Small Business Week
Small businesses have been greatly affected by COVID-19. It’s small business week here in BC, Canada and we wanted to share some ways you can help support your local businesses. There are many ways to support beyond shopping in their space (which we highly recommend and well).
Online Business Reviews
There are many platforms that allow you to leave a review for a business. Search for your favourite local business and find their Google listing, Yelp listing, Facebook listing or otherwise and leave a review for them. Reviews help future shoppers choose where to buy and can bring more people into their space to shop. It takes about 3 minutes and is so helpful!
Holiday Shopping
With the holidays coming quickly it can be easy to default to larger brands or big wholesale retailers. Many local shops have online stores now making it super convenient to shop with them. Choosing to shop locally for your holiday gifts, food, and decorations can make all the difference for local businesses.
Purchase Gift Cards
Not sure what to buy? Maybe you know you’ll need something in a couple of months but not right now. Purchasing a gift card immediately helps a business and gives you the option of shopping at a later date when you do need their services or goods. They also make great gifts too!
Like, Comment, Share, Save
Social media is oversaturated and sometimes small businesses don’t have the funds to purchase advertising. Liking and commenting are great ways to boost a post on social media. The more likes, comments, shares, and saves a post gets the more that platform will prioritize the post for others to see. Right now sharing and saving posts is the best way to boost a post.
Recommendations
Someone is 92% more likely to trust a personal recommendation than an advertisement. If you know a friend who is looking for something, try to recommend a local option. This is the best form of advertising and has been for decades.
Tag
Visit a small business lately? Post on social media and tag them. Use location tags and direct tags to share with others who and where. Just like recommendations and sharing posts, tagging is a helpful form of advertisement.
Ask
Asking your local business how they are doing and what you can do to help is a fantastic way to learn their specific needs. It also shows them you care about them in a human way outside of them being a business. This can mean a lot to business owners who are struggling.
