Influencer's guide to supporting small businesses

Bab About Town Amy Langston said she loved creating her shopping guide every year

A free shopping guide promoting independent small businesses, has been created by a social media influencer.

Amy Langston, also known as Bab About Town, has included more than 200 businesses from across Birmingham, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

She started her guide in 2021 after noticing some businesses struggling and "not many knew if they could survive" during lockdown.

"Christmas is a very tough time for businesses and I thought my platform could help," she said. Ms Langston has more than 50k followers on Instagram and uses her platform to promote places to visit.

Great Western Arcade in Birmingham is filled with local businesses, Ms Langston said

"The posts bring a lot of people from other cities to Birmingham, one viral video is all it takes and I think it's pretty special really," she said.

The shopping guide takes Ms Langston around four months to create and she is "always on the go" as she adds new businesses that want to be featured.

Ms Langston's guide features gifts for women, men, couples and more

Many businesses have been "over the moon" with the response from the guide and she has received numerous messages filled with praise which was "overwhelming", she said.

"It's really lovely to have so many people rely on you to do this, normal people, even my mum," Ms Langston said.

"It's just nice to do something for the community and for Birmingham."