Now that Halloween is behind us, you’re probably already in full blown holiday marketing mode. Everyone knows about Black Friday, the annual uber hyped retail extravaganza that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving. Most stores report their highest profits during the Christmas shopping season, but it’s hard for mom and pop shops to compete with blowout sale prices at national chains. Major brands also have a natural advertising advantage this time of year; everywhere consumers turn, they’re bombarded with marketing messages from the big companies. Even local news outlets share crazy Black Friday stories, which indirectly promotes the corporate competition.
So what’s a local business to do to cash in on the Christmas madness? Celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 30th, 2013!
What is Small Business Saturday?
This year marks the 3rd Small Biz Saturday. Back in 2010, American Express Open teamed up with Facebook to create a special day dedicated to the backbone of the nation’s economy—local businesses like yours. Originally, the idea involved rallying American Express merchants by offering an incentive for customers who made a purchase at a participating location. The event was a smashing success, and the U.S. Senate officially recognized Small Biz Saturday 2011 to, “increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses.” (Source: Library of Congress) Each year, the shop small movement gains momentum, and lots of non-Amex clients jumped on board. Naturally, consumers welcome the chance to support the stores that contribute to the local community and character. Last year, shoppers spent an estimated 5.5 billion at neighborhood businesses, and they’ll likely buy more in 2013 due to moderate economic growth.
6 Ways to Start Promoting Today
There’s still plenty of time to participate in 2013, so here’s everything you need to move forward with your campaigns.
- List your Business on the Shop Small Website by Nov. 4th! – I know, November 4th is today, so you’ll have to jump on this tip immediately. The Shop Small site provides an interactive map to help consumers find eligible stores in their area, so you’ll want to take advantage of this free advertising opportunity. Note: you must be an American Express merchant with a physical location in order to qualify.Click here to sign up today!
- Get Organized Online – This year there are plenty of tools to bring local retailers together for awesome cross promotions. You can join a Shop Small community powered by Mightybell to find and collaborate with other entrepreneurs in your city. If there’s nobody on the site yet, you can invite your friends to connect there via email, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Step up to the plate and be a neighborhood leader, start your own community circle, and make magic happen in your town. Don’t know anybody around you? Now’s the perfect time for a few face to face meetings with the other store owners on the block. Visit the Shop Small Communities site for more information.
- Plan Your Promotions- You don’t have to be an American Express user to spread the spirit. AmEx merchants may entice customers with special offers, but feel free to run your own discounts and sales. Remember, the goal is to emphasize personal connections along with the benefits of patronizing brick and mortar businesses. Consumers always appreciate lower prices, but be sure to think about what you can do to help the community. For example, our friends at West America Graphics are holding an educational session about the Adobe Creative Cloud for their clients as well as a canned food drive for Thanksgiving.
- Business Signage- Let you customers know you’re participating on November 30th with in store signage. There are free generic and customizable signage templates on the official site plus marketing materials for your website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Social Media – speaking of social networking, Small Biz Saturday naturally involves online and offline interaction. You’ll get lots of tips by following the @ShopSmall account on Twitter, liking the Shop Small Facebook page, and discussing ideas on LinkedIn or Google Plus. Use the #shopsmall hashtag in your posts, and check the associated streams to expand your list of professional contacts. If you already participated in the past, submit your story on Facebook for a chance to be featured on the page!
- Blogging- Sharing content on social media is great, so why not bring some of that activity onto your own site? You can post anything related to the event from your story to your plans and information about other cool stores in your area. Your efforts might increase traffic because there will be a lot of searches on this topic. As an added bonus, blog articles automatically give you material for your social communities.
Community Sound Off
How will you be celebrating on November 30th? Are you teaming up with you neighbors for a big cross promotion? Share your plans in the comments below!