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Local businesses are the heart and soul of every community. While you may not always be able to make a purchase, there are several ways to support local businesses without spending a single cent! Let’s talk about a few ways to be impactful and show your support.
Supporting Local Businesses Without Spending Your Cash
1. Engage With Local Businesses on Social Media
As social media use continues to increase, one of the easiest things to do is follow and engage with your favorite local businesses on their channels. Showing your support by liking, sharing and commenting provides valuable insight to business owners.
Unlike many other forms of marketing, social media is uses as an awareness tool rather than gathering leads for new customers. Sometimes business owners don’t fully understand how important their social media channels are, so when you engage with their content, it helps show the value.
If a business uses a specific hashtag, make sure to use it if you’re creating a post about that business. This allows the business to easily find your post as well as other individuals searching that hashtag.
2. Write a Review
Online reviews explain a lot about a customer’s experience, which is why reviews are helpful to both business owners and other people researching a business online. Whether your experience was positive, negative or neutral, each review tells a story.
Believe it or not, business owners can use negative or neutral reviews to make improvements to their business. However, make sure your review is detailed! The worst thing you can do is leave a review and not explain the problem. Not only will this leave the business owner confused, but it’s not useful to people reading reviews.
3. Subscribe to Email Content
If you want to stay up to date on everything a local business has to offer, be sure to subscribe to their email list! You’ll receive the latest updates directly to your inbox, which is convenient to you as a reader as well as helpful to business owners sharing the latest information.
If you enjoy getting updates from local businesses and want more context around them, emails provide more detailed information than a traditional social post would. Emails are often able to be more customized based on how much you engage and read. So, if you’re a loyal reader, the content will be even more customized!
4. Word of Mouth Referrals
Although the world is moving toward more digital forms of communication, word of mouth referrals are still a popular way to recommend local businesses. While many people trust online reviews, recommending a business to family, friends or coworkers adds a personalized touch that reviews tend to lack.
If there’s a particular local business that you recommend, such as a hair salon, ice cream parlor or antique shop, snap a photo of their business card with your phone so you can easily pass this information along through text, email or on social media.
Final Thoughts
Local businesses rely on support from their community to remain open. Sometimes the best support can be free, so don’t feel obligated to always make a purchase. Spreading awareness helps bring new customers into the business, which ultimately can be more valuable in the long run.
If you’re strapped for cash and can’t make a purchase, consider engaging with businesses on social media, writing reviews, subscribing to email content or giving a word of mouth referral.