As a small business owner, you’re part of a tribe. You may not have a lobbyist in D.C., but you do have each other to rally around. Events like Small Business Saturday can help.
This year, the “shop small” holiday falls on Nov. 26—smack dab in the middle of Thanksgiving weekend. You shouldn’t ignore it. The event has become a key piece of the holiday shopping season; over 88 million people have taken part since 2010.
Nav believes small businesses should be celebrated every day, but Small Business Saturday is a sweet opportunity for you to leverage the power of its popularity to get exposure, boost sales, and rally your community. A little planning now can help you get the most from it.
1. Promote Your Business
The Shop Small site makes it easy to participate and promote your business. You can download a ready-to-use marketing kit or spend a couple minutes creating customized materials. They provide free templates for you to use on your social networks, website, and storefront.
You can also use the Small Business Saturday Facebook page and #ShopSmall or #SmallBizSat hashtags on Instagram and Twitter to promote your business.
2. Connect With Your Neighbors
Small Business Saturday is a great reason to get reacquainted with your business neighbors. The Shop Small site lets you sign up to be a Neighborhood Champion to rally your community or find events near you.
When you connect with other local businesses that are planning to participate, explore ways to work together. Can you cross-promote each other? Offer specials? Can you work together in the future?
Get Ready for 2017
As you plan and celebrate Small Business Saturday, keep track of what worked and what didn’t. Then, set a reminder to give yourself plenty of time to plan for the event in 2017.
Finally, have fun with it. Take some pictures to share on social media after the weekend to keep the ‘mo rolling. Most people want to support small business—you just need to stay top of mind and remind them of why your business is better.
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This article was originally written on November 9, 2016 and updated on January 31, 2021.
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