Five small businesses receive makeovers

There were more than 50,000 votes cast for the American Express Big Break for Small Business competition, and five businesses have been chosen as the winners.

The Fall 2012 American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor revealed that 41 percent of small business owners are planning on increasing small business marketing efforts through popular social media sites.

The businesses selected by American Express were Hendrick Boards in California, Dick Pond Athletics in Chicago, The Produce Box in North Carolina, Casale Jewelers in New York and Dutch Monkey Doughnuts in Georgia.

“We’re looking forward to meeting each of these hometown heroes,” said Laura Fink, vice president American Express OPEN Social Media and Shop Small. “Many small business owners are on Facebook but are unsure how to utilize all that the platform has to offer – we are here to help.”

The businesses that were announced as the winners will soon have a marketing expert from American Express OPEN and Facebook travel to each of their cities to develop an in-depth marketing and strategy plan.The companies will also receive $25,000 in cash to put the strategies recommended by the marketing experts into action.

Winners will also receive training on best practices using Facebook pages, ads and social plugins. The entrepreneurs will receive consultation on how they can maximize their current use of Facebook, which will help the winners rally their communities during the third annual Small Business Saturday on November 24.

Business 2 Community recently gave tips for small businesses that are trying to improve their marketing efforts, highlighting the tip to optimize their marketing efforts and track every tool they use to expand their business.