The September Small Business Support Campaign for the Promotion of Small Businesses

Instagram campaign to spotlight local small businesses throughout September helps create greater visibility for thousands of businesses as Australia’s two largest states remain under COVID-19 restrictions .

Almost 20,000 Instagram posts used the hashtag #supportsmallseptember, but campaign creator Tori Packer estimates the number is closer to 50,000 if Instagram stories are also counted.

Packer is the founder of The Small Business Community, an Instagram collective with over 32,000 followers, created in April 2020.

The small business community was born out of Packer’s desire to help Australian small businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the country. As an “extremely passionate” elementary school teacher, Packer says she knew she had the ability to bring people together.

“To be honest, I wanted to help; he was born from a place of compassion, â€she says. SmartCompany.

“It absolutely broke my heart that businesses in my local regional community, as well as across the country, are collapsing. And while I didn’t necessarily have the means to buy from all of them, I knew I could create a voice for them.

The Support Small September campaign is an “amplified version,†Packer says.

“I knew that if I could get all Australians to show their support through the powers of social media, business owners would feel less alone and defeated,†says Packer.

“It would give them power. It would give them strength. It would show them that with our support they will come out on the other side.

The September campaign encourages all Instagram users to post on a new small business every day, using the hashtag #supportsmallseptember, and small business owners themselves are also using the tag to market their business to a bigger audience. public.

Packer also encourages Instagram users to follow all accounts that catch their attention in the campaign and in the run-up to Christmas, to “think small before shopping at global companies.”

While Packer says she wants to encourage people to buy into these small businesses if they can, the campaign goes way beyond that.

“A lot of people can’t afford to buy, so instead, at least for now, it’s been very intentionally designed to cost nothing,†she says.

Packer ran a similar campaign in September 2020, which she said “lifted the spirits of thousands of small business owners and their families” and helped business owners feel “heard and supported.”

She now plans to continue running the September campaign each year, with the goal of increasing its reach and impact each time.

The small business community is a “passion project†for Packer, who volunteers his time to manage it, with the help of a friend who also volunteers his time.

The community is currently free for small businesses, with Packer sharing small businesses daily to help promote them at no cost.

However, there are plans to introduce a paid membership tier, called The Small Business Family, which will offer a mentoring program for business owners.