What I Learned from Leading 'Discover Local': Tips for Running Successful Social Impact Campaign

As part of William Morris Big Local, I’ve had the privilege of leading the Local Economy theme looking at ways to support independent businesses in our community.

This project has taught me several valuable lessons on running a local social impact campaign and how best to engage the community around it.

1. Traditional Grants Aren’t Always the Answer When the cost-of-living crisis hit, many independent businesses were really struggling. After talking to local businesses I quickly realised that a small grant wouldn’t solve these problems.

Instead, with members of William Morris Big Local team Gabriel Edwards , Costas Basdekis Angela McDermott and myself came up with ways to engage the community, showcase local businesses, drive footfall and hopefully spend locally.

2. The Power of Community-Led Initiatives We launched Discover Local, a campaign where we initially asked local residents to nominate their favourite independent businesses. We were inundated via local Facebook groups and email with 100s of nominations! This information became the cornerstone of everything we did.

3. Visuals and Creativity Matter Highlighting businesses in a creative way was essential. We advertised for local creatives to help and commissioned local artist Angry Dan to create a stunning illustrated map, and filmmaker Chris Eyre to produce 12 short films showcasing the stories behind the businesses.

The colourful map and films generated a lot of lovely messages across social media with people sharing their own stories where a business had helped them (especially during Covid).

4. Amplifying Voices Creative producer Lauren Gee challenged our approach and suggested we also include an audio element focusing on the real challenges and personal journeys business owners expereince. Lauren and her team went on to create six podcasts uncovering stories of community, resilience, and family.

5. Create New Opportunities To Be Together Building face-to-face connections was really important too. We launched and supported three community markets for new and emerging businesses. We created a local business trail passport, where people could win prizes for visiting local shops and increasing footfall.

I would love to hear your thoughts, and ideas for running local social impact projects. Either leave a comment or drop me an email at [email protected].

Join Us to Celebrate 'Discover Local'

On Thursday, 7th November, we’ll be celebrating the impact of the Discover Local campaign with an event at Creative Works in Walthamstow. Working with Nathalina Harrison PCC from Hive Collective CIC join us for an evening of discussion, films and a chance to connect with local people and buisness owners over a drink.

Event Details: Thursday, 7th November, 6.30pm – 9.00pm, Creative Works, 7 Blackhorse Ln, London E17 6DS

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hive-presents-discover-local-tickets-1039253153157