Member Article

Sally's Cottages End the Year on a High

Lake District based company, Sally’s Cottages, is this month celebrating reaching a quarter of a million Facebook likes.

Earlier this year the local holiday lettings agency was recognised for the excellence of its Facebook page when it won awards for the “Best Overall Use of Social Media” and “Social Media Personality of the Year” at the Social Travel Britain Awards 2016.

Cumbrian-born entrepreneur Sally Fielding founded the company in 2003 with just one cottage and an initial investment of £1,000. She is delighted to have achieved this landmark number of Facebook likes. “Social media is both a fun and essential resource for connecting with people. Not only does Facebook allow us to interact with our customers on a more personal level, it helps us to get to know them and to know what they want from our cottages.”

Sally’s Cottages’ Facebook page, which regularly offers up competitions and beautiful Lake District images, as well as details of the company’s holiday cottages, has grown from 7,000 followers at the end of 2013 to over a quarter of a million today. The monthly Facebook giveaways run by the organization, in which followers can win a weekend stay in a holiday cottage, attract the attention of hundreds of thousands of followers and their friends. The latest competition reached over one million Facebook users and received around 10,000 comments, 9,000 shares and 16,000 likes. The next giveaway will take place after Christmas.

The company also dominates on other social media platforms, with over 4,000 followers on Instagram and over 8,500 on Twitter.

With an ever-increasing portfolio of over 390 Lake District holiday cottages, a staff of 14, and over 100 freelance workers, Sally’s Cottages continues to grow from strength to strength. Its commitment to excellent customer service is reflected on its Facebook page, where every comment, question, and request is responded to.

“We have chatted to so many people on Facebook, it really feels like we have a fantastic gang of friends,” explains Sally. “Often, people we have been talking to for years on Facebook will come and see us in the Keswick office when they’re staying in one of our cottages. It’s wonderful being able to put a face to the name when that happens – we love it!”

Sally’s Cottages has seen a bumper year with more than 80 new cottages and a 24% increase in holiday bookings.

“This year has been an exciting one, and I’m proud that we’ve achieved so much,” comments Sally. “2017 promises to be even better and I can’t wait to continue providing ‘moments of happiness’ to our visitors.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kimberley Brough .