Creative Enabler
Now that the dust and leftovers of Thanksgiving have settled and the chaos of Black Friday is behind us, Small Business Saturday is here!
For many of us that do not have traditional retail storefronts or physical locations that we sell from, it is easy to dismiss #SmallBizSat as just another quasi-consumer holiday seeking to deplete our holiday-ravaged bank accounts.
Not so.
Today is a great day to get off the couch, put the Gilmore Girls Revival on pause, and take stock of what you have to sell that could turn your #ShopSmall into #SellBig.
Hashtags to Use: #SmallBizSat #ShopSmall #shopsmallsaturday #smallbusinesssaturday #shopsmallbusiness #shoplocal #supportlocal
ARTWORK
Get your artwork out of the studio and into buyers’ hands by posting a virtual #SmallBizSat sale on your social media. Create a photo album with a collection of your work and hashtag accordingly; #BuyArt #BuyMoreArt #SupportArtists are hashtags to consider in your campaign. Be sure to take clear pictures, provide measurements, indicate if piece is framed/unframed if on paper, include mediums, and indicate if you will ship the piece and how far you can ship the piece. You may choose just to do local pick-up and avoid the whole shipping process altogether.
SERVICES
If you offer consulting, coaching, instruction or a service of some sort, seize the day and extend a promotional discount to existing customers or to introduce your services to a new audience. This is a quick, easy and timely promotional opportunity to harness the energy of an existing small business sales day.
No graphic design experience? No problem. You can create a free graphic using PicMonkey online and one of their handy-dandy drag-and-drop templates to create a visually appealing promotional image for use in your social media: www.picmonkey.com
PRODUCTS
Same goes for getting products on the Small Business Saturday train. Have items that you need to close-out to make room for your new holiday stuff? Offer a flat percentage discount for all goods, free shipping, or a free product if a customer buys $50 or more worth of products. Alternately, you can offer a promotional discount for use during the holiday season with a purchase on Small Biz Saturday to entice customers to come back in a few weeks and shop more.
GET ONLINE
There are a number of Facebook groups dedicated to selling online and specific niches. Etsy alone has hundreds of user-generated groups that you can post items from your shop for more exposure! Local buy/sell and neighborhood groups are also great for connecting direct with your community, especially if your services or products are specific to your area. Log-in to your personal account and peruse some groups to post your #ShopSmall promotion in: https://www.facebook.com/groups/
You can also search by hashtag to find groups, pages, people and events that are participating in Shop Small Saturday on Facebook by using the “Search Facebook” bar at the very top of the page.
Twitter and Instagram can be searched by looking up the hashtags above and linking in to people talking about today’s sales and events.
GIVE BACK
Share the abundance and give back this Small Business Saturday to a non-profit or cause. You can donate a percentage of sales to raise awareness for something that is meaningful to you and your business. By aligning with a cause or issue, you are also aligning with a customer base who wants to do something meaningful with their consumer dollar instead of just spending frivolously.
For example, I will be selling small artwork pieces through Facebook and Instagram for #ShopSmall and will be donating 50% of sales to the Sacred Stone Camp’s legal defense fund to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. It’s a small way that I can give back while clearing out my art studio and participating in today’s small business festivities.
GET LOCAL
Your community may have their very own Small Business Saturday campaign brewing. You can find out by visiting the websites for your city’s government, chamber of commerce, economic development office or special improvement districts. Linking in to an existing city campaign to promote small business connects you with a network of active business owners, customers and your community, even if you don’t have a storefront.
Not sure if your city has a chamber of commerce or special improvement district? Google:
“(your city here) + chamber of commerce” or “(your city here + special improvement districts)”. Be sure to remove parentheses and include the quotations.
BONUS JERSEY CITY LIGHTNING ROUND!
The City of Jersey City and Jersey City Economic Development Corporation’s Small Business Services recently launched a citywide campaign to promote small businesses all year-round. This initiative will include highlighting districts throughout the city, free parking for residents and guests of Jersey City during the holidays and more good stuff. See official press release here.
So what does that mean for you, oh curious Jersey City small biz operator or artist?
You can get hyperlocal with your online promotions by hooking into the following Jersey City small business hashtags: #ShopJC #JCSmallBiz #JCArts #JCArtists
You can also follow and interact with the following accounts specific to your ward/neighborhood.
Central Avenue Special Improvement District
Historic Downtown Special Improvement District
Jackson Hill Main Street District
