Have you ever thought, “I really like the idea of supporting small businesses but I can’t afford to constantly make purchases.” As a small business owner myself, I can tell you that some of my best supporters actually have NEVER made a purchase from my store. Yet I acknowledge and am incredibly appreciative of their support.
There are many ways to support small business without spending any money. Here are a few:
- Like/comment on their social media posts. This helps their content be seen by more people so you’re actually helping them reach more potential customers just by saying, “I love this colour!”
- Share their posts in your Instagram/Facebook stories. This is a non-committal, low profile way to share with your friends some awesome products and services. Instagram also made it super easy to do it – just click on the paper airplane icon next to “comment”!
- Refer your friends! Word of mouth referral is gold for small businesses. The next time someone mentions, “Hey, I’m thinking about doing renovations…” Jump in and say, “I know a guy!”
- Want to know what else is gold? REVIEWS. A Facebook or Google review goes a long, long way. Small businesses with reviews help them show up on search engines. The next time you have a random minute, write your favourite small business a review!
- Love the content of a small business? Tag other friends who might enjoy it too!
- Send the business owner a message and tell them they’re crushing it! Running a small business is hard work and even though we try to make everything seem perfect on screen, it’s really a chaotic, scrappy process behind the screen. Words of encouragement let us know that we are doing something right!
- If you already have a product, send the small business some photos and tag them if you post their product. Small business owners spend a huge chunk of time taking photos for their social media so it is AMAZING when the customer provides us with them. You won’t believe how much time you just saved us!
It doesn’t matter how many followers you have. I would rather have my content featured on a small account with real, dedicated followers rather than being lost on a massive influencer account. You might think you’re not doing much – but that quick like or review is really helping boost a small business so THANK YOU!
Peace, K&S
For The Small 