Small businesses are such a wonderful way to shop. Variety, service, one-off items; there are so many reasons to shop small.
The last few years have been rough - worse than rough - for lots of people. Lockdowns, cost of living increases, energy prices, economic uncertainty. Not everyone can afford the time or money to shop small all the time.
But did you know there's plenty more you can do that doesn't need to cost loads?
1. Follow small businesses social media; Instagram, Facebook, even TikTok.
2. Save their posts, particularly on Instagram. This helps the algorithm to identify accounts that are gaining popularity, and make it more likely to show the posts to more people.
3. Like their posts; again algorithm-friendly, and it's more likely these posts will show up up in the feeds of your friends or followers.
4. Share with friends, either their social posts, or actual face to face conversation. Again, this helps with exposure to a - possibly - appropriate audience.
5. Comment on their posts. Sometimes, starting out, it can be a little like talking to no one when there's no engagement on your posts. While you grow your audience and generate more organic interaction, those comments really help, and it's another way to help potential customers too.
6. Tag a friend. If there's a specific person that you think would love a post or product - tag them! They might be really pleased, and we bet the business will be!
7. Leave a review. There's loads of research that shows people trust the opinions of strangers more than those of their friends and family. So your review really does help. If possible, highlight some of the things that this store does well, that customers may worry about. For example - was the delivery fast? The packaging very thorough? The product excellent quality. Those kind of comments are gold dust to small businesses!
8. Feedback. If you're happy, tell the world, if you're not - tell the business so they can improve. But it's great to tell them you're happy too.
9. Buy something small. That would be lovely, thank you! Most small businesses will have smaller items to buy - our prices start from under £10 which hopefully wont break the bank, and most small retailers will offer a wide range of price points.
Is there anything else that you can do to help small businesses? We'd love to hear at hello@onlynicethings.co.uk