9 Marketing Strategies for Black Friday

When you are planning your marketing strategies for Black Friday, it can be overwhelming. The decision-making process involves: budgeting, choosing the right ad network, and determining when to begin your campaign. You want to be sure that you are reaching out to as many shoppers as possible — not just on the day of the event — but throughout the entire season.

Here Are 9 Marketing Strategies That You Can Use to Make This Your Season

1. Have a Black Friday Email List Ready

Black Friday is the unofficial kick-off to the holiday shopping season. Black Friday marketing encompasses everything from your website to social media ads, but there’s one thing that often gets overlooked: building an email list of customers who may be interested in future discounts. Your email list is your lifeline to a customer. It’s the first place they’ll come to when they want to purchase something, check out your blog/newsletter, or download products. It’s where you can give them the best deals on offers like free shipping and free gift cards.

The best emails are not mysterious; they clearly communicate the offer and the price slashes the brand is offering, as the customer is there for the discounts. Events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are time-sensitive events, and your email’s content should project the same. Using words like – ‘Only for the next 24 hours, ‘Limited Stock’, ‘The Best Deal just for you,’ ‘Biggest Savings of the Year, ‘ and other magic marketing words can create a sense of FOMO and urgency to take action.

Building an email strategy during Black Friday is one of the first steps that you should take for the upcoming season. You can build your entire customer journey with follow-up emails, push notifications, and even target ads on any and all relevant products you want your customer to buy during the holiday season. If you are from the retail industry, here are some amazing pre-build journey templates, and you can even learn how to create one using them.

2. Plan Your Popups

Black Friday popups are the best way to spread the news of your Black Friday sale across the internet. These popups look attractive and eye-catching on your website. Suppose you are one of these marketers who are starting up Black Friday campaigns. In that case, you must use the techniques to gather email addresses, emails, and phone numbers from your website visitors who have visited between November 24 and November 25 and then showcase them with the most relevant offer.

An excellent way to sell more products is to use BOGO Promotions. BOGO promotions allow you to clear excess inventory and attract new customers. Keep in mind that converting a sale is easier if both items are priced relatively close together. That way, people will be more likely to purchase both items and have the chance to win one of them from your promotion.

3. Creating a Sense of Urgency

Start off your Black Friday online sales campaign by creating a countdown timer. This turns scarcity into an offering. Place the timer on your website’s homepage and make it easy to find. If you have a blog, link back to it to drive traffic and encourage readers to visit on Friday, then find out when the sales will start (you can check with your editor or the like).

4. Strengthen Your Social Media

According to Sprout Social’s Advanced Social Listening tool, there was a 21% increase in total Black Friday mentions on social from 2020 to 2021, suggesting the enthusiasm for the retail holiday continues to grow. Social media is the primary source of communication and can be effectively used in different ways to attract potential buyers. Black Friday is a day of high consumerism, and Social media has played an essential role in this process. The first thing you can do on Black Friday is to announce your sale on social media platforms, keeping in mind the channels they interact with the most.

Adding discounts and offers is common but aiming for strategies like Giveaways help you stay connected with your long terms social media followers. Another strategy to focus say for your e-commerce business would be around setting up an Instagram store, which allows the customer to not even leave the platform to claim the special Black Friday Deal.

5. Optimize Your Website

People expect a fast and responsive website in today’s digital era. It’s all about giving customers what they want and ensuring that every aspect of your business is operational to keep them happy. No one wants to wait for their site to start loading, especially on Black Friday when great deals are at stake. Ideally, you’ll want your site to load fully within one to four seconds because the time frame has a 12% to 30% conversion rate. Your website must be fully functional at all times without fail, or else you could lose a lucrative sale!

6. Reuse on CyberMonday

According to some studies, people enjoy Black Friday more but actually find shopping on Cyber Monday more convenient. They prefer Cyber Monday because it’s easier to shop with less stress and a lack of crowds. Customers find Cyber Mondays less stressful, and the deals are comparable. The same applies to giving your customers a coupon code on Cyber Monday—it won’t have the same effect as it does during Black Friday weekend. Also, your sales will increase since there are fewer competitors during this time frame than at other times of the year (such as Christmas).

7. Reward Giftcards and Future Discounts

Along with the existing offer, sales, and discounts you might be providing to your customers for the black Friday sale, try adding a tempting discount code or Giftcards that is good for next year; you can even provide them with further discounts for their future purchases to be used during the upcoming holiday season. In this way, you can make them come back to you.

8. Create a Pre-Sale Curiosity

Contrary to popular thought, there is no one perfect time to start your Black Friday sale. The best time is when it fits into your customers’ schedules. You could start your BF sale at the beginning of November, thanks to Thanksgiving traffic that provides extra sales on non-Black Friday days. The most common option is to send early-bird notifications one week before, then advertise on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Afterward, you can extend your sale or announce your Cyber Monday deals. This strategy works best if you have an existing audience and can promote the notification beforehand.

9. Reward Longtime Customers

If you’re currently offering Black Friday deals to new customers and using your existing customers as a way to convert, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. If you reward loyal patrons with exclusive discounts or giveaways, you’ll increase their likelihood of purchasing from you multiple times during the year. They might even start telling their friends and family about your brand, creating a brand new source of revenue.

Regardless of the strategies, you choose to employ, remember that Black Friday is a chance to grow your business. A little bit of extra planning can go a long way in helping you succeed—but whatever strategy you choose, don’t get caught off-guard. Keep the above tips and recommendations in mind, plan ahead for Black Friday, and don’t be afraid to experiment with new strategies.