Iowa’s small businesses are joining in a national campaign to urge shoppers to put small locally owned stores on their radar this weekend.

Rather than attempting to compete with big-box stores on Black Friday, small retailers are targeting the following day, Nov. 27, for the first “Small Business Saturday.”

The campaign, created by American Express Co.’s small business unit, has attracted more than 950,000 followers on Facebook.

Kristin Kunert, Iowa state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said Small Business Saturday will focus attention on the heart and soul of the state’s economy.

“You’re going to hear a lot about people getting up early the morning after Thanksgiving and lining up outside the big chain stores, but small business is really what drives our economy and keeps it healthy,” Kunert said in a press release.

“Small businesses account for 96 percent of all employers in the state, and they employ 52 percent of the state’s private-sector work force,” she said, citing figures from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Hopefully, once shoppers finish with the chain stores, they’ll shop at small, locally owned businesses,” Kunert said. “They’ll find things they won’t find anyplace else, and they’ll help the local economy.”