Why we made Small Business Season even bigger this year

It’s hard to believe we are already in the second week of 2022, when it seems like only yesterday we were all singing carols and listing our New Year’s resolutions. 

The holidays are a special time for everyone. The lights, the snow, the coziness of the fire, dinner with family or close friends, and the exchange of thoughtful gifts are enough to melt most of our hearts. It’s also a special time for businesses, as shoppers are on the lookout for stocking fillers and businesses are making their year-end purchases. 

To put it simply, ‘tis the season when businesses need every bit of exposure to grab shoppers’ attention. It’s also when massive players with an abundance of cash to spend on marketing efforts have a significant advantage. 

Sticking to our mission to keep small business in business, we decided to chip in and help small businesses by creating paid ad campaigns to promote their products and services. We invited small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) from across the country to sign up for the campaign, using a dedicated budget and the expertise of our social media experts to help make their holiday season even more successful.                                                     

2021 was the second year we ran the Small Business Season campaign, and we were delighted to be able to help so many businesses.

Why we love doing this

Melio is guided by the same entrepreneurial spirit that’s at the heart of many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). We work year-round to help these businesses thrive by giving them technological payment tools previously only available to big players. But we wanted to do more.

Small Business Season allows us to put our money where our mouth is and prove that our mission of keeping small business in business is so much more than just pretty words. It lets us celebrate the hard work, diversity, and perseverance of the small business community. It’s also a chance to get to know the needs of our users (both existing and potential). 

Whether it’s a vintage bookstore, a vegan wine merchant, a company offering curated gift boxes, a family-owned restaurant, or an LGBTQ+ gaming nonprofit, we know every one of the businesses we help is motivated by the same love and passion that drives us.  

How it started

In 2020, Small Business Season was born as a way to help our users recuperate from the effects of Covid-19. At the time, we promoted 10 businesses in ads targeting people in their area who had a specific interest in their products. The results were heartwarming with tens of thousands of people exposed to each business. 

This year, we wanted to make an even more significant impact and really celebrate small businesses and their resilience and recovery. After all, SMBs are what we’re here for. 

What came next

We decided to open the campaign up to non-Melio users as well. So we set up a registration page, inviting businesses to sign up via email and our social media channels.

Within a week, around 200 small businesses signed up to have us design, plan, execute, and pay for ads to give them an extra holiday boost. 

Once copy and design were ready, our social media experts started defining the audience for each business based on demographics such as age, location, interests, and niche markets. The ads ran from early November up until Christmas. 

This strategy proved effective, reaching a total of 4.38 million eyeballs, an average of around 26,000 potential customers per business. It also garnered 41,000 clicks leading directly to the websites and e-stores of participating small businesses.
‍

That extra mile

The Small Business Season campaign brought in such great results this year that we just couldn’t get ourselves to stop there. To give participating businesses an extra boost, we decided to take two more steps.

The first was creating the holiday gift guide, where we provided overwhelmed gift shoppers with some top-notch ideas on what to get their loved ones from some of our favorite small businesses. 

The second was forming the Small Business Season Index, a mini-website listing every business that participated in the campaign. On the index, you can browse through the full list or organize the businesses by category to find exactly what you’re looking for. 

What we’re looking forward to

Our dedication to small businesses doesn’t begin and end with the Small Business Season holiday campaign, which is now an annual tradition. It’s what keeps us going throughout the years and will continue to be at the heart of what we strive to achieve in 2022. 

We’re proud of every small business across the country that’s constantly striving to offer the best products or services and serve as the backbone of the community and the American economy. 

We feel privileged to do our part for these everyday heroes and are excited to see what opportunities to help the new year will bring.