These Local Businesses Got Eyeballs On a Budget: ‘Put Us On the Map With 2 Million Views’

Six of America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops® share the marketing strategies that gave their businesses a visibility boost. By Frances Dodds | Sep 22, 2026 This story appears in the September 2026 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe » Of course, every small business dreams of going viral. We’ve all heard it’s the easiest, cheapest way to turbocharge your marketing overnight. And while that may be true, even an army of social media consultants can’t guarantee that will happen. So, for most small local business owners, a steady, thoughtful, personal marketing strategy wins the day. We asked six of America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops about their biggest marketing successes. As you’ll see, some of these businesses have found the biggest returns from offline campaigns, in the real world. Others have had certifiably viral moments, but only in the midst of doing what they had always done: Highlighting what made their business genuinely unique. Get behind the sugary scenes. Schimpff’s Confectionery – Jeffersonville, Indiana“For years, our traditional approach to marketing was to tell people about our candy. But then we started posting short videos of our candy being made — pulling, cutting, shaping, and finishing hard candy. The thinking was that you can buy candy anywhere, but you can’t watch a fifth-generation candy business make it by hand on antique equipment. That changed the way we market Schimpff’s. People who have never heard of us become curious. They share the videos with friends, tell us about visiting Schimpff’s with their grandparents, or make plans to come to Jeffersonville and see it for themselves.” — Owners Steve and Beth Shepherd Image Credit: Courtesy of Schimpff’s Confectionery Flowers for Dreams – Chicago, Illinois“Our best marketing has been mission-driven. A few in the past year included our annual City Hall bridal giveaway, when we gave bouquets to couples at City Hall in downtown Chicago. We also did a ‘Give Them Their Flowers’ series on Instagram, where we brought bouquets to nonprofit heroes in our community and highlighted the work that they do. And we always have a neighborhood drive happening at the front of our store, where we collect clothes, food, etc.” — Owners Steven Dyme and Joseph Dickstein Image Credit: Courtesy of Flower for Dreams Identify niche markets, and go to them. Gadzooks Salon – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania“Our marketing focuses on hyper-niche specification and real community outreach. We identify local markets and meet them where they’re at, whether that’s online, in newsletters, or in person. For National Nurses Week, we made posters featuring unexpected imagery (soap suds hairdos) and did giveaways like hair clips and hand cream that could directly help the nurses during their shifts. A huge benefit of these micromarketing techniques are the relationships we’ve been able to build. Our posters lived in break rooms across many hospitals in our area.” — Owners Kim and Scott Myles Image Credit: Courtesy of Gadzooks Salon Create intriguing looks. Dead People’s Stuff – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma “Early on, we teamed up with the Killers of the Flower Moon live production. There is a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio slams our custom stained-glass door. We posted it on Instagram, and it ended up getting 654,000 views. That seemed like a lot — but our most successful post was actually just a quick panoramic video of all our stained glass doors and lights, which got 6.2 million views. We also have three interstate billboards that are very minimalistic, with just our name and logo, which really drive a lot of customers passing through our state.” — Owners Curran and Marymar Fudge Image Credit: Courtesy of Dead People’s Stuff Staci’s Sandwich Joint – Verona, New Jersey“When I opened Staci’s Sandwich Joint at 41, I jokingly called it my ‘midlife crisis baby.’ I started sharing my journey on social media. I didn’t have a strategy. I simply shared what made me happy. Along the way, I found myself highlighting restaurant owners who came into the shop. Heidi Blum was the first local influencer to visit. Then Mohamed Traore, better known as @mostasting, stopped in. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but after he featured our sandwiches in one of his videos, everything changed. His video put us on the map with 2 million views on all of his platforms.” — Owners Staci and Robert Puleo Image Credit: Courtesy of Staci’s Sandwich Joint Join your local industry association. Salmon Berry Travel & Tours – Anchorage, Alaska“The most successful marketing we ever did was joining Visit Anchorage, our convention and visitors bureau in town that markets Anchorage to the world. They have volunteers that welcome visitors and provide suggestions for things to do, and there is a monthly meeting where we share our new or popular tours with these ambassadors. Becoming a member was a singularly smart investment. In addition, we are members of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, which provides a global reach with statewide attention.” — Owners Candice McDonald Kotyk and Mandy Garcia Image Credit: Courtesy of Salmon Berry Travel & Tours Of course, every small business dreams of going viral. We’ve all heard it’s the easiest, cheapest way to turbocharge your marketing overnight. And while that may be true, even an army of social media consultants can’t guarantee that will happen. So, for most small local business owners, a steady, thoughtful, personal marketing strategy wins the day. We asked six of America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops about their biggest marketing successes. As you’ll see, some of these businesses have found the biggest returns from offline campaigns, in the real world. Others have had certifiably viral moments, but only in the midst of doing what they had always done: Highlighting what made their business genuinely unique. Get behind the sugary scenes. Schimpff’s Confectionery – Jeffersonville, Indiana“For years, our traditional approach to marketing was to tell people about our candy. But then we started posting short videos of our candy being made — pulling, cutting, shaping, and finishing hard candy. The thinking was that you can buy candy anywhere, but you can’t watch a fifth-generation candy business make it by hand on antique equipment. That changed the way we market Schimpff’s. People who have never heard of us become curious. They share the videos with friends, tell us about visiting Schimpff’s with their grandparents, or make plans to come to Jeffersonville and see it for themselves.” — Owners Steve and Beth Shepherd Image Credit: Courtesy of Schimpff’s Confectionery Flowers for Dreams – Chicago, Illinois“Our best marketing has been mission-driven. A few in the past year included our annual City Hall bridal giveaway, when we gave bouquets to couples at City Hall in downtown Chicago. We also did a ‘Give Them Their Flowers’ series on Instagram, where we brought bouquets to nonprofit heroes in our community and highlighted the work that they do. And we always have a neighborhood drive happening at the front of our store, where we collect clothes, food, etc.” — Owners Steven Dyme and Joseph Dickstein Image Credit: Courtesy of Flower for Dreams Identify niche markets, and go to them. Gadzooks Salon – Bethlehem, Pennsylvania“Our marketing focuses on hyper-niche specification and real community outreach. We identify local markets and meet them where they’re at, whether that’s online, in newsletters, or in person. For National Nurses Week, we made posters featuring unexpected imagery (soap suds hairdos) and did giveaways like hair clips and hand cream that could directly help the nurses during their shifts. A huge benefit of these micromarketing techniques are the relationships we’ve been able to build. Our posters lived in break rooms across many hospitals in our area.” — Owners Kim and Scott Myles Image Credit: Courtesy of Gadzooks Salon Create intriguing looks. Dead People’s Stuff – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma “Early on, we teamed up with the Killers of the Flower Moon live production. There is a scene where Leonardo DiCaprio slams our custom stained-glass door. We posted it on Instagram, and it ended up getting 654,000 views. That seemed like a lot — but our most successful post was actually just a quick panoramic video of all our stained glass doors and lights, which got 6.2 million views. We also have three interstate billboards that are very minimalistic, with just our name and logo, which really drive a lot of customers passing through our state.” — Owners Curran and Marymar Fudge Image Credit: Courtesy of Dead People’s Stuff Staci’s Sandwich Joint – Verona, New Jersey“When I opened Staci’s Sandwich Joint at 41, I jokingly called it my ‘midlife crisis baby.’ I started sharing my journey on social media. I didn’t have a strategy. I simply shared what made me happy. Along the way, I found myself highlighting restaurant owners who came into the shop. Heidi Blum was the first local influencer to visit. Then Mohamed Traore, better known as @mostasting, stopped in. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but after he featured our sandwiches in one of his videos, everything changed. His video put us on the map with 2 million views on all of his platforms.” — Owners Staci and Robert Puleo Image Credit: Courtesy of Staci’s Sandwich Joint Join your local industry association. Salmon Berry Travel & Tours – Anchorage, Alaska“The most successful marketing we ever did was joining Visit Anchorage, our convention and visitors bureau in town that markets Anchorage to the world. They have volunteers that welcome visitors and provide suggestions for things to do, and there is a monthly meeting where we share our new or popular tours with these ambassadors. Becoming a member was a singularly smart investment. In addition, we are members of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, which provides a global reach with statewide attention.” — Owners Candice McDonald Kotyk and Mandy Garcia Image Credit: Courtesy of Salmon Berry Travel & Tours Frances Dodds is Entrepreneur magazine's deputy editor. Before that she was features director for Entrepreneur.com,... 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