In this video, Polly Barnfield, OBE, visits South Lanarkshire to examine how a local dog grooming business dramatically grew its Facebook audience by posting a passionate, celebratory update about being nominated for the Scottish Business Awards. She breaks down why the post succeeded—personal tone, clear voting instructions, gratitude, and a direct request to share—resulting in 25 engagements and 12 shares, amplifying reach. Barnfield then offers practical advice for small businesses: celebrate successes, keep content personal, include explicit calls to action, and actively engage with other local businesses using Facebook’s “Engage” tab to like, share, and comment on nearby posts. She also highlights the use of a contact button for 24/7 support. The overall message is that genuine enthusiasm and strategic social‑media tactics can turn a single post into broader community engagement and business growth.
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Today we're in South Lanarkshire and we're looking at how a dog grooming business grew its audience through Facebook. So this dog grooming business likes to post really regularly on social media. They share the before and afters of their little pooches, trims and they always like to have a bit of a giggle with their customers and they're really all about keeping things very, very personal. But the post that I'm going to show you which is their best post, is actually this one. So this is all about excitement, it's about celebration and it's about enthusiasm. People thrive on enthusiasm and this post couldn't really be more passionate. So let's have a look at it. So they've been nominated for the Scottish Business Awards and she says she'd love to thank all of her lovely clients who've made it possible. She's saying two years in and we're smashing it. Coming to work every day is easy when you love the job you're doing and it's so lovely to be recognized. Recognized. Then she's given the link and she's tell that she's told them also how they can do a text vote as well. And then she's asking them to share it and thanking them. So why this is so good. So they've given all of the detail, they've. They've, you know, done the awards, which would again, you know, if you didn't, if you knew the business but you weren't expecting that you'd click on it to find out more. They've celebrated by putting that they've been nominated, so they're excited. And as I say, people thrive in enthusiasm. People want to celebrate with you. Then she's kept it really personal. So she knows, she's thanked all of her clients, she's saying they've only been two years in business, but she absolutely loves what she does. So this, again, keeps it really, really personal and very much supporting an independent business, which is what most people want to do after a tough few years. And it does, it just keeps it very much all about her passion and all about her, really, and not just about the business itself. Then she's given us all the detail on exactly how to vote and then she's thanked us and she's also asked people to share. So she basically told me, this is what it is, this is what I want you to do. I'm so, so passionate about what I do and I can't thank you enough for all my support, which people love, and it just shows the human side behind this business. So if you think about this, they've managed to get 25 engagements. They've got 12 shares, which is actually the most important part here. So that's been shared 12 times. So that could be 12 different people, it could be on 12 different groups, but either way, you know, the likelihood is they've got a couple of hundred people maybe on each person's page. So that's more. More eyes business, which wouldn't have been there had they not decided to bite the bullet, celebrate something and actually share it, which has made other people want to share it. So not only might this get new people using, using the grooming salon, but it also might get them some awards as well. So any business entering award should promote it on social media. People love to vote and I think just how they've described it is really touching and it shows how much it really matters to them. And I think that because of that, naturally people have got behind it. If you have a look, the comments behind it, people are really excited and happy for them. See, easy as that. So celebrate your success. We would want to see them, you know, getting prepped for the awards. They might do some stories, you know, maybe they're going to wear some nice dresses, maybe they're getting the dogs dressed up, who knows? But we would want to see lots and lots more about this because clearly people are interested. So once you know what content's working, make sure you do more of it. So if I was them, I'd want to be engaging with as many businesses as I possibly could in the area. So I would want to go to the Engage tab. And then when you're in the Engage tab, you would find your local place. So for here, this would be in South Lanarkshire, but ultimately you can pick anywhere at all in the uk. Then all you do change the location, Then it will start pulling up all of the businesses that are really engaged on social media for this time period in South Lanarkshire. And then what I'd be wanting to do is I would want to be going in here and liking, sharing and engaging in these posts, because guess what, these are, these are a bunch of local businesses that might not have, that might not have entered the Scottish Business Awards and they certainly won't be in your category if they have. And you'd want them to be supporting you. Because guess what, the more businesses that support other businesses, the more conversation that happens in your area and the more you're likely to invite more people back to you. If you've got any questions whatsoever, please just click on the little blue button. Connect you to us 24 7. We love to help.
