We asked you to Engage Small and the team at 26Made is so happy that so many joined us in celebrating local small businesses, no matter where they are located.
In case you missed it, we chose five segments – Food, Main Street, Service, Creative and Non-Profits – to categorize small businesses and dove into how to engage with them most effectively. While each of these categories have their differences, we found a lot of similarities between them and how to best support them.
Here are some of the lessons we learned from our week-long introduction into what it means to #EngageSmall:
Solo Also Means Small
Small businesses are often comprised of a single service professional – a lawyer or a baker, for example. These solopreneurs complete the same business functions (invoicing, marketing, hiring, etc.) as their larger small business counterparts, so they shouldn’t be forgotten when choosing to #EngageSmall.
Tell Me About It
Recommendations, referrals and testimonials never go out of style and can have the most impact on driving business, to a small business especially. Sites like Yelp, Angie’s List and LinkedIn offer opportunities for you to help share why others should support their efforts as well.
The Importance of Positivity
Word of mouth still influences purchasers more than anything, and consumers are reading online reviews and comments more than ever. We encourage leaving positive reviews after outstanding experiences whenever possible. Stay tuned to the blog as we’ll be discussing how to leave a negative review soon!
Sharing is Caring
One of the easiest and cheapest things you can do to support a small business is share all you can about them on social media. That includes sharing a Facebook post to your timeline, an Instagram post to your Stories, retweeting one of their tweets, and so on. Building brand awareness can be difficult especially in the crowded digital landscape of social media, so sharing their posts helps them grow their online communities faster.
Cash is Still King
While there are many forms of support, spending money at or with a small business is the best way to support them. Consider how you can frequent small businesses for your purchasing needs instead of depending on larger corporations. From day-to-day necessities, gifts for birthdays and holidays or a night out on the town, when you #EngageSmall on a regular basis, the impact is felt throughout the entire community.
Remember to use the hashtag #EngageSmall when interacting with your favorite small businesses on social media. We want to help you celebrate the small business community all year long!
Alicia Hansen is a Cleveland born, raised and educated marketing professional, writer and event producer. Her event credits include work with Cleveland Magazine, the Arthritis Foundation, Playhouse Square, Great Lakes Theater, the Cleveland Metroparks and more. Previously as L’Nique Specialty Linen’s marketing director, she played an integral role elevating the brand awareness of the organization with recognitions like L’Nique’s Top Workplaces awards from The Plain Dealer in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She teaches yoga at GrooveRyde, Platform Beer Co. and at pop-ups around Northeast Ohio. You can find her spreading a realistic yet hopeful look on life on her social feeds (@aliciamhansen) and her blog, aliciamhansen.com.
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