The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, is a shopper’s dream come true. Nearly every business offers discounts and other incentives to shop. And the timing is perfect – customers get to pick up holiday gifts for their loved ones and for themselves at special prices.
What started as an American tradition is now a worldwide phenomenon. Consumers from around the world expect great deals – and brands deliver.
In this article, we’ll show you:
- Exciting examples of Black Friday social media campaigns
- Tricks you can use to make the most out of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
- 2021-exclusive tips for the most attractive Black Friday promotions
So… is it still Black Friday and Cyber Monday or an entirely cyber season?
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1. Put together a gift guide
Late November is usually the time of year when people start thinking about holiday shopping. The Christmas excitement starts to kick in, and browsing the internet for gift ideas becomes an – if you will – merry pastime.
Nicely put together gift guides are the perfect way to attract such casual browsers – they’re aesthetically pleasing and provide actual value with their carefully curated suggestions.
Consider putting together a gift guide or two as part of your Black Friday marketing strategy. Posting them on your social media a few days in advance will give your followers time to pick and choose, and get excited about the purchase.
2. Create a sense of urgency
Speaking of ‘in advance’, try to create a sense of urgency around your amazing Black Friday deals. Start early and make sure customers know that what you’re advertising will be available for a limited time only or while supplies last.
You will also want to keep your customers on their toes. Make them want to shop as soon as your offer becomes available, not a minute later. Keep the excitement up by giving your followers sneak peeks of what’s coming.
Use email marketing, blog posts, and, of course, social media posts to do so. Make it fun – include countdowns or get creative with slowly revealing the deal through Instagram Stories.
3. Add freebies to purchases
Who doesn’t love a free gift? The Grinch, probably. Let’s not worry about him, though. It’s safe to assume that your customers are not green Whoville residents and will enjoy a freebie.
If you’re planning to add gifts to purchases as part of your holiday sale, make it known! Build it into your social media strategy and watch your followers become customers. Ho ho ho!
4. Tap into the power of Instagram Shops
So it’s Black Friday and every Instagram user is out there hunting for deals. Here’s how to bring the shopping experience directly into their feeds – make the most out of the Instagram Shopping feature.
Instagram Shops is a new way for users to make a purchase without even leaving the platform.
The feature allows brands to create product catalogues and curate items into collections. Creating a Shop is free and simple but it needs to be submitted for review which usually takes a few days, so make sure to prepare your shop long enough before Black Friday.
5. Extend your offer to Cyber Monday
Even though most Black Friday campaigns apply to brick-and-mortar and online stores, Cyber Monday emerged as a follow-up shopping holiday focused on ecommerce sales.
Cyber Monday deals are usually a continuation of Black Friday campaigns. Focus your communications on letting customers know that they can still get amazing discounts, even if they slept on Black Friday offers.
6. Give customers a reason to come back
If your Black Friday offer is attractive, you will definitely finish the day with a high order count. But a good Black Friday strategy is like a gift that keeps on giving – it can bring customers back for more shopping before the holiday season ends.
How? It’s really simple. Set up a short promotion that will start after Black Friday – say mid-December. It can be anything: you can mark down select items, offer a percentage off your entire store, or add gifts to purchases over a certain dollar amount. Most importantly, use your social channels to let people know about the special promo! You can also use a dynamic QR code generator to target your mobile users who can scan the codes for special offers and discounts.
To add a pinch of exclusivity to your offer, you may send promo codes in private messages. No worries, it doesn’t mean messaging users manually. Here’s the idea: you may use NapoleonCat’s social media automation feature to send private messages to all users that reply to your post with a defined comment, for example, “PROMO” – like in the example below:
Setting up automatic replies is quick and easy and, at the same time, it brings outstanding results in the form of high engagement rates (and increased sales!) Plus, you can create up to 20 different replies for a human touch.
And that’s how you get returning customers. December is a big shopping month for all us and, with a little bit of extra incentive, your clientele will surely choose you over your competitors for those last-minute gifts.
7. Offer free shipping
Discounts are pretty much standard across the board on Black Friday. So why not add a little extra frill and win more customers over?
Free shipping can tip the scale for a customer who’s deciding between two similar offers, so it’s definitely worth a try.
If you decide to elevate your offer with free shipping, make sure you properly set up the logistics. With a higher than usual volume of orders, you wouldn’t want to upset customers by not delivering their purchases on time.
8. Use hashtags
We already established that come Black Friday, people will be actively looking for deals online. In many cases, this includes searching for #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday hashtags. Do your business a favor and use them in all of your social media posts in your Black Friday marketing campaign. Make your deals visible!
9. Do good
Customers love a good deal, but they also love the feeling of giving back to the community. This year more than ever before, people expect the brands they support to do good. Set up a partnership with a local charity or a bigger nonprofit organization and help your customers support a good cause. Spread the holiday cheer by helping others – #GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Black Friday, is just right for charitable giving.
10. Opt out
This final strategy is not for everyone. Certain brands choose to not participate in the Black Friday/Cyber Monday madness as a protest against over the top consumerism.
While this approach might not bring them that magical spike in November sales, it speaks volumes about their socio-environmental involvement.
If you decide to opt out of Black Friday, use the opportunity to send out a strong message. Create a landing page explaining your decision and give your loyal customers the chance to better understand your brand philosophy.
Extra tips
Once you put together a strong content strategy for Black Friday, make sure you follow some basic best practices when carrying it out. As mentioned before, an early start is essential. Start generating buzz around your upcoming deals in advance. Countdowns, sneak peeks, lists, and hashtags are all great tools to do so!
Once the promotions kick in, make sure your team is available to provide shoppers with amazing customer service on social media. Short response rates and quick problem solving are powerful tools to maximize sales.
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Finally, make sure to measure the results of your social media marketing campaigns. Use an Analytics tool like NapoleonCat for in-depth performance insights and draw conclusions for an even more successful Black Friday next year!
