HOW TO HELP YOUR SMALL BUSINESS FRIENDS FOR FREE

1) Follow Their Business On Social Media Following a business you love on social media can help more than you think. Most people who already use social media will follow the businesses they love already, but there may be a few local ones you haven’t thought to seek out. Followers on Instagram has always been a case of quality over quantity, but there are benefits to having a large following. A lot of small businesses rely on social media to grow. By having a large following, new potential customers see they’re a loved business. Therefore, they most likely have good products/services. Regarding engagement pods and collaborations, there are a lot of larger businesses and companies out there that will only work with a small business that have a certain number of followers. This collab could be for shout-outs, advertising, wholesale and so on. This partnership helps build the businesses number of followers, amount of engagement and in turn number of sales. There are other benefits to the number of followers you have too, once you hit 10k, you can attach links to your stories. This can help businesses massively with directing people to their store.

2) Tell Your Friends And Family Sharing small businesses via word of mouth is a great way to show your support. You’ll know what your friends and family like, and so by recommending them small businesses you also love and know they’ll enjoy, they’re more likely to check them out! They may even check them out to note future gift ideas for you, knowing how much you love them. So, when you next find a small business you click with, be sure to share it with those you know and the local community!

3) Leave Them A Review When you’re looking to purchase a new item, find a new restaurant to eat at or a new and fun day out, where do you look first? Usually, people look online first for reviews. These reviews help you and many others decide whether it’s worth the time and money. It’s easy to leave a review when you have a bad experience as you want others to avoid the same experience but make a big song and dance about good experiences too! These are just as, if not more, important. Good reviews are paramount to small businesses. So next time you visit a small business, whether online or in-store, think about leaving them a review! You can usually leave these reviews on Google or their Facebook Page. 4) Like And Share Their Posts The benefits of liking & sharing posts are like following them on social media. Businesses use social media to share products, get brand awareness and keep their customers up to date. By engaging with their posts, you help tell the algorithm that this is a business that people are interested in This results in getting their business in front of more people.

5) Give Them A Shout Out This point is a mix of leaving a review and telling your friends and family. Giving a small business a shout out is where you share them on your social media, tagging the business, and letting everyone know how much you love them and why. You become a cheerleader and advocate for the business. You could share a giveaway they’re doing, a new product launch, a sale, or just something you love about them. Perhaps they’re eco-friendly, and that aligns with your values? Whatever you choose to share, giving them some love and praise online can help boost their following online, and in turn, bring them more customers.

6) Use The Business' Hashtag When Sharing Them Online Most businesses will have a specific hashtag they use with their posts. Usually, it’s just the businesses name, but sometimes they’ll use a specific one for campaign awareness. You can find out what this is by looking at their recent social media posts, or simply by messaging them on social media. Perhaps they’re running a campaign on bringing awareness to their plastic-free products? Or maybe they’re a restaurant running a giveaway for an upcoming Valentine’s Day event? You can help the business by using their chosen hashtags when sharing. This helps the business get its key points across. It also shows new potential customers that they’re getting support from their existing buyers – which shows they must have something worth sticking around for!

7) Subscribe To Their Newsletter Newsletters are a great way to stay up to date with businesses. They often share news, products, services, information, and deals. Signing up to their mailing list is great because unlike social media, you don’t have to rely on the algorithm to show you their posts or for you to manually look them up. You get news about the business sent directly to you, which is extremely effective for small businesses.