Putting Bury in the Spotlight: How Marketing is Raising the Town Centre’s Profile
One of the BID’s key objectives is to raise the profile of Bury town centre, encouraging more people to visit, shop, dine and spend time in the town. Over the past three years, our marketing activity has gone from strength to strength, with digital channels playing an increasingly important role in showcasing everything Bury has to offer.
Through a combination of destination marketing, seasonal campaigns, event promotion and regular business features, we have significantly expanded our online reach and engagement. Whether promoting the town’s vibrant events programme, highlighting independent businesses, celebrating new openings or encouraging visitors to discover what’s on, our campaigns are helping to put Bury in front of larger audiences than ever before.
The results demonstrate the growing impact of this work. Website traffic has increased from just over 31,000 visitors in 2023–24 to more than 84,000 in 2025–26, while page views have almost tripled over the same period. This means more people are actively searching for information about Bury, exploring local businesses and planning visits to the town centre.
Our social media channels have also experienced exceptional growth. Since 2023, our combined audience has grown from just over 1,300 followers to more than 5,500 across Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. During 2025–26 alone, our content generated more than three million views and impressions, with engagement continuing to rise as more people interact with our campaigns, event promotions and business stories.
Events have been a particularly important driver of this success. Campaigns promoting festivals, family activities, seasonal celebrations and town centre events such as Bury BID Comic Con and Bury BID Food and Drink Festival, consistently generate some of our strongest online performance, extending Bury’s reach well beyond its immediate catchment area. Destination campaigns showcasing the town’s retail, hospitality, heritage and cultural offer have also encouraged people to explore everything Bury has to offer throughout the year, helping to build a stronger identity for the town as a place to visit and spend time.
Importantly, this increased digital visibility sits alongside consistently strong footfall, with more than 13 million visits to Bury town centre annually. While many factors influence visitor numbers, growing awareness through targeted marketing and destination campaigns plays an important role in keeping Bury front of mind and encouraging repeat visits.
As the BID looks ahead, we will continue to build on this momentum by investing in creative campaigns, promoting our businesses and events, and using digital channels to reach even wider audiences. Every campaign, business feature and event promotion helps strengthen Bury’s reputation as one of Greater Manchester’s leading town centre destinations, supporting local businesses and creating more reasons for people to choose Bury.
