Still trying to find ideas to take advantage of Small Business Saturday? You still have time to win clients from this big holiday.
Let’s get to a quick 10 Small Business Saturday ideas to join the shop small movement. With some help, this could be a good Saturday for your business!
First Of All, What Is The Shop Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday is a corporate responsibility initiative by American Express that rallies people to “shop small” on the Saturday following Black Friday. This Saturday is always the last one in November so if you were late this year, mark your calendar for next year!
American Express has created a partnership program to give small business owners more visibility. This program isn’t just for brick and mortar. Professionals and online businesses can also join.
You can achieve your championship status and get recognized in American Express’ website by application.
If you didn’t apply, no worries. You can still champion the cause and promote the cause with your neighbors and your online fans and followers.
To find a Small Business Saturday event near you, click here.
In Austin, for example, P Terrys is one of the listed venues featured on the map. Only qualifying American Express Card accepting merchants will be featured on American Express Maps.
American Express has created Small Business Saturday materials to make your marketing very easy. You can create custom marketing materials with the Shop Small® Studio.
Add Your Business’ Information.
Get prepared to answer questions about your uniqueness and how have you helped your community.
Include All The Information Where You Can Receive Your Small Business Saturday Marketing Materials.
Prepare To Download Your Custom Marketing Materials
A zip file will download and you will be able to open several folders with promotion ideas, email templates, posters, and social media assets with the Small Business Saturday 2019 logo on it.
American Express has done a great job! Check out our customized cover picture for Facebook.
We are featuring our Business Accelerator Program!
Small Business Saturday 2019 Marketing Ideas
#1 Prepare A Compelling Story
If you noticed from your Small Business Saturday kit, you were asked what makes your business special. People want to do business with people. Create a compelling story that reminds your users why they should do business with you.
Here’s a Small Business Saturday quote you can use:
We _____________ (describe what you do) so that ____________ (describe how do you help your clients).
#2 Partner With Brands That Are Celebrating Small Business Saturday
If you see a small business owner with the Small Business Saturday logo, share their message. The more you share, the more shares you will receive.
Do your research! Find opportunities to collaborate with brands that are listed on the American Express’ map.
#3 Leverage The Power Of Hashtags
Here are the top Small Business Saturday hashtags for 2019.
#smallbusinesssaturday #smallbusinesssaturday2019 #smallbusinesssaturdays #smallbusinesssaturdayslo #smallbusinesssaturdaysrq #shopsmall
You can also mix from #shopsmall related #’s
#shopsmall #etsy #shoplocal #supportsmallbusiness #etsyshop #etsyseller #smallbusiness #shophandmade #toddlerfashion #brandrep #supporthandmade #mompreneur #igkiddies #babyfashion #girlboss #kidsfashion #kidslookbook #madewithlove #igbabies #makersgonnamake #handcrafted #handmadeisbetter #womeninbusiness #kidzfashion #babieswithstyle #igkids #trendykiddies #brandrepsearch #momlife #etsyfinds
Remember that every hashtag has its own “gallery”. People sometimes browse these galleries to see photos they are interested in. This is why you want to mix and match those hashtags to get more visibility, instead of using the same all the time.
Each hashtag gallery has a “Top” section and a “Recent” section. The posts in “Top” are determined by a combination of how recent the post is, and how many likes/comments it is receiving.
The more hashtags you use, the more galleries your work appears in. The maximum allowed per post is 30 hashtags.
Take some time to search the # “gallery” and explore the “Recent” section. There’s a good chance you can find similar small business owners who will be glad to connect with you and share your content.
#4 Don’t Compete In Price. Do Things You Know Your Customers Will Love.
You might be tempted to launch Small Business Saturday deals. That’s totally recommended. However, instead of just launching a discount in price, create a pricing strategy that fits your business model and your current goals.
As shoe designer Christian Louboutin says, “Luxury is the possibility to stay close to your customers, and do things that you know they will love.”
#5 Build A Small Business Saturday Form For Your Email Marketing
American Express has done all the work for you! So, if you build a form, for instance, free on Mail Chimp, you can just send this simple email to your subscribers letting them know about your Small Business Saturday campaign.
Here’s the email template from American Express (customized).
Hi [CUSTOMER NAME OR SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORTER],
This Nov 30 is the 10th Small Business Saturday®, which means it’s almost time to celebrate with your favorite small businesses — like (hint, hint) the one sending you this email.
Save the date to Shop Small® with us because when you do, you make a big difference for our business and our community. Join us in making this Small Business Saturday one to remember!
As always, thank you for your continued support — we can’t wait to celebrate with you!
MARKETING FOR GREATNESS
#6 Instagram Stories
In case you haven’t jumped in, this Small Business Saturday campaign should motive you to use IG Stories!
Here are the main stats showing how big the Instagram story format is:
- Instagram stories are used by 500 million users every day (Instagram internal data, January 2019)
- One third (1/3) of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses
- 50% of businesses on Instagram worldwide created at least one story during a typical month
- 96% of US marketers surveyed plan to continue using Stories ads in the next 6 months
Your marketing kit will have 3 stories format and you can use them all!
Remember that you can always add your personal touch, with videos, music, stickers. Be creative! Don’t forget to use hashtags to give your stories more visibility.
A pro tip: geotag your story. This will turn your story visible on the location you tagged yourself at.
#7 Support A Local Charity
One of the great things about this Small Business Saturday event is that people are open to giving. This is a great opportunity to support a cause and make your business stand out.
Not sure where to start? Facebook’s Giving Tuesday program supporting charities is a great place to search!
GivingTuesday 2019
Facebook’s match for GivingTuesday 2019 begins at 8:00 AM Eastern Time (5:00 AM Pacific Time) on Tuesday, December 3, 2019.
- Donations are matched dollar for dollar on a first-come, first-served basis until $7,000,000 USD in eligible donations are made on Facebook.
- Any US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit eligible to receive donations on Facebook can be matched.
- Facebook will match up to a total of $100,000 per nonprofit organization.
- Each donor can have up to $20,000 in eligible donations matched on GivingTuesday.
- We cover processing fees so that when you donate using Facebook’s payments platform to a nonprofit organization, 100% of your donation goes to support the cause you care about.
See the Giving Tuesday Donation Match Program Terms for more details about the match.
#8 Create An Exclusive Small Business Saturday Gift
Remember that your main goal is to create experiences for your clients, not just about money.
If you don’t have too much time to think about a gift for your customers who purchase on Small Business Saturday, Blue Board is a great alternative to outsource your gifts.
#9 Feature Your Small Business Saturday Promotion On Your Facebook Page
Facebook has an option to turn your business page into a shop. Even if you don’t like to be promotional, just know that you can switch to your regular page template at any time.
Go to Page Settings -> Templates and Tabs -> Shopping
#10 Don’t Forget Twitter And Pinterest
Sometimes we think about social media and it’s mostly Facebook and Instagram. Well… don’t forget Twitter and Pinterest!
Twitter has created a checklist for small business owners! We already downloaded for you! Just remember to use #ShopSmall. Just like on Instagram, you can search who is sharing content under the #shopsmall gallery. Don’t hesitate to ignite conversations with those small business owners.
On Pinterest, create a board with your Small Business Saturday promotions and marketing materials. You can create Small Business Saturday images or even just upload your marketing kit. Don’t forget to add your business information.
What Happens After Small Business Saturday?
If you run this campaign following most of these tips, chances are you got at least many new connections. Since these ideas can be used at any time, beyond just the holidays, make sure you have ways to measure and track them!
