Small Ways to Be Seen in Big Ways on Small Business Saturday
With November 26 just around the corner, Small Business Saturday is coming up sooner than you think. While it may sound like a big task to show up and be seen tackling this national movement, every journey begins with a few small steps. Here are some easy ways to make your presence known this Small Business Saturday.
Share Social Content from ALGV360⁰
If you’re familiar with ALGV360⁰, you know there are few resources out there as robust as this one-stop marketing shop. This year, we’re supporting Small Business Saturday for our partner agencies with new graphics, memes, and content that you can download and post on your social media channels. Everything is already sized to the specs of the different channels, so getting your name and message out there is as easy as hitting that “Share” button.
Show Love from Your Clients
We’re sure you get effusive thank-you emails from some of your favorite customers, whether they’re frequent fliers or newlywed honeymooners. Go back and look at them … then hit “reply” and ask if they would be okay with you publishing parts of their email! You can post the quotes to your social media channels, and even better if they send you a photo to put up along with it. Make sure you tag them so that their own friends see it, too!
Ask Your Customers to Spread the Word
Again, tap into your existing happy client base and ask them if they’d be willing to write a quick Google, Yelp, or Facebook review for your agency. We know this can feel uncomfortable, so we actually created a templated guide (including subject lines and email copy you can use!) to make it easier to ask for the review. Click here to get to the story, where you can just copy and paste your choice of wording into your email service.
Check Your Local Community Networks
Local Facebook groups are amazing for community opportunities. Put up a short post in the ones you’re part of (think PTA groups, hobby and special interest groups, even local food and dining groups) reminding them that Small Business Saturday is coming up and that you’re the proud owner of one. Tag your agency’s Facebook page in it to make it easy to gain new fans. However, please keep a few social media etiquette notes in mind to ensure that your post doesn’t get flagged for deletion or taken the wrong way as spam. We offer some tips here to keep you from those pitfalls.
Show Your Clients They’re On Your Mind
Maybe it’s been a while since you made contact with some clients. Maybe some clients have recently returned from a trip. Either way, Small Business Saturday is a good time to let them know their vacation experience is always on your mind. Reach out to recent ones asking how their vacation was and if they have any feedback or new preferences for you to keep in mind for your next one. Send a short, personal “thank you” and “how are you” note via snail- or email to say you were just thinking about them since you recently booked a similar vacation, and that you and your small business just wanted to say hi. You’ll be surprised at how meaningful your clients will find this gesture!
Hashtag the Smart Way
For Facebook, the most recent guidelines are to use one to two hashtags that are specific and relevant to your post, 11 for Instagram posts, and no more than two for Twitter, as more can actually decrease your engagement. Of the tags you use, there should be one that you use consistently for your business. As in, “please use this original, business-specific hashtag for all of your posts.” Host Agency Reviews has some great recommendations for branded agency hashtag ideas, top performing travel hashtags, most common Small Business Saturday hashtags, and niche-specific hashtags.
Looking for easy, ready-to-go marketing material for Small Business Saturday … and beyond? Bookmark www.ALGV360.com for all of your sales support needs. We have a travel agency-specific Small Business Saturday media package you can download for plug-and-play use, plus flyers, social media posts, and more for nearly every sale. Make sure you sign up for an account with ALGV360⁰ to access all of this FREE material!
