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Small Business Saturday, which is held on the last Saturday of November, encourages consumers to shop at local businesses. The holiday lands right after Thanksgiving and is an unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season. The shopping day is a perfect time to leverage the power of influencers to reach your audience. Aren’t sure what kind of Small Business Saturday influencer marketing campaign to produce? Here are some examples that you can adapt for your brand.

Offer a discount code

Shoppers are ready for deals after Thanksgiving, so consider asking an influencer to promote a particular product and offer a discount code. 

Pro Lash gave beauty macro-influencers HalleSoSwag a unique 10% off promo code “HALPAL10” to post on TikTok, along with a video of her applying the fake lashes. Your brand could do something similar, with a holiday-themed promo code.

@hallesoswag

@ProLash The cutest lashes! Code ‘HALPAL10’ for $$ off! #ad #sponsored #thatfirstlookfeeling #prolash #athomelashes

♬ original sound - hal pal ⁉️

Sponsor a recipe

Over the holidays, if you’re not thinking about gifts, you’re thinking about meals. From family dinners to holiday baking parties, now is the time to sponsor a recipe. 

You don’t have to be a food brand to do this either. You could offer recipes for drinks, slime, dog treats, or even DIY stain removers. If there’s a way to incorporate one of your products in a recipe, go with it. 

Country Natural Beef partnered with mid-tier influencer Erin of The Wooden Skillet to make these mouth-watering steak tacos during grilling season. Try something similar with a holiday twist. 

Help people get “party ready”

The end of the year means holiday parties. From work gatherings to family events with long-lost relatives, everyone wants to look their best. Can your brand help? You could sell tablescapes, beauty products and accessories or offer meditation or catering services. Odds are, there’s a way your product or service can help holiday-crazed planners get ready. 

Skin-care line Augustinus Bader partnered with influencer Sarah Wolak, who showed her followers how her skin improved over two weeks with the brand’s moisturizer. The brand then repurposed the content on its TikTok account. 

@sarah_wolak

Wasn’t messing around when I said I’d show my two week progress!!! This stuff rocks 😭 AD @Augustinus Bader #greenscreen

♬ original sound - Sarah🦋

Capitalize on a trend 

Most social media platforms have a tool that allows you to find out what’s trending at the moment, providing you with an opportunity to capitalize on the buzz if you can act quickly. 

Candy maker Sour Patch was already a step ahead on the “Stranger Things” trend when it launched its limited edition version of the sweet treat. The brand pushed the product out on TikTok in July 2022, having renowned food artist Nikk Alcaraz of Practical Peculiarities create a video of a pull-apart dessert from the “Upside Down.” 

In November, review the social trends and see if there’s a way you can tie your brand to them. You can also check out IZEA’s Holiday Marketing Trend Report.

Make a blooper reel

Planning a local holiday commercial? If so, consider using the outtakes as another advertising tool. 

Charcoal giant Kingsford sponsored this hysterical outtakes reel featuring Oneya D’Amelio, a celebrity influencer known as “Angry Reactions.” Fans loved it, and the content excited them to watch the commercial when it was released months later.

Of course, you need to find the right local influencer for this kind of campaign, but it’s a good way to get some extra mileage out of a commercial shoot. 

Send an influencer to a store

Drive traffic to a brick-and-mortar location via a Small Business Saturday influencer marketing campaign during the holiday season.  

Mod Pizza wanted to showcase the friendly staff and interior of its franchise locations, so it sent influencer Naki Carey to her nearest location to give followers a tour. 

You could do something similar. Ask influencers to go on a holiday shopping tour of your store, or restaurant. Maybe they go gift shopping for their spouse or pick out holiday decor for a party. 

Make it funny

The right holiday humor can hold cross-generational appeal; possibly even enough to help your campaign go viral. 

When global developer Westfield wanted to make an impression, it hired gymnasts to create funny videos in its malls. The gymnasts, including mid-tier TikTok influencer Ash Watson, then posted their content on TikTok with the hashtag “#DontTryThisAtWestfield.”

You can adapt this idea to fit the holiday season. Think of a way to incorporate a funny holiday story or make fun of a common holiday stressor. Perhaps your product or service provides the solution. 

Make your product secondary

It may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes selling does best when it takes a back seat to the viewers’ primary interests. Find an influencer you want to work with for a holiday campaign and consider making your product endorsement secondary to the influencer’s usual content. Such was the case with JD Lee, who partnered with pajama brand Sioro to create her usual home decorating video on YouTube while wearing her gifted pajamas. The micro-influencer, whose content rarely varies from home decor shopping, interior decorating, and cleaning, opened her living room tour with a pitch about the benefits of elegant pajamas. In describing the comfort, color and fit, she helped garner plenty of compliments in the comments on both her home and the Sioro loungewear.

Put these eight tips to work in your Small Business Saturday influencer marketing campaign. With a little creativity and the right influencer, you’ll capture the attention of your target market and boost your #SmallBusinessSaturday sales.

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