorama telling some history of the down in your shop window.  This will be educational, topical, newsworthy and something that gets people connected with those involved to your shop to see the window.
2. Famous and infamous people. Get your customers to nominate famous people form the area from back since when the area was first settled. Again, educational and newsworthy.
3. Sports heroes. Invite all schools and clubs in your area to submit a photo and a brief description of their sporting winners from this year. The display could be your way of holding the winners up for another moment of glory.
4. Where we come from. get a school class to create a map of the word for your window and get your shoppers to place a flag showing where they come from. Maybe the could have a place to note a story of how they got there.

While none of these ideas is about you selling product, each does better connect your shop with your local community and that is vital, especially for high-street newsagencies where the traffic you see is what you generate as opposed to larger shopping centre newsagencies which rely on the centre to generate traffic.

Here are our other tips on boosting the local connection:

1. Be knowledgeable about local activities, events, issues and places.
2. Talk about local matters on your social media outlets. Help publish local news.
3. Support local groups with knowledge, prizes and attention.
4. Encourage local groups to use your business.
5. Serve your community in practical ways such as volunteering.
6. Help groups you cannot help financially – with an events noticeboard and supporting them on your Facebook page etc.
7. Talk local across the counter.
8. Be visible at local events and activities.
9. Encourage your employees to be visible at local events and activities.