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How To Make The Most Of Small Business Saturday

small business Saturday sign

Small Business Saturday is right around the corner.

On November 30, 2013, thousands of small businesses around the country will join together to promote the benefits of shopping small and celebrate their local communities and neighborhoods.

How can your small business get in on the excitement and help spread the word about the big day? 

American Express has pulled together a ton of great resources, tips, and sources of creative inspiration. On their Small Business Saturday website, you’ll find short YouTube videos profiling how small business owners were able to generate some buzz during last year’s event, free Small Business Saturday signage and templates, and Neighborhood Circles—an online portal for connecting with other small business owners so you can help each other get prepared for the big day.

What are some ways you can generate buzz around Small Business Saturday?

  1. Use the hashtag #ShopSmall to capture what you organize for the day via Twitter and Google+.
  2. Work with other local businesses to help cross-promote each other. Locally, this is something I’ve seen Coffee Buddha do in the past. They offered a discount to any customers who brought in a receipt from a local comic book store. How cool is that?
  3. Display Small Business Saturday signage in a front window and around the store to help generate awareness leading up to November 30. You can find free templates here.
  4. Speaking of promotions, consider running a special sale tied to Small Business Saturday. Nothing helps to get people even more excited about shopping small then getting a good deal.
  5. Have an open house. Pick up some appetizers and a few balloons, play some music, and turn Small Business Saturday into a fun and memorable event.

Looking for more ideas? I’d highly recommend checking out this video on how the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh was able to make the most out of Small Business Saturday. There are a lot of really cool examples of things you can do without spending a ton of money.

 

How are you planning to promote Small Business Saturday?

Share your ideas in the comments below.

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[Image: Flickr user Mike Licht]


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