Do you know what your Small Business Saturday strategy will be this year?
Or does this day tend to get lost amidst all your Black Friday and Cyber Monday planning?
Understandable. You’re overwhelmed enough with planning and strategizing for two major, competitive shopping holidays that are just four days apart. Do you really need to bother with a third?
If you run a small business, or you work with one, this shopping day truly does deserve its own dedicated strategy. In this article we'll discuss why small businesses can benefit from Small Business Saturday, identify the key components of a successful marketing strategy for this day, and walk you through a few ideas and tactics that you can apply to this year's holiday marketing.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday is a "shopping holiday" similar to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It was created by American Express in 2010 after the Great Recession, when many small businesses were struggling. It's no coincidence that the holiday falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, massive consumer-driven days that see record sales for big box stores and online conglomerates. Rather than focusing on huge saving and deals, the message of Small Business Saturday is to "shop small" by visiting and supporting local small businesses.
Small Business Saturday is on November 30 this year
It's a popular holiday for brick-and-mortar small business owners. They mark the day with events, promotions, and partnerships that encourage people in their area to stop by and spend some time (and a few dollars) on their local Main Street.
Why participate in Small Business Saturday?
Shoppers love hitting their favorite big-box stores for massive Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals. But they also have a soft spot for small businesses.
In 2022, Small Business Saturday was the second most popular day to shop in-store over Thanksgiving weekend, and the third-most popular day to shop online. 77% of shoppers specifically intended to shop small that day, and the day closed with an estimated $17.9 billion spent on small brands.
In short, it's a massive opportunity for your small brand to grow its reputation and increase its revenue. Especially considering the stiff competition from big-box retailers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
It’s also an excellent opportunity to partner with other local small businesses. You'll increase industry exposure, expand your reach to new markets and customer bases, and grow your network.
Finally, you tap into a market of shoppers who shop small and specifically try to shop locally. They want to give back to their communities by supporting local independent retailers. 72% of consumers shop small throughout the holiday season for this reason. And 62% are more likely to buy from a small business if that business is local to them.
Small Business Saturday ideas for 2024
1. Host a Small Business Saturday kickoff event
One way for your brand to stand out on Small Business Saturday is by hosting a virtual or in-person event. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, plan an event specific to your industry that showcases your products and services. It’s also a perfect opportunity to encourage engagement with your local community.
For example, a pet supply store might host a pet photo session with Santa, or a boutique grocery store might hold a tasting event or cooking/baking demos. If you're a service provider, you could offer free classes or trials throughout the day, like a yoga class, mini massage session, or a workout.
Independent bookstore Blue Cypress Books treated Small Business Saturday like an event, with an Instagram post acting as the invite.
Source: @blue_cypress_books
Be sure to post frequent updates during the event on social media, using Stories to keep your followers engaged throughout the day. This encourages them to stop by and participate if they can or engage online from home if they can’t visit in person. You can include a custom hashtag and also location tags to help shoppers in your area find you via social media search.
If you don’t have a physical store, you can still host a virtual event. Livestream a workshop or demo, host a virtual challenge, or set up a virtual scavenger hunt involving your website and social pages.
2. Create special offers
Hold contests, giveaways, or sweepstakes for this one day only. Invite participants to subscribe to your email newsletter, sign up for text alerts, or follow you on social media to enter.
You can also offer exclusive deals and special promotions, such as:
- Product and/or service bundles
- Gift with purchase
- BOGO deals and sales
- Exclusive discounts
- Coupon codes and QR codes
Photo bookstore Baltimore Photo Space ran a simple 20% off promotion on Small Business Saturday. By offering the discount in-store only, they encourage more foot traffic to their shop, which in turn encourages shoppers to browse and potentially purchase more.
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Source: @baltimorephotospace
3. Form partnerships
You can form various types of partnerships for Small Business Saturday to spread the love and strengthen community ties online and in person.
Partner with non-profits and charities
Partner with a local non-profit organization that relates to your niche or holds personal significance to the brand founder or the team. Ways to raise awareness and money for the cause include:
- Donating a certain percentage of the day's sales
- Having a physical or virtual donation jar
- Adding a donation option to the checkout process before collecting payment
This way, customers feel good about contributing to a worthy cause through their shopping activity. Customers will also view your brand as socially responsible and concerned about its local community Plus, 38% of consumers are more likely to buy from a small business that donates to charity.
Partner with other small businesses
Consider connecting with other small businesses for an Small Business Saturday community event or promotion. You can partner with other shops and business on your street or in your neighborhood, or work with online business owners who are based in your community. If you're a small artist or creator without a brick-and-mortar presence, partnering with a local small business to feature your products in store on Small Business Saturday is a great way to access holiday foot traffic.
Artist Bekah Worley partnered with a couple of boutique shops during Small Business Saturday:
Source: @bekahworleyco
Small businesses often collaborate around the holidays to hold Instagram prize pack giveaways. The gifts featured are from all the various small businesses and typically pair well together. Entering the giveaway typically means following all the businesses and joining their email list.
For example, three small business owners — an ice cream, a beauty store, and a bookstore — teamed up for this holiday giveaway on Instagram:
Source: @brooklynfarmacy
Another way to collaborate with other small businesses is by creating a Local Shopping Guide. Curate photos and item descriptions from brands with products they want to promote this holiday shopping season. Then, you can post the photos as a collage on Instagram or Facebook or make a Pinterest pin.
When you're brainstorming potential partners, think about products or services that would pair well with your business. A small craft beer shop might want to partner with a local food truck for the day and host a tasting. A hair salon might want to partner with a vintage store to offer a hand-picked selection of clothing and jewelry. A cheese shop might want to partner with a flower shop to offer bouquets to shoppers who are hosting dinner.
Local influencers
33% of consumers overall (and 43% of Gen Z consumers specifically) are more likely to purchase from a small business if an influencer promotes their product.
Collaboration with influencers on Small Business Saturday can expand your reach even further. If an influencer lives in your area and is familiar with your brand, pitch the idea of running a social media campaign together to maximize the holiday.
After all, influencers are small business entrepreneurs themselves, so the arrangement can benefit their brand as well.
Existing clients
You can also partner with your existing customers to draw in potential customers. Request honest customer reviews you can use on your marketing channels in exchange for a special discount code.
Start a hashtag campaign for your brand, and use the user-generated content that people post in your social media marketing (along with the Small Business Saturday official hashtags).
4. Embrace the holiday season
Add a festive theme to your promotions to embrace the holiday season. One way to do this is by releasing a seasonal or holiday-themed promo code, like JOLLY, MERRY, or WINTER, for use on online purchases on Small Business Saturday, as well as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
You can also launch a holiday-themed limited-edition item for sale or as a gift included with their purchase when customers spend a certain amount or more.
Decorate your website and social media pages with festive accents, colors, and images to set the holiday mood.
Florist and boutique The Perfect Petal ran a new holiday promotion every hour for Small Business Saturday 2023. They also had a hot chocolate bar and wreath making bar available to in-store shoppers, along with a fully decorated storefront.
Source: @theperfectpetalboutique
Six steps to running a successful Small Business Saturday campaign
Now that you've got some Small Business Saturday ideas to work with, let’s review six factors for implementing these ideas successfully.
1. Spread the word
Don’t take for granted that your customers will know you’re doing something for Small Business Saturday. Put the word out! Let people know that you’re participating. You can announce it with an email campaign, via social media, direct mail, on an SMS text thread, or with online advertising.
2. Register your small business
Get your business registered in local business directories so you’ll be included in local search results. You're still based somewhere, even if you don’t have a physical store.
A shopper may choose a homemade jewelry website to check out on Small Business Saturday based on which artisans are local and which live out of state or across the country. Even if they’re buying online and having it delivered, their main goal may be to support a local small business.
The main directories to consider registering with include:
- Google Business Profile
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
- Angi
- Foursquare
- Better Business Bureau
- American Express ShopSmall map
See more ideas for improving your local marketing strategy here:
3. Update and optimize your web presence
This weekend is likely the busiest time of the year for your brand, as it is for nearly all U.S. brands — which means a higher volume of web traffic than usual.
You want to keep your website running smoothly during this time. A site crash could kill your sales since online shoppers will just go elsewhere.
Finally, update your business hours and customer service hours for Small Business Saturday on your website, on social media, with Google, anywhere online your brand is listed, and at your physical store.
Give clear and advanced notice if your store will open for extended hours or if customer support will be available. It's also helpful to post these details to social media so curious customers can plan their shopping accordingly.
4. Start your marketing campaigns early
Consumers are starting their holiday shopping earlier and earlier. 46% started before November in 2022 and 41% started in October or earlier in 2023.
However, you want to retain the day’s distinction from Black Friday and Cyber Monday if you're also participating in those holidays. Starting your Small Business Saturday marketing too early might dilute the message. You'll want to weigh the holidays against each other and decide which is most important.
If Cyber Monday is a more useful promotion opportunity for your ecommerce business, then you can plan to group any Small Business Saturday messaging under the Cyber Monday moniker. On the other hand, if you're a brick-and-mortar small business in a bustling commercial district, Small Business Saturday is a rare opportunity to connect with more in-person consumers. In this case, you'll want to start marketing your Small Business Saturday deals and promotions earlier in the month so shoppers can plan to visit your store.
But it doesn't hurt to celebrate all three! Go for the trifecta by brushing up on your Black Friday marketing strategy and Cyber Monday marketing strategy.
Leading up to and on the day itself, focus on posting during your audience active times. Not sure when that is? Read our guide to figuring out your posting schedule.
5. Focus on increasing sales beyond the holiday
Once you attract shoppers with your Small Business Saturday campaign, the goal is to convert them into loyal customers. You can employ a few tactics to increase the odds they’ll return to your business:
- Gift card discounts: Gift card discounts don’t just encourage purchases while saving the customer money. The purchase guarantees that the customer or the gift card recipient will return to redeem the card.
- Future promotions: Plug upcoming promotions or end-of-year clearance sales. Or offer coupon codes that are only redeemable during a particular set of dates in the future. Take Kohl’s rewards program, Kohl’s cash — it offers cash back on purchases but restricts redemption of that cash to later dates, so the customer has to return.
- Customer loyalty rewards: Reward returning customers with loyalty points or punch cards that add up with each visit to earn freebies or money off future purchases.
- Extended promotions: Reach out to your email subscribers and social media followers after the day and announce that you’ve extended a special deal by a few days. They might feel compelled to take advantage of the second chance.
- Thank-you messages: Thank shoppers for visiting your store or website, subscribing to your mailing list, or following your social media page, even if they didn’t buy anything. Thank them for participating in Small Business Saturday and supporting independent businesses.
6. Boost your campaigns with Loomly
Loomly helps you plan, create, manage, and track social media content across all your channels. Orchestrate and oversee all your social media campaigns from one easy-to-use dashboard, and interact with audiences from different channels in a single place. The content library stores and manages all your digital marketing assets. It helps ease the process of batching content and filling out your social media content calendar.
With Loomly, you can plan your holiday marketing campaigns, including your Small Business Saturday marketing campaign. Schedule all of your holiday social media posts to auto-publish on your chosen dates and times. This feature is especially useful around Small Business Saturday, since it comes right after U.S. Thanksgiving break when you're (ideally) not in office.
Start planning your Small Business Saturday ideas now
Once you’ve checked all the boxes for a successful campaign, consider the Small Business Saturday ideas you may want to implement this year.
The three biggest sales events of the year happen back-to-back, making your fourth-quarter marketing schedule jam-packed. Get ahead of the frenzy by planning your Small Business Saturday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday promotions now. With Loomly, you can create and schedule your content to auto-publish in the lead up to these major shopping days. That leaves you more time to focus on executing the best Small Business Saturday event on Main Street.
Try Loomly today with a 15-day free trial.
