How can you help support a small business?
When you support a small business, however you may choose to do it, you are helping to grow someone’s dream and the power of this - and how much of a boost it can be - should never be underestimated.
An entrepreneur is someone with a dream, a vision, the desire to change their life and do something that makes them happy. But behind that is a huge investment that goes much further than the glossy exterior you see on their website, blog or social media feed. The endless hours perfecting camera angles, answering enquiries, building networks, choosing suppliers, promoting themselves and sleepless nights worrying about whether they got it right or what they could have done better. And this is without even mentioning the time spent actually perfecting their art in the first place. It’s a huge leap of faith and that’s why your support means so much.
In the practical sense….
The great news about this is that much of what you can do will cost you nothing more than a few seconds of your time and here are some great ideas of ways you can show how much you care…
Engaging on Social Media
Social media platforms, Facebook in particular, use algorithms to decide which posts take priority on news feeds. The main reason for this is to reduce spam and only show items that are of interest. The bottom line is the more interaction a post gets, the higher the score it is given in the algorithm and therefore a higher priority.
Now I’m not suggesting that you like and share everything that you see on Facebook, but how many times have you actually seen something you like but scrolled on taking no action? What about if next time you see something you like, then physically ‘like’ it rather than just thinking it? If you see something you think is cute then comment ‘that’s cute’ – these are really small actions by you but they are massive when it comes to promotion, especially for small businesses who are struggling to compete for your attention.
If you’re interested in a further breakdown of how this works then read on…
Liking a Post
This has the least weighting when it comes to algorithms but it’s still important and better than no interaction at all. It’s an action that you might take when you think, “hey, I like this, I appreciated seeing it in my news feed, but I don’t really have too much of an opinion on it or I’m a bit busy right now to comment on it.”
Commenting on a Post
Because this involves a bit more commitment from you, any comments contribute more highly to the overall ranking of a post and will do more to promote it in people’s news feeds. It is something you might do if you really feel strongly enough about something to have an opinion on it.
Sharing a Post
When you do this, it’s quite a forceful action you are taking. It’s an endorsement of the post and a public statement that you strongly agree or disagree with it and want your friends and followers to know that and also consider their own feelings towards the post. Needless to say, sharing a post gives it a much higher ranking than any other action and this is why you sometimes see promotions encouraging you to take this action. If you’re happy to participate then do it – it only takes a few seconds.
Reviewing Products
The other main action you can take to help someone to promote their business is by reviewing products that you have bought from them. If you love something, tell the maker you love it. If you really really love it then tell the world. Write a review on their page, in their online shop, post a picture of your product in situ… all of these things are massive when it comes to a small business.
There is nothing more powerful than your participation. Thanks for reading :)
