The holiday season will soon be here. It is indeed time to prepare for some Black Friday shopping days.
The icing on the cake is that this holiday season's sales have not significantly decreased despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Purchasers in the US spent about $8.9 billion in just 2021. In the US alone, this translates to over 154.5 million shoppers.
You must be looking for strategies to increase your share of the Black Friday pie as a retailer or owner of an e-commerce company.
However, every store promotes specials to draw customers in, and many customers are in turn actively hunting for such jaw-dropping offers.
So, to help you stand out from the competition, we are here to offer you a curated list of Black Friday marketing tactics.
Let's first pour some light on the importance of Black Friday and then move ahead to explore the marketing strategies for the same.
What is Black Friday?
The origins of Black Friday may be traced to the middle of the 20th century. When it first started, Black Friday was only America's busiest shopping day.
But in recent years, the craze has been spreading around Europe at an amazing rate, gradually elevating Black Friday to one of the most significant shopping days of the year for all shops.
The term "Black Friday" is a colloquial term for the day following Thanksgiving. Due to the beginning of the holiday season, it is frequently the busiest shopping day of the year.
Retailers take advantage of this chance to advertise their establishments and lower their rates to draw in more people on the busiest shopping day of the year.
#Note: The accidents and mayhem that occurred during these days are where the term "Black Friday" first appeared.
According to the NRF, from 2017 to 2021, the holiday season accounted for around 19% of many retailers' yearly sales. Shoppers in 2021, for instance, spent on average $301.27 from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.
Due to the intense competition around "Black Friday", retailers have developed novel strategies to compete for business, sometimes beginning much earlier in the year.
Black Friday Marketing Strategies That One Can Count On
Here is a list of effective Black Friday marketing tactics to help you stand out on Black Friday and make your bargains more enticing.
1. Follow the start early and conclude the late rule
According to the NRF, 46% of holiday shoppers began their shopping earlier than usual in 2021. By the beginning of November, the typical customer had completed 28% of their shopping.
This pattern, which has been present for the past two years, has forced online store owners to launch special offers before the end of October.
To increase sales even further, it is even preferable to extend your Black Friday offer to Cyber Monday.
For many brands, this is now the way to go. While others extend the offer to all of their products, some only use it for a select number.
This will make it easier to create a post-Black Friday marketing plan to convert customers who, for some reason, missed your earlier promotions.
2. Promote user-generated content (UGC)
The greatest strategy for establishing your social presence is to use user-generated content (UGC). You can offer your customers additional discounts on subsequent purchases in exchange for tagging your brand's social media handles in their postings.
Contests are a further means of promoting user-generated content. They can tag a Thanksgiving photo with your social media business name. The winner may receive a gift or special discount in exchange.
3. Create hashtags in social media marketing tactics
You may connect with consumers interested in Black Friday offers and direct them to your products and services even by using special hashtags.
To target customers searching for offers, retailers can use the hashtags #blackfridayshopping or #blackfridaydeals.
Dedicated hashtags and user-generated content (UGC) boost your brand's visibility and increase your social media followers which in turn adds to your sale.
4. Use a Chatbot to deliver quick service
According to a recent Shopify study, businesses that respond to clients within 5 minutes have a 70% chance of converting them.
No customer will likely wait for a day or two for your response, particularly on days like Black Friday. They want a quick-paced experience and, most of all, they want to be heard.
Making communication simple and enhancing automatic answers can significantly reduce acquisition costs and boost client retention.
Add a support chatbot that can communicate with customers in real-time on your company website before the holidays arrive. When a customer support agent is required, they can intervene and take over the conversation. The chatbot can even handle simple FAQs.
5. Elevate your email marketing programs
A successful email marketing campaign can increase revenue while also implanting your brand name in the brains of future clients.
For your Black Friday sale, you must expand your email list and develop an email marketing strategy. On average, email generates a $36 ROI for every dollar invested. That surpasses every other channel.
In the weeks leading up to Black Friday, you might send warm-up emails with hints or teasers of discounts and promotional offers.
Make sure you have emailed customers who leave their carts unattended before Black Friday. Make them feel especially special since they've already demonstrated interest in your company and products.
Marketing emails often make a case for why a customer should choose this brand above others with eye-catching captions and vibrant text. Instead of sending a ton of emails with generic material, it is smart to send emails with pertinent content at regular intervals.
6. Collaborate with industry-specific influencers
Ogilvy's most recent study indicates that almost 74% of consumers base their decisions on the opinions of influencers.
Making an influencer marketing plan will expose your company to a huge audience for your Black Friday marketing campaigns. An influencer can advertise your items and sales warmly and unobtrusively.
You might ask them to advertise your products on social media networks in exchange for a unique discount code. They may even conduct a live Black Friday session where they open your packages and give their audience exclusive offers.
In reality, influencer material has the power to turn new website visitors into loyal patrons. You must also be very specific about how you want to sell your goods and draw customers to your products via influencers.
7. Incorporate video marketing
Because there is so much text online, video is a simple format to consume and offers our eyes a break. As a result, an increasing number of companies are upgrading their Black Friday
marketing plan by adding video-based content.
You can create engaging Black Friday films without going overboard with your marketing spending. All you need is a smartphone and an original concept.
Instagram reels and TikTok marketing have created new opportunities for enhancing firms' online positions. These little videos can be used to offer enjoyable brand experiences, promote product demos, reveal new features, or advertise the brand or product upgrades.
You can even express your gratitude to them for supporting you through 2024 in a video during the sale's end.
8. Publicize a social media calendar in advance
To thoroughly arrange everything and make sure you are aware of when everything occurs, create a marketing calendar. All the activities involved in producing and disseminating your content should be on your schedule.
It's crucial to create a comprehensive marketing plan with no room for error at least one month in advance. In your calendar, note the campaign ideas and the due date for each activity.
Emails sent in response to cart abandonment and social media posts can even be automated to improve operations. Before the Black Friday week begins, make sure your text, creatives, and other commitments are prepared.
This can make your operation go more smoothly during those stressful Black Friday sale days and may even keep you in front of your competitors. You're on-time promotions will engage potential customers.
9. Ascertain freebies and facilitate loyalty discounts
By including a free present with their purchase, you may motivate your customers to take action. Additionally, they foster a feeling of goodwill that can encourage repeat business. It is a clever and efficient technique to expand your customer base and increase the number of devoted clients.
Freebies and samples are excellent ways to draw in new consumers, but if you want to keep them throughout the year, you need also to provide loyalty incentive programs.
Offer exclusive discounts and early access to products to your most loyal customers, making sure that the special bid is only available to them.
By doing this, you may improve customer satisfaction, with lifetime value and retention to attract these VIP clients to your company.
Gear up for the Black Friday sale!!!
Overall, you can look for some rapid results using our tried and tested Black Friday marketing techniques.
Whether you are a mammoth in the e-commerce world or a relative newcomer, you should promote your company to the next level.
So, during this festive season, let there be a seamless consumer inflow that boosts your sales and increases your earnings.