The holiday season is quickly approaching, and marketers everywhere are preparing for Black Friday. From optimizing your website to launching outstanding deals and giveaways, marketers must account for a lot. If you’re stuck for ideas, here are nine marketing strategies to impress your customers and increase your company’s revenue.
What exactly is Black Friday?
In the United States, Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving and marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It’s also when many businesses (including your competitors) offer numerous product deals and discounts.
To remain competitive, your company must develop a marketing strategy to increase revenue and delight customers.
Best Black Friday Marketing Strategies
The following are nine Black Friday marketing ideas for 2022.
1. Implement social media commerce.
Consumers increasingly use social media to purchase and learn more about products and brands. Social media commerce generated $26.97 billion in sales in 2020, expected to double to $56.17 billion by 2023. So, why not include social interaction in your Black Friday marketing plan?
Connect your online store to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, allowing users to make purchases. You can also run social media-exclusive Black Friday deals on these platforms, such as Buy-1-Get-1-Free deals.
What We Like: Not only will you increase your online revenue, but you will also gain new social media followers.
2. Make use of email marketing.
Start building an email list of potential customers before Black Friday to update them on upcoming deals. One method is to use pop-up forms, such as the one below, to collect email addresses.
Make sure to include an incentive. Offer the customer, for example, 30% off their next purchase just for signing up for the email list. Once you’ve compiled your email list, you can begin sending personalized content based on your customers’ needs. Customized emails have a 122% ROI, according to an eMarketer survey.
What We Like: You can encourage customers to stay subscribed long after Black Friday by leveraging email marketing and personalized email content.
3. Make your website shopping-friendly.
Nobody wants to wait for a slow website to finish uploading, especially on Black Friday, when great deals are on the line. Your website should ideally load entirely within one to four seconds, as this time frame has a 12% to 30% conversion rate. The longer it takes for your site and its pages to load, the more likely users will lose patience and abandon their purchases.
You should also optimize your website to avoid crashes or outages caused by many Black Friday shoppers.
What We Like: Not only will optimizing your website improve conversion rates and help you avoid Black Friday blunders, but it will also improve your website’s overall functionality, which is essential all year.
4. Make your website shopping-friendly.
Nobody wants to wait for a slow website to finish uploading, especially on Black Friday, when great deals are on the line. Your website should ideally load entirely within one to four seconds, as this time frame has a 12% to 30% conversion rate. The longer it takes for your site and its pages to load, the more likely users will lose patience and abandon their purchases.
You should also optimize your website to avoid crashes or outages caused by many Black Friday shoppers.
What We Like: Not only will optimizing your website improve conversion rates and help you avoid Black Friday blunders, but it will also improve your website’s overall functionality, which is essential all year.
5. Offer irresistible discounts to loyal customers.
Offer exclusive deals to long-term customers to show your appreciation for their loyalty to your brand. Whether through giveaways, discounts, or BOGO, rewarding your customers for being loyal customers will encourage them to return long after Black Friday.
What We Like: Offering exclusive discounts and giveaways can help you clear out inventory before the new year.
6. Offer minimum spending incentives.
Offering minimum spend rewards is another way to encourage customers to spend. Customers receive a bonus every time they spend more than a certain amount. The tip could be a percentage off their purchase, free shipping, a coupon code, or a gift.
What We Like: Minimum spend incentives can encourage customers to spend more and serve as a “thank you” for their faith in the company.
7. Instill a sense of urgency.
Getting customers to act quickly is a great way to increase Black Friday sales. According to one entrepreneur, Marcus Taylor, creating a sense of urgency helped him increase sales by 332%. There are several ways to entice customers to act quickly, including:
Flash sales that last only a few hours or a single day
When an item is out of stock, use time-sensitive language such as “last chance,” “today only,” or “now.”
What We Like: Marketers can use email to promote flash sales or hold pop-up social media contests to get shoppers excited and ready to buy.
8. After Black Friday, follow up with customers.
The marketing does not stop just because Black Friday is over. Contact customers via email and inquire about their shopping experience. Are they happy with their purchase? You can also recommend other products based on their investment or get them excited about Cyber Monday deals.
What We Like: This is an excellent opportunity to send personalized emails requesting honest feedback or recommending alternative products.
9. Make a holiday marketing schedule.
Of course, the organization is the key to any marketing strategy. Create a holiday calendar to keep track of your Black Friday marketing strategies. Separate calendars may be required for different marketing channels, such as social media or email.
What We Like: Managing other sales and discounts across multiple marketing channels can be overwhelming. You can confidently track your strategies and progress by creating at least one marketing calendar.
BONUS POINTS:
Whatever strategies you choose to employ this year, keep the following in mind:
1. Keep track of your Black Friday strategies by creating one or more calendars.
2. Ensure your website and product pages are ready to handle many holiday shoppers.
3. Use social media and email marketing to stay top-of-mind with your customers.
Black Friday does not have to be a stressful time for your company. Implementing any of the above strategies will allow you to increase revenue and delight your
