How to Support Small Businesses During the Holidays in 2021

We started this business over four years ago with a deep desire to provide professional marketing services to small businesses in our valley. Fast forward to 2021 and you’ll find us working with organizations big and small, but those mom-and-pop shops continue to be at the very heart of what we do. It has always been important to patronize your local small businesses, but these days it can mean the difference between keeping their doors open or closing for good.

We’ve put together a list of quick and easy things you can do to support your favorite shops during the holiday season:

1. Make a Micro Commitment

Look, we know how easy it is to pop into your Amazon app and knock out your entire Christmas list in one fell swoop – we’re guilty of this ourselves. But this year we encourage you to make an intentional commitment to shop locally and stick to it! Here are some examples of “Shop Local” commitments you can make this year:

• • Purchase all of your stocking stuffers locally
  • Purchase all of your gift cards locally
  • Purchase all of your children’s gifts locally
  • Purchase all of your Christmas décor locally
  • Only purchase local wine for the month of December
  • Create your Christmas charcuterie from exclusively locally-made products
  • Order your Christmas morning pastries from a local bakery
  • Purchase your gift wrapping supplies from local shops

2. Share on Social Media

Many people get their best gift ideas from the internet, so why not throw some local options in the mix? The easiest (and free-est) thing you can do to support local businesses this holiday season is to share their content on your social feeds. One of our favorite things to do is to create a local gift guide in our Instagram stories, tagging our favorite local businesses and encouraging others to do the same. Every share, every like, every tag goes a long way towards increasing exposure for local shops who might not have a huge marketing budget.

3. Gift Certificates

Gift certificates are a classic option for those on your list who are the most difficult to shop for. This year instead of your go-to big box gift cards, try branching out to a local spot. The recipient doesn’t live nearby? No problem! Just make sure their gift cards can be redeemed in their online store. Another not-so-obvious benefit of purchasing gift cards is they bring the recipient into the store where they might end up spending even more money locally.

These are just a few ways to support your local business owners this holiday season. Even if it’s not reasonable for you to purchase 100% of your gifts locally this year, we encourage you to do as much as you can. Not only do these businesses need your support to keep the doors open, but you can often find gifts that are more unique and meaningful than anything you could order from some rando online.

If you are a local business and need help getting the word out about your holiday offerings, drop us a line! We’re here to help.