In just five years, Small Business Saturday has become the ceremonial kickoff to the holiday shopping season for small businesses across the country. The fifth annual Small Business Saturday, set for November 29, is quickly approaching, and businesses are gearing up to make this year the biggest yet.
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To help encourage more neighborhood participation, American Express again partnered with leading national advocacy organizations to recruit Neighborhood Champions in more than 2,000 communities. These Champions will serve as ambassadors, organizing Small Business Saturday events in their neighborhoods and encouraging friends and family to shop small. Through this effort, Small Business Saturday events will occur in every corner of the country.
?The Neighborhood Champion program is designed to help small businesses rally their communities to shop small on the day,? said Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle, retail expert and Small Business Saturday spokesperson. ?Businesses in the program receive tons of resources to help them promote their Small Business Saturday events, including marketing materials and ?shop small? merchandise like stickers, doormats, balloons and tote bags.?
In addition to the Champion program, small business owners can take advantage of exclusive offers from Small Business Saturday Premier Partners to help promote their businesses and their events on November 29th. Below are some of the promotions being offered:
??? ???? This year,?Eventbrite, the marketplace for live events, will serve as the online hub for Neighborhood Champion activities. Event organizers can use Eventbrite to plan, promote and invite the community to?Small Business?Saturday?events?within their community. Offer terms apply and are available here.
??? ??? ?FedEx is a strong supporter of Small Business Saturday. FedEx is shipping Small Business Saturday merchandise to small business owners and Neighborhood Champions free of charge. Additionally, FedEx will spread the word about Small Business Saturday to businesses and consumer through social media and marketing channels. Also, FedEx Office is offering to print two free copies of the 11? x 17? printed poster available at ShopSmall.com to help small business with their marketing efforts. Offer terms apply and are available here.
??? ???? ?Microsoft is offering $100 in Bing Ad credits to small business owners to get the word out about their businesses. Small business owners can also prepare for Small Business Saturday with a Microsoft digital education pack containing online marketing tips and tricks. In addition they can also attend one of the education seminars to be hosted at select Microsoft retail locations across the country. Offer terms apply and are available here.
??? ???? Yelp is offering $100 in Yelp advertising credits to help small businesses grow their online exposure. In addition, small business owners can access a suite of free tools to maximize their online presence at biz.yelp.com. Offer terms apply and are available here.
