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Holiday Marketing 5: Share the causes you care about

By Becky McCray

Shopping bag labeled "Shift your shopping"We’re all using the same marketing theme this year: Shift Your Shopping. When we work together to spread the word, we’ll multiply how many customers we reach.

This week, the focus is on the causes you support.

Our ultimate goal is to build a stronger community for all your local businesses, and the charities you donate to and the causes you support are important to that. Let’s share that story with customers. You can do this on Facebook or Instagram, or in print ads you’re planning to run.

Look back through your bookkeeping. What causes have you given to this year? Pick the one that matters the most to you. Why does it matter to you? What’s so important about what they do for the community?

Write a three-sentence story about them. Be sure to tag them or mention them by name. End by saying, “Together, we’re making a better community. When you shift just a little more of your shopping to local stores, you help us all. #ShiftYourShopping.”

While you’re online, look up your fellow local stores. See if they have posted their mini-stories yet. When you find them, like and share them!

Here’s the bonus: You support and donate to a lot of causes. You’re not limited here. You can do as many of these cause mini-stories as you like!

Small Business Saturday

If you’ll be participating in Small Business Saturday in the US on November 28, stop by ShopSmall.com now to sign up to possibly get tote bags and other materials you can use to promote the day. The deadline is posted as November 16.

Shift Your Shopping is our group theme for holiday marketing this year. You have my permission to forward these articles to your local retailers, merchants association, chamber of commerce, downtown development group or any one else you think would benefit from them. All you need to do is list the author as Becky McCray of SmallBizSurvival.com and then let me know who you are sharing with.

Shift Your Shopping 2015 series:

  1. Picking your Holiday 2015 marketing theme
  2. Set your cover photos
  3. Spotlight a local business
  4. Spotlight on community
  5. Share the causes you care about
  6. Support your service providers
  7. Small Business Saturday
  8. Tell your founding story

 

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
  • Economic self defense for small towns  - June 7, 2020

November 9, 2015 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, ShiftYourShopping emails, shop local

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Trackbacks

  1. Holiday Marketing 6: Support your service providers says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:16 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

  2. Holiday Marketing 4: Spotlight on Community says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:18 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

  3. Holiday marketing 3: Spotlight a local business says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:18 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

  4. Holiday marketing 2015 – Set your cover photos says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:19 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

  5. Picking your Holiday 2015 marketing theme says:
    November 16, 2015 at 8:19 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

  6. Business idea starters | Rural New York Small Business Owner says:
    November 17, 2015 at 11:02 am

    […] Show your community spirit this holiday season by promoting via social media one of the community organizations you’ve supported this year. Write a three-sentence story that organization ending with a plug for shopping local. Click for language to use. […]

  7. Holiday Marketing 7: Small Business Saturday says:
    November 23, 2015 at 6:41 am

    […] Share the causes you care about […]

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