Ecommerce News 
Picture this: as the biggest shopping day of the year approaches, customers’ eyes light up with anticipation for jaw-dropping discounts. But what if you could offer them more than just standard deals?
From ingenious product bundles that trigger irresistible value cravings, to engaging flash sales that turn every minute into a shopping rush, we’ve got your attention-grabbing 12 strategies covered in this Black Friday marketing ideas guide.
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is a big shopping day that happens every year after Thanksgiving, usually in November. It’s a time when stores and online shops give customers huge discounts on lots of products.
Black Friday is a chance to attract more customers and sell a ton of your products. People look forward to Black Friday because they can save money on things they want to buy, so they’re more likely to visit your store and make purchases.
3 reasons why Black Friday is such a golden opportunity
Black Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season, and consumers are ready to spend big. Here are three key reasons why Black Friday is such a golden opportunity for businesses:
Big sales opportunity
Black Friday represents an unparalleled opportunity for brands to experience a significant surge in sales and revenue. On this day, consumers are actively seeking out deals and discounts, resulting in a substantial increase in transaction volumes. Brands can capitalize on this by offering enticing promotions and clearing out excess inventory.
In 2023, Black Friday sales in the U.S. hit an impressive $9.8 billion, showcasing the strong consumer demand during this highly anticipated shopping event. Notably, Cyber Monday, which is often viewed as an extension of Black Friday campaigns, surpassed these numbers with $12.4 billion in sales.
This reflects the growing trend of online shopping and highlights how businesses can capitalize on both days for maximum impact during the holiday season.
Brand exposure opportunity
Participating in Black Friday offers brands an exceptional chance to enhance their brand visibility and attract new customers. Shoppers actively scour various channels for Black Friday deals, and brands that participate become part of this extensive search.
This exposure extends beyond the immediate sales event, as satisfied customers are more likely to return for future purchases. Additionally, word-of-mouth and social media sharing can further amplify a brand’s reach during this time.
Strategic marketing launchpad opportunity
Black Friday serves as an ideal platform for executing strategic marketing initiatives. Brands can design creative marketing campaigns that leverage the buzz and excitement surrounding this shopping event.
It’s also an opportune moment to test different pricing strategies, such as bundling, limited-time offers, or exclusive discounts, which can provide valuable insights for future pricing decisions.
Furthermore, Black Friday often marks the start of the holiday shopping season, allowing brands to kickstart their holiday marketing efforts and establish a strong presence in the minds of consumers early on.
12 Unique Black Friday marketing ideas
Looking to stand out this Black Friday? Here are some unique marketing ideas that will help your brand break through the noise, engage customers in fresh ways, and maximize your holiday sales potential.
Start early
When it comes to Black Friday marketing, starting early is key. Building anticipation weeks before the big day helps create buzz and positions your brand at the top of shoppers’ minds as they plan their purchases. Early preparation allows you to run effective campaigns, refine your messaging, and generate momentum before the competition heats up.
Begin by teasing your Black Friday offers through email campaigns, social media posts, and ads. Give your audience a sneak peek of your deals to stir excitement. You can even create a countdown on your website or social platforms to build anticipation.
Offering early access deals is another smart move. Reward your most loyal customers or email subscribers by giving them exclusive first dibs on Black Friday offers. This not only boosts engagement but also creates urgency for those who want to secure the best deals.
Pro Tip: Leverage data insights from past campaigns to fine-tune your strategy. Use early campaigns to test what resonates with your audience, and then scale up successful tactics for Black Friday itself.
Marketing lists preparation
To set yourself up for success, ensure your email marketing lists and custom ad targeting audiences are in top shape. Start by cleaning up your email lists – remove inactive subscribers and organize segments to deliver tailored messages. For example, offer early access to deals for loyal customers and special discounts to new subscribers.
Also, refine your custom audiences on platforms like Meta and Google Ads, using data from customer interactions. Make sure your Meta Pixel and other tracking tools are working properly to capture data accurately.
You can use NestAds – an ad tracking and marketing attribution tool that simplifies this process by centralizing your ad data across channels like Meta, Google, and TikTok, ensuring a streamlined and comprehensive view of your audience behavior. With NestAds, you can seamlessly track the effectiveness of these campaigns and optimize your targeting for better conversions across all platforms.
Pro Tip: Sync your customer data across all platforms and double-check that everything is tracking accurately. This will ensure seamless retargeting and allow you to measure campaign performance effectively.
Product bundles
Imagine this: your customers are browsing through your products, and they spot an option to purchase an product bundle. Not only does this grab their attention, but it also triggers their desire to grab a better deal. Especially during the excitement of Black Friday, the idea of getting more for their money is irresistible.
You can take this idea further by offering a percentage discount when they build their own bundle or even sweetening the deal with an extra markdown when they purchase more than two bundles.
La Roche Posay offers a selection of product bundles within various gift categories on their gift guide page, including best sellers, summer vacation skincare, gifts for her, gifts for him, skincare value sets, and self-care options.
Pro Tip: Make sure to present both individual items and their bundled counterparts side by side on your website. This makes it easy for shoppers to see the price differences and understand the savings they’re getting.
Use clear visuals and compelling wording to highlight that they’re grabbing the ‘Deal of the Year’ by taking advantage of these smart bundles. Happy bundling and happy shopping!
Gift guide
Imagine this: your customers come to your store and instead of feeling overwhelmed by endless choices, they find a neat lineup of products that match their interests, needs, and budgets. It’s like a shopping shortcut that makes their decision-making super easy. Plus, it gives your store a friendly vibe, and that means happy customers who keep coming back.
Best Buy offers thoughtfully curated gift guides, conveniently categorized by recipients such as kids, teens, and grandparents on their homepage. Additionally, they’ve compiled eight distinct gift lists, catering to specific interests like foodies and gamers, providing valuable inspiration for anyone planning a holiday gift guide.
Pro Tip: When you’re putting together your Gift Guide, think like your customers. Create categories based on who they are and what they’re into. Think age, gender, hobbies, and even how much they’re looking to spend. Then, make these categories visually appealing on your website – whether it’s a dedicated page or a fancy popup.
When customers click on a category, show them the cool products you’ve handpicked and why you think they’re awesome. This way, you’re not just selling products, you’re offering a shopping experience that feels personal and thoughtful.
Flash sales
You know how when something’s in short supply, suddenly everyone wants it? Well, that’s the magic of scarcity.
By offering special discounts on different products every hour, you’re creating this buzz of urgency – people think, “I gotta grab this before it’s gone!” It’s like a virtual race against the clock that keeps shoppers glued to your store, eager to snatch up the next incredible deal.
This keeps your Black Friday offers fresh and exciting, and it’s a smart way to supercharge spending.
Pro Tip: But here’s the savvy trick: balance is key. You want to keep customers excited without letting them wait for even bigger discounts. A clever move is to start with a decent site-wide discount, let’s say 40% off.
And here’s the clincher – offer an extra discount to folks who sign up for your emails. This serves a double purpose: not only are you giving them an incentive to buy, but you’re also growing your email list for future promotions.
Multi-channel social media advertising
During Black Friday, people are actively searching for deals and gift ideas, and social media is the perfect place to catch their attention. You can spread the word about your deals across various Black Friday advertising ideas on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even TikTok.
This means you reach a wider audience, from the young trendsetters on TikTok to the seasoned shoppers on Facebook.
Pro tip: To execute this idea effectively, tailor your content to each platform’s audience and use relevant hashtags. Run teaser campaigns leading up to Black Friday to build excitement, and don’t forget to engage with your audience through comments and messages to keep the buzz alive!
Social media contests
With a whopping 34% conversion rate, higher than any other content type, social media contests are a magnet for engagement.
Shoppers love the chance to win rewards, which means they’ll interact with your contest and spread the word, giving your brand the limelight it deserves.
The beauty of these contests lies in their flexibility – be it Black Friday or any other occasion, you can whip up a contest that resonates with your audience, and if you infuse it with creativity and an irresistible prize, get ready to reap astonishing benefits.
Pro Tip: Make sure your contest theme aligns with Black Friday excitement. Craft a simple but catchy entry requirement, such as sharing your Black Friday deals or tagging friends who love shopping. Highlight an irresistible prize that’s directly connected to your products.
Keep the entry process easy and don’t forget to create a sense of urgency – set a tight deadline that aligns with the Black Friday buzz.
Free gifts
Whether it’s a bonus product, a trial of your premium service, or even a discount voucher, people go crazy for free stuff. This tactic isn’t just about creating a buying frenzy on Black Friday, but also about building lasting relationships. When customers get a taste of your generosity, they’re more likely to stick around, buy more, and even bring their friends along for the shopping spree.
Estée Lauder offered a gift to customers who make a purchase of two or more Estée Lauder products, with at least one of them being a skincare item. The free gift consists of a randomly selected item, adding an extra element of surprise to the shopping experience.
Pro Tip: Create irresistible Black Friday bundles where every purchase above a certain amount comes with an exciting free gift.
Event live stream
Picture this: you’re broadcasting in real-time, showing off your coolest deals and products, while your audience comments, asks questions, and engages with you. It’s like a virtual shop party! And guess what? When folks see your face and hear your voice, it builds trust faster than a handshake. That trust means they’ll be more likely to hit that “Buy Now” button.
Pro Tip: Plan the event ahead, pick your best deals, and create some buzz on social media about the upcoming live stream. Be yourself on camera, interact with the comments like you’re chatting with friends, and don’t forget to flash those discounts.
Referral Program
One of the greatest Black Friday marketing campaigns is the referral program. Instead of just snatching one-time sales, this genius move helps you rope in fresh shoppers through your loyal fans.
Think about it – your customers land epic discounts while also flaunting their buys and savings to their buddies. Take a page from Feelunique’s playbook – they whip up a referral program that’s as personal as a secret handshake.
The eCommerce brand has introduced a Referral Program as part of its Black Friday promotion, this program grants a 20% discount to both the referrer and the referred customer, encouraging customers to share the savings with friends.
Pro tip: Utilizing an Affiliate app is an easiest way to implement “Referral Program” as it offering user-friendly tools for creating and monitoring the program effortlessly. These apps also typically provide intuitive features that streamline the referral tracking process, making it accessible to businesses of various scales.
“Spending” reward
One of the cleverest Black Friday deal ideas for small business is Spending reward. Instead of just giving away discounts left and right, set up a smart system where customers get rewarded for spending a certain amount.
It’s like a win-win! When a shopper hits a specific spending target, say $100, they score something cool, like free shipping or a juicy discount. This idea works like magic because it boosts your sales without hurting your profits too much.
Kosas recently introduced this “Spending Reward” promotion, which customers can enjoy savings of 20% on orders exceeding $25, 25% off for purchases exceeding $50, and 30% off for orders totaling over $75.
V.I.P exclusive sale via email
Black Friday is already a frenzy of deals, but standing out means giving your loyal customers something even more special. Give your V.I.Ps something extra. If your usual Black Friday discount is 20%, surprise them with an exclusive 30% discount code.
You can also take a unique approach by offering discounts on products that aren’t part of the general Black Friday promotion. And remember, bundle deals can be a game-changer. Combine related products, discount the bundle, and watch your V.I.P customers snatch them up.
Pro Tip: Make accessing secret sales or bigger discounts an incentive for joining your email newsletter. This way, you’re not only rewarding your current V.I.Ps but also growing your V.I.P circle for the future.
3 tips to maximize the profit for your Black Friday campaign
To ensure your Black Friday campaign generates the highest returns, here are some strategic tips to maximize your profits. These approaches will help you boost average order value, capture more sales, and optimize your customer journey for maximum success.
Begin promoting your Black Friday sale ahead of time
Sure, people already know Black Friday is like the shopping Super Bowl. They expect prices to drop, and your store’s no exception. But not everyone’s your superfan, and wallets aren’t bottomless. So, the sooner you get into their heads, the bigger your success on Black Friday.
While various communication channels, such as emails and blogs, it’s noteworthy that social media platforms offer a uniquely advantageous avenue for outreach. Through these channels, you can effectively target both your existing customer base and those who are considering engaging with your offerings for the first time.
To structure your pre-Black Friday social media campaign, consider adopting the following timeline:
- Four Weeks Out: Drop a post that shouts, “Hey, remember the date: November 24th!”
- Three Weeks Out: Start pumping out 2-3 posts each week all about Black Friday. Tease some of the sweet products you’re gonna drop prices on.
- Two Weeks Out: Spill the beans on the discounts you’re planning – like “Get up to 50% off on killer stuff!”
- One Week Out: Get interactive! Ask your followers to share and tag buddies who should totally be eyeballing your products. And don’t forget to sneak in a link for signing up to your email list. More emails mean more potential buyers!
Reinforce your customer service
As the shopping frenzy heats up, you can expect a flood of inquiries about orders, deliveries, and more. Instead of drowning in repetitive questions, why not let a chatbot take charge of those common FAQs?
With a chatbot, you can streamline your customer support, tackling routine queries effortlessly. And don’t worry, when things get a bit trickier, a human rep can jump in seamlessly. This nifty chatbot dance lightens the load on your team, freeing them up to tackle bigger challenges.
Turn one-time customer into loyal customer
Little did you know, it’s five times cheaper to keep existing customers than find new ones. Existing customers tend to spend around 31% more, and a mere 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits significantly, by up to 95%.
By focusing on building loyalty during the holiday season, you’re not just increasing sales temporarily; you’re creating a foundation for sustained growth as these customers become devoted brand supporters, ensuring long-term success.
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