S.O.B. (Small Owned Business) Marketing

If you’ve ever felt the pressure to be the face of your business, constantly creating content, sharing your life, and putting yourself out there, this episode is for you. We dig into the personal brand vs. logo-led brand debate and the bigger question behind it: What kind of business do you actually want to build? A small business that is built around you or a small business that is able to stand on its own? Because building a personal brand isn't just a marketing decision, it's a business and lifestyle decision, too.  

Even if you personally aren't a fan of AI Chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Grok - you WANT your small business to get recommended in their search results because that can lead to more sales.  But how do you even start to measure your AI "visibility"? In this episode, we share a four-lens framework for figuring out whether your business is showing up in AI chatbots like Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, Claude, and more. If you're a small business owner who wants to stay visible, stay informed, and stay ahead of what your customers are doing - listen to this episode. You'll get a clear, practical starting point for understanding how AI might already be affecting your business. 

Google Search Console just got a lot more interesting for small business owners. Google is giving businesses new insight into how their content shows up across search and that includes the growing connection between your website, social media content, and the way people discover you in search. In this episode, we discuss Google Search Console - what it is, why small business owners need to be using it and the 2026 update that'll convince you to start using Google Search Console immediately (if you're not already). If you want to see how well your website and social media content is working to attract people to your business, this episode is for you.

Small Business Saturday is a fabulous opportunity to increase your sales, but it's not enough to ask people to shop with you just because you're a small business! In this episode, we share questions you can ask to help you identify what makes your product, service, or experience different and how you can give shoppers a real reason to choose you before the holiday rush hits. If you’re a small business owner planning on participating in Small Business Saturday or trying to get ahead of the holiday season, this episode is for you!

There is MONEY to be made on Small Business Saturday! Estimates are that around 62.7 million people shop in-store and about 63 million people shop online. While this episode was originally shared in 2023, the strategies we share to increase sales during this small business specific holiday are more relevant than ever in 2026. Listen as we share practical planning tips, marketing strategies, and the importance of using data to drive your decisions to maximize success during the holiday season.   Don’t forget to like, subscribe, follow, leave a review - and please consider supporting this podcast at buymeacoffee.com/sobmarketing.   Want to talk marketing with us? Join our S.O.B. Community! A membership includes: A weekly hour long Zoom call with marketing professionals (Vivian & Chelsea) to talk shop or answer any questions you may have when it comes to marketing your small business.  An extensive library of tutorials  A community of like minded small owned businesses Free downloads and templates for you to jumpstart your marketing Join our 𝐒.𝐎.𝐁 (𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬) 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: https://www.skool.com/sob  ____________________ Chapters: 03:05 Understanding Small Business Saturday 08:53 Planning for Small Business Saturday 09:45 Omnichannel Marketing Strategies 16:51 Creating a Seamless Customer Experience 17:51 Preparing Your Marketing Campaign 21:05 Leveraging Email Marketing 24:27 Personalization in Marketing 32:07 Inventory Management for Seasonal Sales 34:04 Competing with Black Friday Sales 40:54 The Power of Gift Cards 44:06 Maximizing Visibility for Small Business Saturday ____________________ 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓: Podcast Sponsorship Inquiries: https://sobmarketing.com/contact  Support This Podcast: buymeacoffee.com/sobmarketing  𝐒.𝐎.𝐁 (𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐎𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬) 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲: https://theseasonedmarketer.myflodesk.com/sob S.O.B. Marketing Merch: https://theseasonedmarketer.com/swag-shop/ Episode Transcripts: https://sobmarketing.com/blog  Sign Up For Our Email Newsletter: https://theseasonedmarketer.myflodesk.com/nb0wpptjjt    ____________________ If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be helpful! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://sobmarketing.com   This podcast is brought to you by THE SEASONED MARKETER. For more free marketing resources, follow us here: **Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSeasonedMarketer **Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theseasonedmarketer **Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theseasonedmarketer   COLLABORATION REQUESTS TO: [email protected]