5 Black Friday Marketing Strategies You Can Use Today

Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, considerably marks the start of the holiday shopping rush, and many consumers are looking out for it to grab great deals from various brands. 

As shopping has shifted to digital in the past decade, Cyber Monday, or the Monday after Black Friday, has also become a thing, where many brands go on sale and offer promos, particularly online. Every brand, online or offline, will offer deals or discounts, so how can you stand out?

Both Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer a great opportunity for businesses, but they must be approached with the right preparation strategy. Despite the fact that it brings people to the store and leads them to shop, the holidays will not always guarantee a major increase in sales. 

You still need to build your brand up, establish your presence and launch campaigns that will make you stand out from all the brands that are putting their products on sale. 

Here are five Black Friday marketing strategies you can leverage to make the most of the holidays.

1. Optimize Your Content

Even before Thanksgiving, it is important to audit and optimize your content, especially your product pages. Make sure your SEO is on point and showing on SERPs, so people can see and remember you and your products. Establishing a connection with your target audience or customers can help you build trust and convert them into customers by Black Friday and beyond.  

When showcasing your products on your webshop or across an e-commerce platform, use real clear photos and well-written descriptions. This will help set your customers’ expectations and can attract them into buying even before it goes on sale. 

It’s also important to ensure that the right keywords for your products are in place. Make it a point that your customers should see your product when they try searching on search engines or e-commerce platforms. 

You can use tools to find relevant keywords to use and improve your SERP ranking. Find out how you can speed up your keyword identification and analysis through a dedicated guide to one of the leading platforms, Ahrefs Tool Guide: Keyword Explorer for e-Commerce.

2. Make Sure Your Website Is Ready For An Influx Of Traffic

Black Friday and Cyber Monday cause a rapid surge of shoppers, which will definitely test your website’s limits. In 2018, Cyber Monday generated $7.9 billion, breaking online sales records. But along with that, it also broke websites for major brands like Walmart and Lululemon, losing them a hundred-thousand-dollar opportunity that day. 

Slow and broken sites result in angry, dissatisfied customers, and this will be the last thing you want on days that they are looking forward to spending hard. Holidays or not, it is a must to maintain a fast-responding website and product pages. Keeping up an optimal site speed can affect conversion rates, as the loading time can be the main deciding factor whether your customer will make it to check out. 

Prepare your site for heavy traffic and, at the same time, establish a ‘Plan B’ to prepare for the worst-case scenario. Always be ready to reach out to customers to provide them with notices and updates regarding the possible issues they might encounter. You can also offer additional promos using other sales channels to not lose customers should your site crash. 

3. Create An Offer That’s Hard To Resist

Every brand will offer customers something to make the most of Black Friday. And you will really have to get creative on how you can outshine them. Consider offering a new product to excite customers. 

You can also launch an exclusive waiting list before the Black Friday sale or an early bird promo to attract customers early on. An online spin-a-wheel or other entertaining game can also allow customers to get to engage and participate. 

Rewarding loyal customers while attracting new ones with great deals is also important. Offer free gifts or exclusive deals to your long-time customers or those who are already members of your loyalty program. Offer them deals that will not just make them purchase but will also make them stay.  

4. Convey A Sense Of Scarcity and Urgency

Discounts and sales offer some adrenaline rush to people. Many enjoy the thrill of almost fighting for something that they really want. Leverage this by conveying a sense of urgency with your promos.  

Put some limited stocked items on sale or offer limited-time offers. You can also offer a different promo every hour or start your sale at a specific time to build up anticipation. 

Moreover, you can better create a sense of urgency through your marketing copy. Promote your products and incoming promos actively online through ads and social media. Emphasize how great of a deal it is that they would not want to miss it. 

5. Leverage Social Media

Social media has become the most powerful marketing tool. It allows you to reach people directly, get to know them and influence them. Make use of social media to promote your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale, and give people direct and easy access to your site or web shop. 

Launch campaigns that are worth sharing and that will encourage people to interact. Be funny, witty and relatable when posting on social media while staying on brand. Connecting and partnering with social media personalities and influencers can also help boost your brand and promote your Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns. 

Influencer marketing has proven to help brands connect with a wider, targeted audience which can generate better conversion and ROI.

Brace Your Brand for Black Friday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday usher in the holiday rush and a major opportunity for companies and brands. The competition is anticipated to get tighter in the market.

It’s just about time to bring out the best strategies and campaigns you have to finish the year strong and start the next even stronger. 

Put effort into your marketing campaigns and make people start talking as early as possible to bring more customers in by Black Friday. 

Additionally, make it a point to stand out by offering customers the best and most irresistible deals, along with high-quality service and seamless customer journeys that will make their Black Friday worth it.