Small Business Saturday is a recent invention of American Express that aims to bring the benefits of holiday shopping to small, local businesses. This year, SBS is scheduled for November 30, which is the day after Black Friday. While traditional, big box retailers own Black Friday, and e-commerce outlets own Cyber Monday, small businesses can shine on Small Business Saturday.

How can Small Businesses make the most of it?

For shoppers, the idea is simple – head down to main street and bring your wallet! For businesses, here are a few things you can do to make the most of Small Business Saturday.

• Participate in Amex’s initiatives. Amex has tremendous power and reach, of course, so participating in the event to the fullest extent will maximize your benefits. Signing up and use the marketing materials found here, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful Small Business Saturday.

• Hold an event. It’s doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just something to make the day more interesting and drive a bit more traffic (e.g. free holiday cookies). You don’t have to go crazy with plans and promotions, either. A simple sign on the door will do. Other than that, you can do whatever makes the most sense for your business. It’s a day to celebrate small businesses, and you’re a small business owner, so do what feels right!

• Leverage social media. Small Business Saturday is a nationwide event, but remains an inherently local phenomenon. Connect with your social media followers and network, and get your community buzzing and excited about Small Business Saturday. For something like this, it isn’t too much to ask people to spread the word, either. Share and retweet requests are totally fair game.

It’s also a great idea to connect with your neighbor businesses over social media as well. This is a chance to promote your entire local community, and to bring people together. Cross promotions, or even a community-sponsored event (if you can make one happen in time), would be good ways to harness the power of the local network.

For additional resources, check out the federal Small Business Administration’s page here.

And if you’re ready to get in on all of the mobile, digital strategies suggested there, we can help (but you probably already knew that).

Good luck this Small Business Saturday, small businesses. We’ll see you at the register!