Last Minute Marketing Tips for Small Business Saturday

November 22, 2022

A holiday sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday falls on November 26, and it’s a prime opportunity to highlight the benefits of shopping locally for the holidays to nearby consumers. People can put money back into their community by shopping small, helping local stores and restaurants regain ground after the COVID-19 pandemic.

51 million shoppers participated in Small Business Saturday in 2021

Now, we’ve all been there. You wrote down the date and thought of some ideas, but you got busy with the day-to-day and forgot to plan! The following tips might help you take advantage of this day created specifically for small businesses like yours and rally the community to support you today and every day.

  1. Advertise on Social Media

Promote your business on social media by using the official hashtags for the day: #SmallBizSaturday, #ShopSmall, or #SmallBizSat.

Host giveaways or invite your customers to like, share and follow your profile for discount codes; this will boost your social media presence and create more hype and attention for your business.

And, if you can, use social media management tools to track your success. Consider tools like Hootsuite, Hubspot, Buffer, Later, or others, to manage your Small Business Saturday social campaigns effectively.

  1. Create Special Offers

An exciting sales promotion will give your customers a reason to enter your store (or website) on Small Business Saturday. Here are some ideas for you to try out:

  • Discounts on all items
  • Buy one, get one free offer (or one half off)
  • Free shipping
  • Discounts on selected products for upselling purchases
  • Bonus gifts with purchases over a certain amount
  • Discounts for signing up for your mailing or SMS list

Consider what you can afford, create multiple offer ideas and track sales results to see which offers generate the most purchases. Then, you can use that offer again to increase sales.

  1. Participate in Local Events

Many towns, whether via their Economic Development office, chamber of commerce, or leading businesses, run their own Shop Small event. Check your town and chamber’s websites to see what they are doing and jump on the bandwagon! Participation is usually free and can help draw more attention to your business as you pool resources with others.

 

And don’t forget the basics! Make sure you have updated your Google Business profile to reflect your hours and add any special promotions, and take advantage of ready-made marketing resources offered by American Express: Small Business Marketing Toolkit