Small Business Saturday Gets a Social Media Push, Are You Supporting Indie Businesses Today?

Sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is the relatively new Small Business Saturday, a shopping day which essentially does what it says on the tin.

While unlikely to receive nationwide prominence due to some of the factors that drive those looking for Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals, 2011 still seems to be a tipping point year for Small Business Saturday. Although it doesn’t have massively prominent websites to give it exposure (Etsy being a notable exception, allowing small businesses to compete on much the same e-commerce level as larger retailers do for high-discount shopping days), it does have a lot of grassroots support on sites like Facebook and Twitter where users proudly tout their participation in the holiday and urge fellow Americans to shop local and support small merchants. Also lacking on the coast-to-coast exposure front are national circulars like the ones that come with the Sunday paper, but it does seem the word-of-mouth support given to Small Business Saturday is significant.

Although I tend to buy indie when I can, I’ll admit to being late to the Small Business Saturday party- but when I opened the page three days ago (and “liked” it, as you should do to expose the concept to your friends if you support it) I was staggered by how many people are fans of Small Business Saturday on Facebook. Currently the count sits at 2.7 million plus fans, and 21 of my friends like the initiative. Interestingly, American Express OPEN, the company’s small business division, is responsible for the creation of Small Business Saturday- but even if you don’t dig on big corporations, the worst side effect is increased revenues in the hands of independent businesses.

Do you plan on supporting small businesses this holiday season? Have you bought gifts or other things from indie retailers so far today or in your overall holiday preparations?