How to support a local business – without spending a penny!

This morning I had a delightful Tin Cup Cowboy iced coffee (3 kinds of chocolate!) at R&R Coffee Cafe in Black Forest.  I know Ryan and and Danielle from Twitter and they’re pretty cool people that have a pretty cool local business that I’d like to support, even though I don’t get out for coffee very often!

But, it got me to thinking about ways to support local businesses, and there are a lot of things you can do to help a local biz without spending anything:

Like them on Facebook

If they’ve got a Facebook page, why not give a favorite local biz a click on the “like” button?  They’ll appear in your stream and will probably give you the latest on the new stuff they’re doing, and maybe a discount or two (if they’re smart! :)).  When you like them, it will probably appear in your friends’ Facebook streams as Carrie Isaac likes R&R Coffee Cafe, which spreads the word about the business with a single click!

Write on their wall and upload photos

It’s cool to be “liked” on Facebook, but what’s even cooler is when people like you enough to take a second to upload a pic of their kids drinking coffee at your coffee shop, or write on the Wall and tell them what a great experience you had.

Tag them in your Facebook posts

It’s really awesome to “tag” a local business when you update your status on Facebook.  Say, for instance, you’re going to make all your friends jealous that you just had an incredible Tin Cup Cowboy at R&R Coffee Cafe.  You can link to their Facebook page by typing the @ symbol before the name of their Facebook page:

If you like the business’s page, it will appear in a little dropdown below the text box.  Click on their name, and when you finish updating your status, it will appear with a link to their Facebook page – which encourages your friends to check it out and like them, too!

Share their deals with Springs Bargains

I can’t promise to post every deal that’s submitted, but if it’s a bargain, I love to send local businesses some love by posting their sales and discounts!  Feel free to contact me when you hear about a local business that’s having a sale and I’ll consider posting it.

Any other creative ways to support local businesses? I’d love to hear!  And if you feel like spreading a little love to an online local business, here’s the Springs Bargains Facebook page. :)