Hey, small business owners, we hope you are doing well! Have you planned your Small Business Saturday 2023 marketing strategy yet?
We believe you prepared amazing deals for Small Business Saturday. But the important thing is whether you can deliver your deals to customers effectively and interestingly. For example, do you create a huge discount and leave it alone to be found by customers? Or do you write them on flyers, store posters, or social media posts? Do you think these marketing efforts are enough?
What if we told you there are more attractive and efficient ways to deliver your Small Business Saturday sales and connect with customers? In this article, we’ll cover these marketing techniques to help you promote your Small Business Saturday deals better. But first, let’s start by answering some questions that pop into your mind.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday is a shopping holiday created by American Express in 2010 to encourage and support small businesses. On Saturday after Thanksgiving, small businesses generate special offers and campaigns to motivate their customers to shop small.
When is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday 2023 is on November 26 in the United States. Also, it always falls on;
● Third Saturday of November
● First Saturday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
Small Business Saturday marketing ideas
If you Google “How to promote Small Business Saturday?” you’ll see classic marketing strategies like creating special discounts and celebrating the day via social media posts. Okay, these are tried and true marketing techniques, but will you keep applying the same methods every year? If this works for you, well, but if you want to take advantage of new marketing ideas for Small Business Saturday 2023, here they are!
Tell your story using trends
Have you ever noticed the emotional tv commercials of popular brands during holidays? They share an emotional, nostalgic story to show how their brand was always there during holidays. In this way, they easily grab customers' attention, tap into their emotions, enhance customer engagement, and increase brand awareness.
This is one of the oldest business marketing strategies, but it still works, right? However, it is not convenient for small businesses because it requires big budgets. But this does not mean that small businesses can’t do emotional marketing. There is a better, easier, and more cost-effective way for small businesses to share their story and engage with customers: social media!
We believe every small business should have social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok. And possibly you use, or at least have heard, the word “trend”. What you need to do is, share your story by keeping up with trends. You don’t have to have a solid nostalgic story. You only need to provide some insights about the background of your business. For instance, here are several Instagram reels ideas for small businesses:
● A day in the life of your store
● Preparation process of the product
● Packaging process of your product
● Challenges in business and how you cope with them
● Arrival times of your employees
● Why you’re passionate about your business
● Images or videos while you & employees are working
● The most used words by you & your employees at work
In this way, you allow your customers to know you better and motivate them to support your small business. If you don’t have many followers or engagement on your social media account, don’t worry. They'll grow gradually if you keep sharing your story using social media trends. Or, let's discover a secret trick to grow followers. ⬇
🕵️ The secret trick to increase your followers on social media:
You can share the links of your social media accounts with customers via mass text messaging. Since the SMS open rate is 98%, your customers will definitely see your message. To be more effective, you can incentivize them to follow you by offering coupons to followers. Here is a ready message example;
"Hello 🙌 Want to get 20% off on Small Business Saturday? Follow us on Instagram, get your 20% discount, and be notified of all our future deals. 🌈 Follow ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/ponyexpresshq/ - Pony Express HQ - Reply STOP to opt out”
Collaborate with others
Teamwork makes the dream work! Collaborating with other businesses can vitalize your business on Small Business Saturday. There are various ways to partner with other businesses:
● Partnering with complementary small businesses
● Partnering with multiple small businesses
● Benefitting from big companies
Let’s get into the details about partnering strategies on Small Business Saturday 2023!
1. Partner with a complementary business
A collaboration with a complementary small business can strengthen the community spirit and presence of your small business in that community. You can offer a reciprocal discount or coupons to customers in honor of this partnership and encourage customers to shop from both of you. If you have a boutique, you can partner with a shoe store. Or, if you have a diner, you can collaborate with an ice cream shop.
2. Partner with multiple small businesses
If you would like to go a step further, you can partner with multiple small businesses around the neighborhood and organize a common reward card for Small Business Saturday 2023. Customers would love it and be motivated to shop more from that small business.
3. Benefit from big and popular companies
Collaborating with other small businesses is a usual and easier way to emphasize the importance of small businesses for the economy. So, would you consider doing an unexpected and different thing on Small Business Saturday 2023?
If this idea makes you excited, you can try to partner with big companies instead of other small businesses. In this way, you can promote your business to a larger audience, and big companies can use this partnership as PR work. It’s a win-win! 🤝
🕵️ The secret trick to making the most of your partnership:
Even if you have the most incredible partnership for Small Business Saturday 2023, promoting that partnership appropriately is the heart of the matter. And the best way to promote your partnership is mass text messaging!
Do not wait for customers to notice your collaboration when they visit your store or website. Text customers in advance about your partnership and invite them to make advantageous purchases from you. Here is a message example:
“Hello! We’re so excited to announce the “Pony Boutique & Kim Shoes Partnership” for Small Business Saturday! 🎉 Purchase from our store and gain a 15% discount coupon to use on Kim Shoes. Valid until NOV 29th. Shop small and support the local economy! 💪 Details: www.getponyexpress.com/ - Pony Express HQ - Reply STOP to opt out”
“Hi {first name} 🙌 Want to gain a free item from a local shop? Get your reward card from our store, mark your points for each purchase from contracted shops, and get your special reward at the fifth point! Valid until NOV 28th. Details: www.getponyexpress.com/ - Pony Express HQ - Reply STOP to opt out”
Want to go simple?
If you prefer going from the simpler path, you can just text your Small Business Saturday 2023 deals to customers via business texting services. Mass text messaging is an easy and the most effective way to promote your business and inform your customers about your special offers. Here is a message example for Small Business Saturday campaigns:
“Hey {first name} 🙋♀️ if you’ve been eyeing products on our website, it’s the best time to buy! Use the SHOPSMALL code during payment, and get a 20% discount. This campaign is valid until the end of November. Discover products: www.getponyexpress.com/ - Pony Express HQ - Reply STOP to opt out”
To text your Small Business Saturday 2023 offers, you can use Pony Express HQ’s easy and affordable business texting service. You can examine our SMS marketing pricing or try it first with 100 bonus credits by signing up.
Also, if you want to learn more about mass text messaging, you can visit our blog: SMS marketing blog.
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In this article, we shared unique marketing strategies for small businesses to apply on Small Business Saturday 2023. We hope these strategies help you achieve your small business's big dreams.
Happy Texting 🤍
The Pony Express HQ Team
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