This year’s National Small Business Week, from the Small Business Administration (SBA), is certainly going to look different than years’ past. The week celebrates and supports the American small business and its resilience and impacts on our economy.
“More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business,” notes the SBA, “and they create nearly two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.”
Here are five ways you can make the most out of National Small Business Week.
1. Offer a Small Business Week Deal
One great way to get people to notice your small business is to offer them some sort of discount or special. People will never tire of saving money, and a special or coupon may be the key factor that brings in new customers.
Make sure you get the word out through your various low-cost marketing channels like social media, Google My Business posting, and email marketing.
2. Provide a Free Resource
If you’re a B2B business, offering deals or coupons may not make sense for your business model. Instead, a free resource can help attract new customers and support current ones. The resource topic will vary wildly from industry to industry. Generally, you should offer your expertise on a topic related to your offerings that your target audience will find value in. This can include webinars, whitepapers, on-demand training, etc.
3. Pitch the Media
Your local news media can help you promote your business during Small Business Week—as long as you have an angle. Pitch the media and give them a hook. Have you been doing something creative to keep sales going? Are you offering new products or services? Think about the elements of your business that are “news-worthy.”
4. Team Up
A great way to get more out of Small Business Week is to partner with other businesses and cross-promote. This could be as small as offering to put a stack of their business cards in your store in exchange for being able to put yours in theirs. Or you could go bigger and hold a joint sale.
You probably won’t want to team up with your direct competitors, but find something in your same vein, like fitness centers with nutrition stores or restaurants with breweries.
5. Social Media
As you’re promoting your business on social media, it’s best if you can link back to a specific landing page about your Small Business Week deal or free resource. You’ll also want to use the appropriate hashtags to widen your reach.
There are effective tags to use for a wide reach like #ShopSmall and #ShopLocal, but try to also use the popular hashtags for your area. For example, in the Indianapolis area, you might use:
- #Indy
- #KeepIndyIndie
- #IndyFood
- #IndyBoutiques
And don’t forget to tag the SBA and use their official hashtag, #SBW2020
