Small Business Saturday: Free Promotions to Help You Get the Most Out of November 26

"Nine in 10 Americans believe small business success is critical to the health of the U.S. economy, and Small Business Saturday translates this sentiment into dollars and cents for independent retailers." – Maryann Fitzmaurice, senior VP of American Express OPEN

Inaugurated last year, American Express’s Small Business Saturday aims to drive holiday shoppers into local, independent retail stores across the country on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 26, 2011). Building on last year’s success, sponsors across the corporate landscape have created promotions to make this year’s installment even bigger. For your convenience, we have compiled a list of free promotions whether you’re a curious small business or an excited shopper.

Small Businesses:

• American Express is giving $100 in free Facebook advertising to the first 10,000 business owners who sign up
• Google and American Express are partnering to offer My Business Story, a tool for companies to create and post free videos on YouTube about their businesses
• American Express OPEN is offering YourBuzz, an application to view and respond to customer reviews and online mentions from a centralized dashboard
• Constant Contact is offering Small Business Saturday-specific email marketing templates, webinars and marketing tools
• Fedex Office has announced a special 20% savings on all Small Business Saturday materials that are printed through FedEx Office Print Online
• American Express is offering free in-store signage and e-marketing materials
• American Express’s Small Business Saturday Facebook page is promoting offers customized by small business owners
• Experian has created an EBook entitled “Ten Tips to Maximize Small Business Saturday” to supplement a bevy of existing small business tools
• Twitter is making it easy for small business owners to place a “Follow” button  on their websites, so consumers will be able to follow them on Twitter with a simple click
• American Express is making it easy to reach customers through social media with its Go Social mobile service

Consumers:

• American Express is offering a $25 statement credit to Card members when they spend $25 or more at any qualifying small business
• FedEx will inject $1 million into the economy by distributing 40,000 $25 Shop Small American Express gift cards for use at small businesses on November 26^th
• Verizon is giving away $500 American Express Gift Cards to 100 people who enter to win on its Small Business Facebook page
• For every person who “likes” Small Business Saturday on Facebook, American Express will donate $1 to Girls Inc., an organization that empowers young women to be future entrepreneurs

For more information on how you can take advantage of these great promotions, go to www.smallbusinesssaturday.com. Also, be sure to support the retail firms that we have recognized for their growth and commitment to the inner city.

BY Sathya Vijayakumar on November 17th, 2011

TAGS: