How The Volunteer Inn uses Social Media to create a sense of community online and offline in 10 simple steps

Step 1: Knowing the business goal

The Volunteer Inn needed to serve its existing patrons and increase awareness to reach new ones.

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Step 2: Telling the The Volunteer Inn story

The Volunteer Inn set about telling the story of the history of the inn and the staff that make the pub the thriving community hub it is. In their own words, telling The Volunteer Inn’s story is “not just about the pub. It's about the life blood running through the pub”.

A member of staff is featured every month on the social channels so the social audience can get to know the faces behind the bar and in the kitchen.

This level of openness, warmth and personality helps The Volunteer Inn own its place as a space for people to gather, share a pint, and grab a tasty curry.

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Step 3: What does The Volunteer Inn want its audience to do

The Volunteer Inn wants locals to stop by for a drink and a bite to eat. But with pre-lockdown 3, tier 3 restrictions in place from Boxing Day, the Inn had to remain closed.

So instead during this lockdown, the Volunteer Inn has focused on its takeaway service to bring a taste of the Volly to customers’ homes.

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Step 4: How does The Volunteer Inn engage with customers?

The Volunteer Inn engages with other local businesses across Chipping Campden. By doing so it shows support for the whole community online, as well as welcoming them to the Inn offline, or as the recent case may be, serving them at home.

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The Maybe* Engage view showing the conversations by Chipping Campden businesses that The Volunteer Inn can engage with

Step 5: Who does The Volunteer Inn want to engage?

The Volunteer Inn wants to engage more locals in the Chipping Campden area, and wider Cotswolds. Throughout the festive period, the Inn cooked up a social media contest storm with its ‘Very Volly Advent Draw’. The contest invited other local businesses each day to announce the winner in video format of a daily prize.

As well as providing a daily prize for residents, the approach to announcing the winner was an opportunity to engage and shine a light on the many other businesses in the area, furthering that sense of community investment the pub has become famous for, and increasing engagement throughout the community.

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Steps 6-10

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