New website, photo contest to help with Small Business Saturday

VerticalResponse has announced the launch of a new microsite to help local merchants take advantage of Small Business Saturday on Nov. 24. The company is a provider of marketing solutions for small businesses and non-profits including email marketing, social media marketing and event marketing.

The Small Business Saturday microsite offers a bevy of free resources and ideas to help independent small businesses make the most of Small Business Saturday, a national movement urging shoppers to support small businesses during the holiday season and beyond.

Now in its third year and led by American Express OPEN, Small Business Saturday falls between Black Friday and Cyber Monday; this year, it lands on Nov. 24. According to a recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and American Express, nearly half of small and independent businesses plan to participate in Small Business Saturday and use it to attract customers.

The survey also found that 67 percent of respondents plan to offer some sort of discount or promotion on Nov. 24.

The new VerticalResponse Small Business Saturday microsite features:

A photo contest that highlights small businesses across the country. Simply submit a photo of the business owner in front of his/her company for a chance to win a $100 American Express gift card and 5,000 VerticalResponse email marketing credits (a $50 value).
Five free Small Business Saturday-themed email and event marketing templates, to help small businesses promote their participation and offers to their email list subscribers.
A checklist with marketing ideas and to-dos for every week in November leading up to Nov. 24, including ideas on what to do after the big day. Pre-written Facebook posts and Twitter tweets for every week in November. To save time, businesses can schedule these posts and tweets in advance using a social media management and publishing tool such as VerticalResponse Social.

“American Express has done an incredible job carving out a special day specifically for small businesses,” said Janine Popick, VerticalResponse CEO/founder. “Shoppers will be out in full force looking to ‘shop small’ on Nov. 24, and we want to make sure small businesses around the country are taking advantage of this amazing opportunity. Our Small Business Saturday microsite has lots of tips and ideas and everything is free – you don’t need to sign up or be a VerticalResponse customer to get them.”