This year marks the 13th anniversary of Small Business Saturday, an annual event created by American Express to encourage consumers to shop locally at businesses in their own communities. The event has generated a little less media attention in the past few years, but a new partnership between American Express and TikTok might turn that around.
The two companies are teaming up on #ShopSmall Accelerator, a video toolkit designed to help small and midsize businesses promote themselves on Small Business Saturday and throughout the holiday shopping period. The toolkit includes resources for connecting with younger shoppers, including guides for how to use TikTok’s video creation platform during the holiday season starring popular social media influencers like Sofia Bella and Anna Sitar.
TikTok will also be offering eligible SMBs a $100 ad credit after they spend $50 on their first TikTok Ads campaign.
TikTok has changed the online marketing landscape for SMBs over the past few years. Although Facebook is still the primary social media channel for local businesses, TikTok’s influence is growing quickly.
According to a 2022 survey by the SaaS support service Hello Alice, 67% of small business owners said TikTok helps them tell their business stories in creative ways. Among those business owners who are already using TikTok for marketing, 58% said the platform has positively affected their businesses and 78% said they plan to increase their TikTok marketing investment.
According to American Express’ own data, 82% of small business owners on social platforms have increased their presence on social channels over the past year, and SMB owners attribute 57% of their overall sales to Gen-Z and millennials.
A major part of the #ShopSmall Accelerator program will reportedly involve teaching SMB owners how to use TikTok as a search engine and how to leverage communities, hashtags, sounds, and trends to drive engagement. Throughout the month of November, the @AmericanExpress TikTok account will be sharing content featuring small businesses.
“More and more American small businesses are turning to TikTok to take us inside their world in a fun, authentic way and, as a result, they are reaching new customers, hiring more employees, and growing their business,” said TikTok Global Head of Business Marketing Sofia Hernandez in a statement. “The real-world impact is undeniable.”
Forty-four percent of TikTok users say they have discovered something on the platform, according to the company’s Global Retail Path to Purchase study.
Small Business Saturday has been occurring annually since 2010, and partnering with TikTok this year is a signal that American Express is looking to bring new life to the event. The #ShopSmall Accelerator program is intentionally focused on helping SMBs reach a younger generation of shoppers.
