How to Piggyback Off of Millions of Dollars of Advertising During the Holidays Paid for by Big Corporations - for Free!

Building Your Business And Bringing the noise on Small Business Saturday

Many businesses are chomping at the bit to get in front of new customers on Black Friday, but there’s a special day happening this week I want to draw your attention to. (And nope it’s not Thanksgiving!)

It’s Small Business Saturday!

If you’ve never given Small Business Saturday much thought when crafting your marketing strategy, then it’s time to change that. 

What I love about Small Business Saturday is that it’s literally a day for the public to focus on shopping with small businesses. 

Major companies like American Express run tv ads on Small Business Saturday so you can ride their coattails by piggybacking off their promotion. 

Here’s what I mean by piggybacking off a promotion. 

Remember when the Barbie movie came out and all of a sudden everybody, everywhere was promoting Barbie and wearing pink? Literally even businesses that looked like they had absolutely NOTHING to do with Barbie, were all of a sudden hopping on social media decked out in pink jumpsuits. 

That’s what I mean by piggybacking. You’re hoppin’ on their promotion to promote your own stuff. 

So literally, it’s the perfect day for you to take advantage of the eyeballs that will already be glued to small businesses during this shopping period. 

So if you have nothing planned for your marketing yet for Small Business Saturday, you don’t have to spend much time whipping something together to post online. 

Because I’ve actually included a prompt for you to use right inside this email. We’re making this easy peasy for you to post and get it done!

Here’s what you can do…

Post a heartfelt message on social media or send a message out to your email list. Just let people know that you’re here. 

The heartfelt message should talk about the Small Business Saturday holiday along with Black Friday, results you’ve created or what you’re about, and give them a direct call-to-action. (For new businesses, you may want to shy away from this. I explain why down below.) 

The message should sound very casual like it’s coming from you and not a business. Here is the prompt, but you remember, this should sound like you. So change whatever you’d like to make it sound like your brand.

Alright now here’s your Small Business Saturday prompt to get the creative juices flowing. There’s one if you have a local business, service-based business, or even if you’re a new business owner. 

Let’s choose your adventure!

Prompt for the Local Business

(Note: Remember to include some location specific hashtags in your post so that your post is more likely to get in front of people in your area.)
Image or Video

Post a simple image or video of you inside your store or place of business. The video could show you prepping for business, or just day to day activities. 

Message

It’s been a busy holiday. I’ve had so much to be thankful for this year. Family, friendships and because it’s Small Business Saturday, I have to mention how grateful I am for my customers. 

I’ve had so many people picking up the (INSERT NAME OF POPULAR PRODUCT), it’s warmed my heart!

BTW, while you’re out shopping this weekend, come see us at (INSERT ADDRESS). We’re (STATE YOUR MAJOR HOLIDAY PROMOTION YOU HAVE) and we’d love to see your face and give you a holiday hello.

Prompt for the Service Business

Do an image or video: 

Post a picture of you after dinner on the holiday or a short video of you with family.. 

Message: 

Wow what an incredible week it’s been! 

There are so many things to be thankful for! First for the amazing delicious food I ate. For my loving family… And since today is Small Business Saturday, I have to be thankful for the incredible results my clients have seen this year!

Like (INSERT FIRST NAME OF PERSON) who (STATE THE RESULT THEY ACHIEVED) without (STATE WHAT PAIN THEY REMOVED)

(INSERT FIRST NAME OF PERSON) got (STATE RESULT THEY GOT)

And (INSERT FIRST NAME OF PERSON) who said they were (STATE SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT WHAT THEY SAID) by taking my (INSERT NAME OF SERVICE/PROGRAM) 

Working with them through my (INSERT NAME OF SERVICE/PROGRAM) has been an incredible honor!

And since it’s Small Business Saturday I would be doing you a disservice if I weren’t helping more people get these types of results. 

Which is why today I'm only having a (STATE WHAT YOU’RE PROMOTING) for the (STATE TYPE OF PERSON) who wants to (STATE THE RESULT THEY WANT).

You can check it out here / Link in bio

Last but just as important…For the New Business Owner

(Note: I would recommend posting this to your business social media account and sharing the post from your business account to your personal account.)

Image: 

Show a nice holiday picture of you with your product or doing your service

Message: 

Wow, I’ve realized just how grateful I am for so many things this holiday. I have a loving family, supportive friends, and since it’s Small Business Saturday, I’m also so thankful to say that I finally mustered up the courage to start my new business [INSERT NAME OF BUSINESS] where I [STATE WHAT YOU DO OR WHAT YOU OFFER].

It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve realized it truly takes a WHOLE lot of bravery to start a small business. That’s why many entrepreneurs who take the leap need our support. 

So, just like I plan on doing today, while you’re shopping, make sure to give small businesses some major love. Shop with them. Support them on social media. 

(Note: I have two different calls-to-action you can use. For option #1 - you may want to hold off on this next section until you’ve gained some traction with your social media account. Why? It’s best to give at least twice before asking people to take action.)

CTA Option #1 - I’d absolutely be delighted if you gave me a follow as well. It’s a small gesture that means so much to business owners like me.

CTA Option #2 - BTW, check out my (website/profile/product) and let me know what you think. The link is in the bio.

Everything That’s Special

For your Small Business Saturday Message: Make sure to use the branded hashtag #shopsmall and incorporate some emojis in your post. Here, I’ve grabbed a couple of festive ones for you to copy and paste. 

🦃 🎄 🍁 🍂 🛍️ 🥂 🙏 🎁 💳

🎄🎁 BTW: If you are like me and struggle to find some cool unique gifts for your family and friends, Meta’s Small Business Holiday (or Smalliday) Guide shows you some pretty cool places to shop at for XMas. Link to Gift Guide

🎧 Business podcasts I’m loving right now: Jim Fortin's Transform Your Life From the Inside Out. Link to Podcast

🌇 Fun places to explore: If you haven’t taken your family to Disneyland during the Fall yet, this cute video on Youtube shows you what the magical kingdom looks like during the holidays. Plus, the video has adorable Disney music so that you can have it playing around the house for your kiddos during the holiday festivities! Link to Video

🙏 Lovely prayer over your business today: I pray that your business flourishes faster than you ever dreamed possible. In Jesus name, amen!