There’s a big day coming up for all you small business owners, and it's Small Business Saturday!
The Saturday after Thanksgiving is a day for local communities to come together and support local businesses.
As a small business owner, you should be prepared for such a special event, and we're here to help with our top recommendations! Keep in mind that 2020's Small Busines Saturday may look a little different compared to previous years.
Keep reading for tips on the best ways to utilize digital marketing to make your Small Business Saturday a success.
Are you also looking for better ways to market for any day of the week? Click here for some everyday tips for marketing your business!
While the goal of Small Business Saturday most years is to bring customers into your store, the focus this year should be on your website. With COVID-19 impacting communities, pivoting to an online approach will help keep your customers safe.
You can utilize your business’s website to sell some of your top-performing products and to inform customers of the deals you will be offering during Small Business Saturday.
Your website is a great way to keep people informed on everything your store has to offer. If you do decide to offer in-person sales, create a section on your website explaining the safety precautions you're taking on this potentially busy day.
Using your website is the perfect way to peak customer interest in both purchasing products online or in stopping by your store on Small Business Saturday!
As usual, social media will be your best friend as you’re trying to reach current and future customers to inform them about Small Business Saturday.
Stay involved in communities like the Small Business Saturday page on Facebook — you can post information about your business and your upcoming deals on this page. You can also use this space to meet and interact with other small businesses.
Even consider using a local social media influencer to help with social media promotion of the upcoming event. Utilizing Instagram or Facebook Stories is perfect for this!
Influencers can quickly talk about the event, deals that your business will be offering and how much they enjoy your products. These influencers are a great way to build an audience for your business and grow your reputability within the community.
If you are looking for more information on influencer marketing and how it's changing the realm of digital marketing, check out this blog.
Also, be aware of the hashtags you use in social media posts! Keep them to a reasonable amount depending on where you are posting and try and utilize popular hashtags for Small Business Saturday, such as #ShopSmall!
Two of the best ways to utilize online advertisements around this time is to try geofencing during the event and to retarget potential customers through mobile platform advertisements.
When it comes to geofencing, this will, when a potential customer comes in close range of your business, place the geo-targeted ad on their social media or Google searches when they go on their mobile device.
This is a perfect digital advertising strategy for an event like Small Business Saturday because it is likely that people will already be shopping at local businesses or looking for new businesses in the area.
If they had not previously known about your business but are shopping nearby at other businesses, your ad will likely show up and motivate them to stop by!
As for retargeting ads, the best way to get an advertisement for the event in front of local customers is to focus your ad budget on retargeting on the day of Small Business Saturday.
If a customer ends up visiting your website as they are searching for businesses to visit, but they leave to go back to their social media, make sure your ad will show up when they visit other websites! This way, you will be back in the mind of the customer and have the potential to draw their interest to see the exclusive deals you are offering.
Consider automating some emails for customers who are on your email list to keep Small Business Saturday on their radar!
Send a few initial emails in advance of the event to give updates on different products which will be discounted or back in stock as well as general information about the event such as store hours, store location and more.
When Small Business Saturday approaches, send an email the day prior and the day-of as a reminder for these customers. Remember, there is a balance to sending emails, so be reasonable in the amount you send, but also make sure that they are consistent enough to keep your business on customers' minds.
Here is some additional information about email marketing to consider when you are promoting your Small Business Saturday event.
We know that 2020 has been tough on businesses, but we know our local businesses have struggled the most. While the past can't be changed, you can help shape the future of your business.
And what better way to boost your business and support your fellow business owners than team up with them on Small Business Saturday?
Both businesses could try putting out social media posts about the offers that the other business will have running during Small Business Saturday.
In addition, the partnered small businesses could put out general advertisements for Small Business Saturday, but they can list the other businesses that are involved in the event to remind customers of other stores they can visit.
Make it obvious to local customers that you are participating in Small Business Saturday!
The event’s website offers businesses who are taking part in Small Business Saturday with additional logos and signage that can be put up in stores or on websites and social media to remind followers and shoppers that their business will be involved in Small Business Saturday.
Click here to get access to the materials that the event has to offer!
Digital marketing can be a cost-effective and straightforward way to get information out and attract potential customers to your business during Small Business Saturday.
If you are looking for more guidance and information leading up to this event, click here to request a free analysis from one of our local marketing consultants.
For additional holiday-related digital marketing recommendations, check out these resources:
Anne Karasarides, Content Contributor
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