Promote Yourself for Small Business Saturday
***I rewrote this post for 2024 and it’s much more useful, plus includes a free Holiday Marketing Calendar for you. Check it out here!***
Comparing Small Business Saturday and Black Friday
Should you offer a sale for Small Business Saturday? Or do you prefer to participate in Black Friday? Both can be used to draw foot traffic, clear inventory, build brand recognition or loyalty, and boost sales. But there are also some differences:
| Small Business Saturday | Black Friday |
|---|---|
| More values-driven creating a positive brand image | More main-stream |
| Might need more effort to promote, unless it’s a big thing in your community | Customers are on the hunt for sales and many plan to spend $$ this day |
| Small shops are highlighted but the day itself can be overshadowed by Black Friday | A small shop can be overshadowed by larger retailers |
Ultimately, the decision to participate in a Black Friday sale or a Small Business Saturday sale should align with your business goals, target audience, and available resources. For either day, it’s vital to prepare a solid plan and implement it. Both your social media and your website play a huge role in this.
Create a Strategic Sale or Deal
Whichever day you choose to focus on, it’s critical to be strategic about your offer. Anyone can slap a 20% off sticker on something, but you are better than that!
First, set one goal for the day. Some concrete goal ideas you could use to adapt to your business include: increased foot traffic, # of sales, $$ sold, new customers, loyal returning customers, brand visibility, community recognition. It is tempting to say “well, they’re all important!” While that’s definitely true, it’s not going to get you to a strong marketing campaign. So for this one day, which one do you choose as the most important?
Next, choose a strategic offer to help your meet the goal you chose. Again, adapt the offer to your specific customers. Some examples of standout offers include: free samples in store, % discount on everything in store, bundled items (as gifts or to use together), first time customer % off, returning customer gift with purchase, gift raffled to anyone who buys (or brings a friend), partner with other shops for an offer, or donate a % to a local non-profit, extend the return window until after the holidays, or even offering free hot drinks to have a cozy shopping experience.
Promote Your Sale
This is my favorite part: time to promote your sale and your business. Some people think that slapping a post up on the day itself is sufficient but if that’s your “strategy,” you’ve already lost.
At Least 2 Weeks Before: Tease it. This is your time to let folks know that something special is coming up. Make sure your audience knows what Small Business Saturday is, if that’s your day. Let them know why it’s important to you, and share your excitement for the sale you’re planning.
One Week Before: Release it. Let people know what the special deal is that you’ve got for them. Share it every single day. You should be promoting your sale teaser and then the offer everywhere in all formats: reels, graphics, and carousels, story slides and you talking, newsletter tease, offer, and reminders, your website on the front page and individual sales items, physical announcement in-store. And anywhere else that your customers would run across it.
Promote it until you’re sick of talking about it, and then talk about it some more. Remind yourself that your customers aren’t seeing everything you’re putting out, so they’re not sick of it. Secondly, remember that customers need to see your offer at least 7 times (many sources estimate that it’s many more times these days) before they’ll take action, so… keep going.
Time for Action
So here’s your plan:
- Choose whether to participate in Black Friday or Small Business Saturday
- Set a goal and create your sale or deal
- Promote, promote, promote!
If you need help with any of these steps, let’s talk! Whether you need a power hour or full Makeover, I’m here for it.
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