York Walking Festival

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Category: Businesses

Created on Friday, 28 August 2020 07:16

Written by Northern Living

During the York Walking Festival (5th-13th September 2020) why not stroll in and around the city centre looking for clues in York's High Street Independents’ windows? 

Eagle-eyed participants will see single word clues in each of the windows of the 69 participating businesses.  Guess what the theme linking them is and you could win a £50 York Gift Card.  For example, if you see the words ‘goal’, ‘kick’, ‘pitch’ ‘whistle’ ‘penalty’ ‘corner’ ‘off side’ then the theme is ‘football’.  There are 7 clusters of businesses, which means you can guess 7 themes.  But you only need to guess one correctly to enter the prize draw.

See www.itravelyork.info for how to enter the prize draw and other information about the York Walking Festival.

This is a jointly organised event (between Indie York and the iTravel Team) to encourage people to walk more in the city and to discover York's High Street Independents.

A great event for families and visitors of all ages to discover York's many Independent businesses and rediscover our beautiful City. Printed maps available from all businesses taking part in the treasure hunt, Visit York Information Office and available to download from the Indie York website.

‘Indie York’ - York Independent Business Association

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Category: Businesses

Created on Thursday, 04 June 2020 08:36

Written by Northern Living

Indie York (York Independent Business Association) is a not-for-profit association which was set up in 2016 following the Boxing Day floods of 2015; when so many independent businesses were adversely affected. Indie York have been sponsored and supported, from their inception, by The York BID, the City of York Council and Bootham School. The Association presently has just over 200 members from a range of sectors including Food & Drink, Retail, Culture, Health & Well Being, Accommodation and Services. Indie York’s aim is to encourage residents, visitors and local students to use the wonderful array of independent businesses in York. They produce a widely distributed map that is available at the Visit York tourist office and all Indie York member businesses. Indie York also has a website helping you to find your favourite independent businesses. 

"York is a city of independents with around 65% of businesses being independently owned. We have such a rich mix of independents covering all sectors which gives our city a very distinctive offer of eclectic, unique businesses. Indie York has always been about working together." Said Johnny Hayes MBE, the Chairman of Indie York.

The independent sector has always played a crucial part in sustaining York's local high street; many businesses having been established for decades or many generations of family ownership. “Indie York provides a platform for independent businesses to have a bigger voice as a collective than they would on their own. It feels like there is a genuine desire to bring real value to each and every member business.  In these current difficult times, Indie York have been brilliant at highlighting the businesses who have remained open, but also supporting those who have temporarily closed by sending regular information and guidance. For us, as a hotel and restaurant, we have obviously been severely affected and our normally lively business has been eerily quiet, so we really appreciate Indie York reminding consumers that supporting an independent business doesn’t only mean financially - a like or share online means the world to us.” Said Rebecca Hill, Galtres Lodge Hotel.

Once again York is facing a huge challenge during the Corona Virus pandemic which has affected all sectors of society. During these uncertain times Indie York has teamed up with Coaching York to offer free business coaching to their members. They have also worked with local companies to make masks which have been distributed to local businesses. The independents have been quick to diversify during this time by offering deliveries, collections and online offerings. Indie York also supports them by promoting their member news via social media.

“There are some real success stories and collaborations that have come out of this crisis. The independents have really stepped up to the mark to provide what they can to support their customers and many businesses have been donating their services to support the vulnerable in their communities and also providing free meals to NHS staff at York Hospital; it is very heartening to see these small businesses making a big difference. The local community have  backed these projects and in turn are supporting the independents now, more than ever. This support needs to continue if these businesses are to survive as they face uncertain futures. A future without York’s independents takes the heart and soul out of our city” said Sara Amil-Smith, Indie York Administrator.        

The Red House
1 Duncombe Place
York YO1 7ED

Web:- https://www.indieyork.co.uk
Email:- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tel:- 07307 209072

Upcoming changes to Facebook for Business Pages

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Category: Businesses

Created on Saturday, 20 January 2018 10:53

Written by Northern Living

Facebook have for some considerable time pretty much required business Pages to pay to 'Boost' their posts in order to gain more reach. There have been ways for businesses to circumvent this by sharing their post into local interest groups or For Sale groups. However the upcoming changes to the Facebook algorithm are likely to put an end to this, or at the least be very restrictive. We've already seen some clients ability to share into groups disabled for up to seven days for this activity. Including ourselves!

There are ways you can still reach your existing customers and those who have 'Liked' your Page, but it does require some interaction from them. In order for your potential customers to see all your business posts it is necessary for them to select the 'See First' option. It may well be worth encouraging them to follow the steps below before these changes come into place:-

1. Find your Page on Facebook.
2. Click the down arrow on the 'Following' tab
3. Change the 'In your News Feed' preference from 'Default' to 'See First'

Obviously not all businesses use Facebook as a promotional tool, but it is expected by the public for most types of business. Although the Boost post option will undoubtedly bring considerably greater numbers of views to a given post it is not the most targeted approach. For example, if you choose to boost within a certain geographic area this approach is similar to the old fashioned leaflet drop. You know for a fact that at least 90% of those leaflets will end up in the bin unread. On Facebook this can be a somewhat damaging one way street. Once a Facebook user has selected 'Block all from.....' you will never be able to present your products or services to them again, unless they change their preferences.

Many local businesses are now actively researching alternatives to Facebook. Many of whom are showing considerable interest in listings sites such as Gumtree. Once a very clunky and underused service Gumtree has not been stagnant. Vast improvements have been made over recent years resulting in a much more user friendly interface and considerably greater numbers of regular users especially in the UK. We are not suggesting that you put all your eggs in any specific basket, but you would be well advised to reappraise your approach regarding Facebook as a cost effective tool.

The official Facebook post can be found here