Guidelines for creating Black Friday marketing campaigns

The end of November has become a synonym for the busiest weekend of the year for countless businesses across the globe. With the well-branded and widely recognized notion of Black Friday sales, modern consumers not only know but also expect a tote bag of special treats from their favorite companies. Although the majority of businesses that celebrate Black Friday are retail in nature, there are other types of businesses that go out of their way to make use of this modern-day event to boost sales and attract new audiences. Digital marketing agencies are well aware of this fact, which is why we are here today. So, let’s explore some useful tips for creating Black Friday marketing campaigns.

Start by exploring the fundamentals of Black Friday marketing

Black Friday comes the day after Thanksgiving. Many consider it the unofficial start of the holiday sales season. And it is an event that has a purpose to inspire customers to buy with the use of discounts, gifts, special offers, bonuses, etc. And with each passing year, statistics show that the buying power and volume that Black Friday brings continues to grow rapidly. Although the event is mainly concentrated on purchases in retail stores, digitization has taken the entire event online as well.

Given the current coronavirus pandemic – it would appear that 2020 will bring forth a new record high in terms of online Black Friday sales. Hence, it becomes all the more important to take the time to properly plan out and prepare your Black Friday marketing campaigns. Whether you are looking to use paid advertising, email marketing, or social media marketing, the goal remains the same – getting as much attention as possible. Start your Black Friday plans today.

5 tips for planning your Black Friday marketing campaigns

Re-evaluate your past campaigns

To move forward, you first need to look behind you. Otherwise, you risk repeating some of the missteps you had in the past with creating Black Friday marketing campaigns. Additionally, by analyzing the more successful campaigns you had in the past, you can establish a strong foundation on which to build an even more engaging campaign for this year.

Declutter your database

It’s important to maintain your list of customers and those that you will want to target most with your Black Friday campaigns. Although there is strength in numbers and getting your message across a wider online expanse, there is more power in the quality of leads you attract. So, start by clearing your mailing list:

• spot and remove bouncing addresses,
• send re-engagement campaigns,
• make it easy to unsubscribe,
• and say goodbye to inactive users.

The next step would be to update your keyword research and update your Google Ads campaigns accordingly. Some keywords might not bring forth the same level of interest they did last year.

And finally, take the time to target trending campaign format on social media platforms that your business uses. With social media marketing, everything rests on staying up-to-date with campaigns that drive the most traffic.

Segment your target audiences

Every customer is unique and has specific needs and expectations in regard to their consumer behavior. And so, you won’t want to address all your subscribers with the same message. Instead, you will want to segment your Black Friday marketing campaigns in accordance with the different groups of consumers you have. As we already know, personalization gives off a higher engagement rate when it comes to marketing campaigns. And so, there is great potential in taking the time to segment your mailing lists, social media ads, and paid ads.

Create themed content for campaigns

Black Friday is the global event that it is, you won’t be the only business looking to turn a profit from it. Customers will be exposed to dozens of Black Friday campaigns – in their inboxes, on the news feeds of their social media accounts, through recommended ads on Google and on other platforms and listings. You need to make your campaign stand out and stick. And the best way to accomplish this is through themes and unique content that people will notice and remember. Whether we’re discussing subject lines, calls to action, captions, or images – make it creative.

Focus on your Calls to Action (CTAs)

Creating Black Friday marketing campaigns comes down to carefully planning every aspect of the strategy. And one of the essential roles in the campaign goes to how your design and formulate your CTAs. A business can create a visually enticing and greatly phrased campaign but they still won’t see a conversion without the right CTA. That is why you need to do your research and consider which type of engagement your customers respond to best.

9 useful tips for creating Black Friday marketing campaigns

#1. Start early

Black Friday has become a global celebration of consumerism – it is practically looked upon as a holiday for shoppers, both offline and online. And so, you cannot count it as a single-day event. Businesses today start planning and announcing their Black Friday deals as soon as October and all throughout November. And more and more consumers not only welcome this approach but expect it. So, you need to start working on your holiday marketing strategy as soon as possible.

After all – Black Friday is the starting point for the shopping spree that lasts until New Year. And a well-timed campaign can all the difference when we discuss email marketing or social media strategies. 

#2. Set the pace with notable discounts

Black Friday has already become synonymous when it comes to ridiculous discounts on articles. Just last year, electronics and computers averaged a discount of 39 percent. And all businesses will offer absurdly high discounts – so this is not something you will be able to control. What you can do is set the pace with your discount by putting them in the heads of your customers early on – and then promoting those discounts on all available advertising channels.

#3. Step up with your the resources you invest

Although it was founded on the notion of shopping offline and in retail stores, Black Friday has since overgrown this phase and is taking a much higher toll online. And this year promises to have the highest amount of online purchases so far. And so, it is important to delegate your marketing budget accordingly. Be realistic and focus on the online aspect of sales rather than the offline one. Invest in perfecting your e-commerce website and preparing it for an overload with orders. The worst thing that can happen is for a website to crash during Black Friday.

#4. Focus more on selling through social media channels

Social media channels are exploding in terms of digital marketing solutions. With networks such as Facebook and Twitter launching buy buttons, social sales are definitely going to take off this year. And so, you need to make the smart choice when creating Black Friday marketing campaigns and look into your social media posts and purchase options. Rather than underestimate the impact of your social media ads, take the time to promote each of your products in the upcoming weeks.

#5: Extend the joy that Black Friday brings

Extending the deal is not a move that most businesses are willing to take. And so – this is something that can really help in creating Black Friday marketing campaigns that will boost your revenue. Especially when people least expect it. Giving an extension on your promotion deal is something that will not only positively surprise customers, but it is something that can really help grow your brand in the eyes of different consumers.

#6: Make customers smile

This is not a time to talk about how perfect or great or necessary your product is. Demonstrations will speak louder and better than words in preparation for Black Friday. Consumers need to witness just how interesting your product is – and you need to amuse them with your presentation. Making customers smile with your campaigns will make them more open to the notion of buying from you once black Friday comes. Laughter leaves pleasant memories in the minds of modern consumers – use that to your advantage when working your campaign.

#7: Light up your Black Friday deal

Just because it’s called Black Friday does not require your campaign to use the color black in its marketing efforts. Instead, incorporate your own brand colors into your advertising efforts and tailor Black Friday to your own agenda. As we mentioned, people will get bombarded with Black Friday deals – it’s important to stand out from the rest while maintaining your brand appearance and getting your message across.

#8: Nurture anticipation

Giving consumers the time to process that a big discount or promotion is coming gives them the rapidly growing motivation they need in their buying decision. Creating a schedule for your marketing campaigns regarding Black Friday deals sets the stage for arousing the interests of potential customers to the point of them eagerly waiting to see what your business will offer. Consider using a countdown timer on your website, to nurture that anticipation in the eyes of customers that visit it. This alone should spike their interest enough for your brand to remain at the forefront of their attention span.

#9. Start early when creating Black Friday marketing campaigns

Once again, and we can’t stress this enough – it is important that your business start working on creating Black Friday marketing campaigns early on. The sooner you begin promoting and setting the scene for customers, the more potential you will have to get your fair share of the sales from it. You can start by scheduling a consultation with our social media team, and learning the best ways to approach the pre-Black Friday promotional phase.

How to create a Black Friday email series

Take a look at a possible Black Friday email series composed of four messages:

1. Come up with a warm-up email to fuel subscribers’ excitement and let your audience take a sneak peek at your hot offers.
2. Send the second email in the middle of your Black Friday sales to the main segment of your subscribers.
3. Prepare an additional email with special offers for active subscribers and loyal customers.
4. Launch a post-discount campaign across your main segment to inform subscribers that your sales are continuing throughout the weekend.

Start working on your Black Friday campaigns today

Statistics show that Black Friday 2019 saw a total of 93.2 million online shoppers. And with COVID-19, this year promises to top that number by a significant margin. That should be all the reasoning a business needs to know just how important it is to invest in creating Black Friday marketing campaigns on time and with commitment. And Digital Dot is a team that can help you do that. Contact us today for a free consultation or get a website analysis and learn how to boost your website before Black Friday comes knocking.