10 Free Ways to Help Your

Want to know one of the easiest ways to make a small business owner ridiculously happy?

Help their business grow.

Want to know the best part?

You don't actually have to spend any money to do it.

Now, don't get me wrong. We absolutely want you to shop small. We're still a business. The electric company has yet to accept Facebook Likes as payment, which I personally think is very inconsiderate of them.

But buying something isn't the only way to support a small business.

Sometimes money is tight. Sometimes you don't need anything. Sometimes you absolutely love a business that's three states away. Sometimes you just can't make it in during their hours.

That's okay.

Because there are things you can do from your couch, while you're waiting in the school pickup line, or during the 45 minutes you somehow lost scrolling Facebook that can genuinely help a small business.

And every single one of them costs exactly $0.

1. Hit the Like Button

We'll start with the easiest.

You see a post from a small business you like?

Like it.

That's it.

You don't have to think of anything clever to say. You don't have to buy whatever they're showing. Just give that little button a tap.

When people interact with a post, it gives social media platforms a signal that people are interested in it. That can help the post reach more people instead of disappearing into the social media abyss.

One tiny click from you can help put that small business in front of someone who's never heard of them.

Not bad for something that took half a second.

2. Leave a Comment

If you've got another five seconds, leave a comment.

And please don't feel like you have to come up with something brilliant.

“I love this!”

“My grandma had one of these!”

“Okay, I NEED that.”

“How much is it?”

All perfectly acceptable.

Better yet, if the business asks a question in their post, answer it.

When we ask things like:

What are you hunting for right now?

Which one would you choose?

Would you have brought this home?

We're not just tossing questions into the universe because somebody on the internet told us we need a “call to action.”

We actually want to know.

Your answers help us learn what our customers like, what you're looking for, and what kind of things you want to see from us.

And meanwhile, that conversation is helping the post.

3. Share Their Posts

This one is HUGE.

You can have the best small business in the world, but that doesn't help much if nobody knows it exists.

When you share a small business's post, you're putting it in front of people that business might never have reached on its own.

You're essentially giving them free advertising.

And let me assure you...

Advertising is definitely not free for the business.

See an event your friends would enjoy? Share it.

See something hilarious? Share it.

See an item and immediately think, Susan would lose her mind over this?

Send it to Susan.

That one share could introduce someone to their new favorite business.

4. Tag Your Friends

Speaking of Susan...

Tag her.

Your friend collects Pyrex and you see a small business post a gorgeous set?

Tag her.

Someone asks where to find vintage furniture?

Tag the flea market you love.

Someone needs a custom cake and you know exactly who they should call?

Tag that baker.

A simple recommendation from someone you trust carries a lot more weight than a business saying:

“Hi! We're wonderful! Please believe us!”

Of course we think we're wonderful.

We're a little biased.

5. Save Their Posts

This one gets forgotten.

If you see something you're interested in but don't need it right this second, save the post.

Maybe it's an event you want to remember.

Maybe it's an item you want to come back and look at later.

Maybe it's a project idea.

Maybe payday is Friday and we're currently on Tuesday.

No judgment here.

Saving makes it easy for you to find the post again, and it can also tell the platform that somebody thought that content was valuable enough to keep.

6. Leave a Review

This might be one of the most valuable things on this entire list.

If you've had a great experience with a small business:

Tell people.

Think about how often you check reviews before trying somewhere new.

We do it for restaurants.

Hotels.

Stores.

Contractors.

Products.

Basically everything.

Your review can be the thing that makes someone who's never visited say:

“Okay, let's try this place.”

And you don't have to write an essay.

A few sentences about what you genuinely liked is plenty.

Actually, specific reviews can be even more helpful.

Instead of only:

“Great place!”

Try:

“There was a huge variety, everyone was friendly, and we spent two hours looking around and still didn't see everything.”

Now someone reading that review knows a little more about what to expect.

Your five minutes could bring that business customers for years.

7. Post About Your Experience

You do not need to be an influencer.

You don't need 10,000 followers.

You don't need a ring light.

You don't need to point at floating words while dancing.

Thank goodness.

If you visit a small business and find something you love, snap a picture.

Show off what you bought.

Post your meal.

Share the antique you found.

Take a picture at the event.

Tell people you had a good time.

And tag the business.

Your 300 Facebook friends might include exactly one person who's been looking for a place like that.

That's all it takes.

8. Follow Their Pages

This sounds obvious, but it matters.

If there's a small business you genuinely like, follow them.

You'll have a better chance of seeing their events, new inventory, sales, announcements, behind-the-scenes nonsense and whatever else they're putting out into the world.

And yes, follower numbers matter to businesses too.

They can help with credibility, reach, growth and—on some platforms—even access to certain features and opportunities.

One follow seems tiny.

A thousand people deciding their one follow doesn't matter?

That's a thousand followers.

9. Recommend Them When Someone Asks

This might happen completely outside the business's own page.

Someone posts:

“Where can I find antiques around here?”

Tell them.

“Anybody know someone who makes custom tumblers?”

Tag your person.

“What's something fun we can do Saturday?”

Recommend that local event.

“Where's a good place to find affordable clothes?”

Send them somewhere local.

Small businesses survive on word of mouth.

Social media just turned word of mouth into something that can reach hundreds—or thousands—of people at once.

Never underestimate the power of saying:

“You should check this place out.”

10. Engage With the Posts That Aren't Trying to Sell You Something

I saved this one for last because I don't think most people realize how important it is.

Small businesses hear constantly that we shouldn't just post:

BUY THIS. BUY THIS. BUY THIS.

We're supposed to entertain you.

Teach you something.

Tell stories.

Show behind the scenes.

Make videos.

Answer questions.

Show our faces.

Start conversations.

Be funny.

Be relatable.

And apparently master approximately 37 social media platforms while simultaneously running an actual business.

So we try.

And ironically, those posts often take way more time to create than snapping a picture of something with a price tag.

If your favorite business makes something that entertains you, teaches you something, makes you laugh, tells you an interesting story or gives you a peek behind the curtain...

Interact with it.

You're telling them:

I like this. Keep doing this.

And believe me, we're paying attention.

Probably obsessively refreshing the analytics and pretending we're not.

Ashley's Two Cents

I started paying much closer attention to our social media recently, and there's something I've realized:

Those little interactions don't feel very little from this side of the screen.

Running a small business means constantly throwing ideas into the world and wondering which ones are actually working.

You take the picture.

You make the video.

You write the post.

You hit publish.

And then...

You wait.

Did anybody care?

Was that funny to anyone besides me?

Did people actually find that interesting?

Am I talking to myself again?

Then somebody comments.

Someone shares it.

Someone tags their friend.

Someone tells us they came into the market because they saw something we posted.

And suddenly that time didn't feel wasted.

Yes, engagement can help us reach more people.

Yes, social media can eventually translate into customers and sales.

And yes, on some platforms, content itself can even become another source of revenue for a small business.

But there's something else that doesn't show up on an analytics screen.

There's a human being behind that business page.

There's somebody taking pictures between customers.

Making videos after closing.

Writing posts from their couch.

Answering comments while eating dinner.

Trying to figure out why one video got thousands of views and the next one apparently got shown to six people and somebody's cousin.

So when you take ten seconds to interact with something they created?

It matters.

Your $0 Small Business Challenge

Here's my challenge for you.

Pick one small business you genuinely love.

It doesn't have to be us.

Go to their page and spend 60 seconds supporting them.

Like a couple of posts.

Leave a real comment.

Share something you think your friends would enjoy.

Tag somebody.

Or, if you've had a great experience there, finally write that review you've been meaning to write.

Total cost: $0.

And you may have just helped that business reach its next customer.

That's a pretty incredible return on absolutely nothing.

And if The Old Pioneer happens to be one of those small businesses you choose...

Thank you.

For every Like.

Every Comment.

Every Share.

Every Review.

Every Tag.

Every Follow.

Every time you've told someone, “You need to go check that place out.”

And every time you've taken a few minutes to sit down and read one of these Conversations with the Old Pioneer.

You're helping this business—and this little blog—grow.

And I appreciate it more than you probably realize.

Now go make your favorite small business owner's day. It won't cost you a dime.

— Ashley