The understated Cheshire town with a big heart – things to love about Handforth

You may or may not have heard of the Cheshire town Handforth from award winning restaurants (press release secured by Icon), a retail park, luxury car showrooms and let’s not forget Julie’s infamous iPad! It’s easy to see why Handforth is becoming an increasingly popular location with homeowners. The benefits don’t end there Handforth is within throwing distance of Manchester Airport (taxis to the airport cost around £16) but not on the flight path and well connected for commuters due to it’s excellent links via the A555 and A34 as well as bus and train services, outstanding schools and surrounded by beautiful countryside walks including secret cut throughs to Stanley Green, Styal and Handforth Dean (if you know you know!)

Handforth Map Supplied by Handforth Town Council

Just a mile and a half from the cosmopolitan town of Wilmslow but significantly more affordable you can snap up a property in Handforth for as little as £175k;

“House prices in Handforth have an overall average of £345,613 over the last year. The majority of properties sold in Handforth during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £354,450. Flats sold for an average of £174,385, with detached properties fetching £506,129.”

The Grange, Clay Lane Supplied by Handforth Town Council

With plans for a Garden Village in the pipeline and the new Anwyl Homes and Jones Homes developments Handforth is seeing an influx of homeowners and is set to become a destination of choice for first time buyers, families and downsizers alike. So what prompted us to write this blog? A social media video recently painted a less than favourable picture of Handforth describing it as a “snide Wilmslow” and we felt compelled to set the record straight. You can see the video here WARNING: contains graphic language . Our MD Kiesha Humphreys moved to Handforth around 6 years ago. Lured by the competitively priced properties she chose to move her family and business to Handforth to purchase her forever home and it’s fair to say she’s fallen in love with the charm of this once maligned village.

“There’s so much to like about Handforth, with a great selection of pubs and restaurants, shops and takeaways it was a no-brainer to move to Handforth. When we were house hunting a homeowner told us how she used to be a Wilmslow snob before moving to Handforth. My two boys used to love going for rides on the miniature railway in Meriton Park on a Sunday when they were  younger and everyone is so friendly. I can still dip into Wilmslow when I need to but I simply LOVE living in Handforth”.

Handforth Miniature Railway Credit: Handforth Miniature Railway Facebook Page

There’s plenty to do for younger residents too with a weekly youth club, scouts, regular events at Handforth library and a skatepark. The community spirit is in abundance during events such as Halloween, Bonfire night and Christmas carols in the paddock. Handforth has many established businesses such as Second Opinion which has been a regular fixture in Handforth since the early 80s. Their beautiful salon has recently undergone a full refurbishment confirming their commitment to Handforth.

We’d be remiss not to mention the newly opened Marguerite Patisserie Handforth’s newest coffee shop. Replacing Woods paper shop which ended it’s lengthy tenure due to retirement. Marguerite is an Instagrammers dream. Think delicious baked goods, coffee and ice-cream available to eat-in or takeout. Simply beautiful and cosy you’ll love it!

Marguerite Patisserie Credit: Marguerite Facebook Page

This only scratches the surface of all the great things to see and do in Handforth but we must give Shentons Farm Shop a special mention who upped the ante during COVID keeping the people of Handforth and surrounding areas well served for eggs, fruit, veg and more.

Intrigued? Why not pay Handforth a visit? Whether you’re looking to get pampered, go for a meal or some retail therapy Handforth has it all. If you’d like to share your love of Handforth or discuss business in one of Handforth's many coffee shops we’d be happy to have a chat simply complete the callback form and we’ll be in touch.

Dealing with Marketing Fatigue: Tips to Keep Your Audience Engaged

It’s quite a saturated market at the moment, so it’s no wonder that your audience won’t seem so responsive at times. If your methods are looking a bit tired and your audience seems to be over it, then there are plenty of ways that you can try to re-energise their interest:

1.      Don’t be afraid to break the pattern

Why not switch up the way you do things? If you have been posting lots of images on your social media, experiment with making videos or carousel posts. You can try posting spotlights on your community or highlight success stories. If you’re feeling generous, share some exclusive content or give something of value to your audience for free to show that you still value them – it might just give them the nudge that you need.

 2.     Give your audience the details that matter

When you send out your newsletters, strive to capture your audience immediately with how you can help and why it matters to them. With emails constantly piling up in the inbox for everyone, it’s a fight to ensure that your audience reads what you have to say before they flick (or skip) through all the rest of their mail. You can do this by creating an eye-catching subject that compels them to click on your email as soon as they see it and getting straight to the point in the first sentence.

 3.     Hear it from them

Try sending out surveys, whether by newsletter or on your social media pages. One of the best ways to market something to your audience successfully is to ask what they want (or don’t want). You should use the responses that you collect to shape your strategy, demonstrating that you took their answers on board.

 4.    Get your audience involved in the fun

On that note of surveys, think of exciting ways that you can get your audience to interact. Polls on your social media can be a great way for them to quickly and easily tap on an answer to a question you ask, boosting your engagement and gaining you some useful insights at the same time. You can also send out quizzes or host live chats, including Q&As, to show that you are interested in others being interested in your business. All these methods put out the positive message that you believe in collaboration and want to build relationships with your audience.  

 5.     You don’t have to be at an 11 on a scale of 1-10

If your audience is tired, then don’t force information on them all the time. It’s ok to turn the energy down a bit. Use the time to reflect and consider how you can put out content that has greater value – quality, not quantity, as they say. Ask yourself, “If I saw this, would I be interested?” before you post anything. This can help you to put yourself in your audience’s shoes and understand why your content isn’t always clicking with them.

 Conclusion

We’ve given you some food for thought, but if there’s anything on the topic of engaging your audience that you’d like to discuss or get some assistance with, we would be happy to help. It’s sometimes difficult to know what makes your audience tick, but at Icon, we offer a wealth of services to benefit your marketing strategy and can pinpoint what areas would be best to optimise. To get started, contact us at kiesha@iconmarketingcommunications.co.uk.

Why Data Privacy Matters to Your Marketing Strategy

When you consider the constant advancements in technology and the growth of the digital age, it’s no wonder that people are concerned about what their data is being used for.

 So, what is data privacy? Put simply, it means ensuring an individual’s personal data is kept as private as possible.

 It’s a huge concern for organisations in the UK and The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) outlines the rules for how personal data is collected, processed and stored. If organisations do not comply with such rules, they can face serious consequences, such as fines and harm to the company’s reputation.

 Personal data refers to information about a living individual, including their name, phone number, home address or email address (some of which you might collect for your newsletters).  

 Organisations are required to gain consent from individuals before they can collect their personal data and inform them how long they are going to keep this data and for what purpose (for example, marketing reasons). Personal data should remain accurate and only be used for its intended purpose.

 Being clear about this information ensures that you are following data privacy regulations along with building trust in your clients, who are more likely to stay loyal to you, helping your reputation.

 One element of your marketing strategy where the importance of data privacy is very noticeable is the website you develop and maintain. Aside from the pretty visuals and features on it, your website is a route to its users’ private data and preferences. It’s vital that this is protected and that you educate your users about what options they have and how their data will be used. It is essential to allow users to opt out of sharing their information if they wish to do so.

 Prioritising how cookies are used and managed is paramount to users’ safety. Whilst cookies are needed to enhance their experience, the information collected needs to be granted permission by the user. Visitors to your website should also, along with being able to simply accept or decline cookies, be allowed to opt in to how much they want to based on their preferences, letting some information be given and other information not.

 Conclusion

 Whilst many marketing strategies including website design promote customisation, this should never be at the cost of people’s privacy. You must remain transparent to your prospects and clients throughout your strategies to highlight that you are committed to remaining ethical in how you approach and use their data. This will in the long-term show them that they can trust you and also build stronger lasting relationships that elevate your business’s status.

 For advice on how you can create a marketing campaign that champions the importance of data privacy, contact us now at kiesha@iconmarketingcommunications.co.uk.

How Storytelling Can Humanize Your Marketing Efforts

When you think of storytelling, it probably conjures up the phrase, ‘once upon a time’ or an image of a parent reading a book to their child before bed. But what does it actually mean when we refer to it in a marketing context?

 Yes, storytelling content includes a clear narrative and structure like the texts you read in school but using it as part of a campaign becomes a way to make your brand exciting. Instead of just listing what your business does and stands for using bullet points, why not consider how you can construct a narrative around these facts?

 Consider the history of your business and how it first started – you can share your personal story from zero to hero. How did you make the jump from having an idea of something that you could sell, to now actually selling it?

 People love a good story – so why not try to recreate that childhood wonder of turning the pages of your favourite bedtime tale? Or think about how newspapers can hook you right from their catchy headlines. If you can present information about your business in a way that feels new, personal and creative, then you’ll already stand out from the rest.

 Ultimately, we’re humans marketing to other humans. We’re not robots - we have emotions, so we can get bored easily. Telling stories ensures that we bring the human element into all of this – a face can be given to your brand and suddenly, what you write about can become relatable or make your audience laugh.

 You can use case studies with clients, showing to your audience through stories that a real impact has been made on others, helping to convince them that you’re trustworthy.

 It has been found that stories activate more regions of the brain than language alone – they are effective in stirring the senses when sensory imagery is used for example. Using language that connects with the senses can make your brand more memorable.

 Storytelling doesn’t just have to include words – it can be done visually too. Using images and videos to tell stories in advertisements or even in creating a logo can help show that there are people behind your brand and there is a history associated with it.

 Final Thoughts

 When thinking about how to implement storytelling for your business, the most important thing is to make sure that you are consistent. Discovering your brand’s voice and the imagery to go with it should be seen across all your platforms and in all interactions with your clients. This will not only demonstrate that you are unique in what you do but also that it doesn’t feel like your business is solely run by robots (in the event that it actually is, then you need to at least make it seem like it isn’t)!

 For assistance in telling the stories that matter to your business, get in touch with us today at kiesha@iconmarketingcommunications.co.uk

Top Marketing Trends to Watch in 2025

With the marketing landscape constantly evolving and customer needs ever-changing, it can be hard to keep track of the latest trends or even predict future ones. The rise of digital marketing has allowed companies to think of new ways to reach more potential customers than ever before.

 So how can I know what to target as a marketer?

Don’t worry, we have you covered. We’ve assembled a list of some pretty good guesses (we think) for some of the most eye-catching marketing trends to watch in 2025 based on what’s already begun to have an impact and doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon.

1.      Short-form video content

You may have heard talk of the 8-second attention span of Gen Z, where the rise of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Instagram has seemingly diminished young people’s ability to focus on clips for more than a mere few seconds before deciding to scroll to the next one. Whether that’s universally true or not remains up for debate, but certainly the popularity of the ‘TikTok format’ and other platforms following the app’s lead has made way for interesting conversation about how this affects advertising and what marketers can do to combat this new challenge of condensing ideas to a minimum and attracting audiences right off the bat.

TikTok has grown extremely popular after merging with Musical.ly, now promoting the creation of all kinds of short-form content and not just the lip-singing and dancing videos that users had been used to originally. TikTok did it first, with the newer YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels hopping on the bandwagon of the app’s success.

For anyone advertising, TikTok has become and continues to be, an exciting new way to go about grabbing peoples’ attention via short video clips either posted on creators’ accounts or through promoting your business on users’ feeds, using targeted ads that appear every few scrolls. In this way, it is vital to be creative about how you advertise on TikTok – you need to be able to surprise and interest consumers with what you say or display within a few seconds, such as utilising trends that circulate the app and collaborating with beloved creators.

2.     AI

Yes, a lot of people think AI is taking over our jobs. But its rise (and the inevitable continuation of it) has shown that it’s more plausible to say that AI is just changing the way we do things. Many businesses can and have used it to optimise marketing strategies and the truth is that ignoring it and not adapting is what is more likely to have negative consequences.

ChatGPT is what seems to be making the headlines in AI developments, but there’s also more to be acknowledged.

The use of chatbots on businesses’ websites has become a notable component of marketing strategies, offering visitors the chance to type messages to an AI assistant, answering their questions and directing them to products and services quicker than before.

AI is now helping businesses discover the best influencers to use for their campaigns, analysing post engagement and predicting campaigns that will be most effective with influencers.

Visual searches are also on the rise, with Google Lens and Snapchat’s Scan feature allowing for an integrated shopping experience when users take photographs of objects that can be recognised as products to buy online.

But what about the role of the human in all of this? Whilst these AI tools help speed up the marketing process and provide recommendations, they are not perfect and need human oversight to correct mistakes. Marketers also know and understand their clients best to tailor products and services to their needs. Marketing agencies especially need to maintain a human-to-human contact approach.

3.     Social commerce

Social media platforms and businesses are finding more ways to promote products and services directly on social media. For example, TikTok Shop allows a more integrated experience by allowing users to find products to buy via its ‘shop’ tab. Additionally, Pinterest is continuing to attract users who are searching for ideas, offering shoppable pins and video content to drive conversions.

Businesses recognise the exciting potential for driving sales on social media platforms but need to make sure that their attempts feel authentic and engaging, as users are wise to when something feels obviously promoted. The use of storytelling can be an effective way of showing to users that you, or people advertising your product, are relatable and understand their needs.

4.    Advertising on streaming services

In an age of streaming, consumers are ditching network television and companies are spending money on ads elsewhere such as Netflix and YouTube.

With audiences wanting to watch more quality content but aren’t willing to pay an arm and a leg for higher-tier subscriptions, streaming services like Netflix have found a successful middle ground where users opt for a basic ad-supported subscription. Many find this alternative to be tolerable, being able to watch the shows and films they love at a reduced cost, but with occasional adverts.

YouTube has been found to not only deliver better ad recall and attraction from viewers compared to traditional TV advertising but also a broader reach among adults, prompting advertisers to diversify their campaigns.

Conclusion

Navigating the world of trends can be a scary place, which is why it’s more important than ever to stay alert as a marketer for anything that makes the news and sparks a lot of conversation as you never know what it might lead to and whether you could use it to improve your strategy. At Icon, we keep an eye on the industry and use our knowledge to create a bespoke service that suits your needs and what’s best for your business.

If you need marketing support, we would love to hear from you – contact us today at kiesha@iconmarketingcommunications.co.uk.