Speaking at the Hays Independence Group, digital marketing executive Helen Hays says overall, the company has 127 Facebook pages.

Each store has its own one which is the responsibility of the shop manager, or someone they delegate, and who has received social media training.

She said these can be used to send Facebook adverts, with more than 200 sent out a month to over 120 different targeted groups, with shop staff using their own knowledge of the local area to ensure they send out ones that are relevant and effective.

Hays cited the case of Hays’ Middlesbrough branch which was quick to react following an FA cup draw which saw Middlesbrough FC play Arsenal in February this year.

The shop put out three adverts for travel and accommodation packages in London for the game, targeting the relevant crowd and at a cost of £9 in total.

As a result, 60 passengers booked the packages, making the agency commission of £1,000.

Hays added staff have also learnt not to use their Facebook pages purely as sales tools but as ways of building links with the local community.

She cited the example of Hays Travel’s Flint branch, which tweeted a picture of a mural in the town commemorating Remembrance Sunday in support of it.

The post was subsequently shared and reached 88,285 Facebook users, far beyond the 13,000-strong population of the town and helping raise the shop’s, and the brand’s profile.