Saturdays are for Small Businesses

Saturdays are for Small Businesses

Every week, marketing agency Momentum Digital shares digital literacy with small Philly businesses

Jul. 24, 2018

There are 2 racks full of miscellaneous groceries against a dorsum wall in Joe'due south Pizza in Center Urban center, to the left of ii clear-faced refrigerators holding bottled drinks. Non long ago, Joe'due south operated only on the likes of pizza and hoagies made to order. "Now we have gelato from Italian republic, sorbets from Italian republic, all organic products from Sicily, oils, and cookies, and all things. We don't merely have pizza," says Casimira Villico, who owns the eatery with her married man Ernesto.

Joe'south Pizza has been turning out slice after slice at the corner of 16th and Sansom streets since well before Ernesto acquired the space thirty years ago. Information technology's always been a identify to go a traditional slice of pizza, but Philadelphia'due south recent growth has forced the Villicos to reimagine how they operate their shop. Pressed past more boutique and gourmet options in affluent Eye City, they decided to expand their trade as a way to stay relevant.

Selling competitive products isn't the only obstacle for small businesses today; so is the tumultuous task of transitioning to a world that's digital first, where word of mouth spreads through text messages and social media blasts. Oft operating on tight budgets and supported by family, information technology's businesses like Joe'south Pizza that find it difficult to adapt.

"Small-scale businesses are what run the economy," Frederick says. "They're the ones who don't understand digital marketing, but they're the ones who need information technology the about."

In late March, the shop received help for free from Momentum Digital, an agency that aids small businesses in performing amend digitally, whether that be through smarter web design, social media use, or search engine optimization. Over a year agone, Momentum introduced an initiative called "Small Business organization Saturday," with the goal of identifying and helping a different small-scale business in Philadelphia each week.

"I wanted a manner to connect and give back to the local customs and small businesses while likewise having a platform to educate the community on digital marketing," says Momentum founder and CEO Mac Frederick. For Joe'south Pizza, the agency put together a video that touches on the shop's history and day-to-twenty-four hour period routine. They also helped educate the Villicos almost how to all-time employ digital media to strengthen their business.

Since beginning, Momentum has helped over 65 businesses through Pocket-size Business Saturday, including the eating place Tattooed Mom on S Street, Stripp'd Juice in Former City, and Passero'due south Coffee Roasters in Center Metropolis. The Small Concern Saturday routine is the same for each business—at least a calendar week before a given Saturday, Momentum heads out to its business concern of the week with a crew of videographers, photographers, and other staff. It then produces a video and blog post that share the company'south story and information. Momentum also promotes the given business through its diverse social media platforms—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The assist goes both ways, though: Past helping businesses in Philadelphia, Momentum Digital, itself a local pocket-size business concern, gains a network of connections that know its quality and worth—and, hopefully, that spread the word to paying clients who tin help Frederick grow his own business.

Frederick brought Momentum into being after a stint at Google every bit a Small Business Account Strategist, where he helped modest businesses expand online while beingness affiliated with the internet giant. He had thought the Google gig would be his dream job forever. But leaving his position in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and moving to Philadelphia was "the best affair that ever happened to me," he says. With more time to focus on modest, vulnerable companies, he can at present provide value to those who need it most in the small-scale business organization community.

By helping businesses in Philadelphia, Momentum Digital, itself a local modest business, gains a network of connections that know its quality and worth—and, hopefully, that spread the discussion to paying clients who tin can aid Frederick grow his own business.

While working at Google, Frederick was exposed to the struggles that pocket-size businesses encounter when competing in a digital-beginning market, and gained an appreciation for the worth of those businesses. "Small businesses are what run the economic system," he says. "They're the ones who don't understand digital marketing, but they're the ones who need information technology the most. They can't afford a digital marketing agency, you know, they tin't beget to spend a thousand dollars or more than with you."

Momentum Digital, then, provides "a couple thousand dollars of value in hope to spread the message, spread awareness, and assist their business." The team at Momentum Digital learns nearly the small businesses it helps more often than not through word of mouth—example in point for why they need help with their digital marketing. For instance, Frederick was introduced to Cristina Espaillat, the founder of Northern Liberties fitness studio Sculpere, the focus of Small Business Sabbatum terminal week, at a Christmas party final year.

Villico praises the exposure her new marketing tools have brought for Joe's Pizza. Being able to consistently put out digital content "shows people that we are a real family unit-run business, and we're here working, and we're still in bear upon with the community and people that come in here day subsequently day, year after year."

Afterwards Momentum helped Joe'southward Pizza in March, Villico notes that she stepped upwardly her social media in lodge to be noticed. To brand the point, she pauses to photo a pile of pizza boxes on a nearby table, to mail online. "I'one thousand the older generation," she says, meditating on the style she interacts with social media. "And all these younger people—that's what they know."

Photo via Momentum Digital

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/saturdays-are-for-small-businesses/

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