Campaigning Black Friday Shoppers are Moving Online—and so Should Your Marketing Strategy Elizabeth Holloway Campaigning 7 mins read Sep 9, 2024 Black Friday Shoppers are Moving Online—and so Should Your Marketing Strategy - Elizabeth Holloway It’s time to start locking down your marketing strategy for Black Friday 2024. This year, shoppers are predicted to cross $9.8 billion in online sales, continuing a trend that sees more shoppers choosing to buy online over retail stores. And if Black Friday shoppers are online, that’s where you should be focusing your marketing campaigns. This is a good opportunity to finetune your digital strategy, and to emphasize an omnichannel approach. We’ve outlined the channels and methods you should focus on to optimize the performance of all of your campaigns. More consumers are choosing to shop Black Friday deals online The numbers are very clear that online sales during Black Friday are only going to go up. In 2023, the total sales increased by more than $680 million from the previous year. Whether your target audience is shopping for gifts for loved ones or themselves, ecommerce and social media marketing should be the focus in your campaigns. Beat the crowds Black Friday is notorious for drawing massive crowds to brick-and-mortar stores for the busiest single day of shopping in North America for the year. Some find this thrilling, but many more prefer being able to take advantage of big savings from the comfort of their own homes. Online shopping also has the benefit of more transparency when it comes to available inventory and true savings. Comparing deals Many people prefer shopping online because it’s easier to research and compare deals. As many as 88% of consumers planning to shop Black Friday intend to spend extra time comparing deals to maximize their savings. Total savings isn’t the only factor that influences buying decisions. Consumers also look for fast and free shipping, as well as positive customer reviews and other social proof. 88% of consumers shopping Black Friday intend to spend extra time comparing deals to maximize their savings How to craft successful Black Friday social media marketing strategy For marketers and retailers, this is a hectic time of year. You’re juggling KPIs and sales goals, all with high revenue expectations. Locking down your digital strategy for Black Friday will make sure your campaigns are aligned with your sales targets for the quarter. Not to mention it’ll ensure all your teams are on the same page. Start early While Black Friday isn’t until the end of November, you should have your social media calendar planned out well in advance with your BF campaigns starting sometime in October. This will give them time to build momentum and to create a sense of anticipation for your audience. Focus on content that offers “sneak peeks” at upcoming deals, early bird deals, and countdowns to Black Friday events. Email marketing This is the time to reward loyal customers with exclusive promos and deals through targeted email campaigns. This is also an opportune time to grow your email list. Offer discounts or a free gift to motivate users to sign up for your mailing list. Content marketing You can safely assume that your audience is going to be inundated with Black Friday offers and promos. One of the ways to help your brand stand out is to create valuable content that will help move prospective customers further along the buying journey. This can take the form of curated gift guides, videos demoing your products, or content from affiliate marketers. The goal with this content is to educate and create awareness of the tangible value of your offerings. Real-time engagement Offering quick and personalized responses to user queries and engagement is a great way to enhance their shopping experience. Make sure you have a plan in place with your social media team to ensure that any questions and problems are addressed quickly, and that you’re thanking customers for their purchase. This lends a human touch to your brand that will stick in people’s minds long after the holiday season is over. Shoppable content Platforms like Instagram and Facebook offer a host of tools for selling directly through social media. This reduces friction by allowing users to make purchases without being redirected out of their apps and onto a website. By streamlining the buying process, you can increase conversions. Exclusive social media offers You can encourage more engagement on social channels by offering exclusive promotions for each channel. This will help you gain more followers and strengthen your brand presence on those platforms. User generated content This is a good opportunity to encourage your customers to post about their experience with your brand. This will generate social proof that you can use all year round, as well as improve engagement on social platforms. User generated content will create positive word of mouth and keep your brand visible and relevant. Make sure your website is ready for Black Friday All of your marketing efforts will lead users to your website, which means you need to be sure your website is ready to handle the influx in traffic. This also means updating your website with content and promotions for Black Friday. You’ll want to troubleshoot any issues long before Black Friday rolls around. Special focus should be paid to user experience and mobile optimization, but stress testing your website is also a good idea. Create or update dedicated landing pages Creating landing pages for all of your campaigns is a proven tactic for improving conversion rates. They’re ideal for moving customers further along the buyer journey and encourage conversion by narrowing focus down to a single call to action. Dedicated landing pages for your Black Friday campaigns will allow you to measure the impact and ROAS of your marketing efforts. Optimize your website for the mobile experience It’s estimated that almost 48% of online sales are made on smartphones. That makes it especially important that your website and shopping cart are optimized for mobile viewing. Implementing responsive web design is standard practice at this point, but this is a good time to make sure the mobile user experience is as seamless as possible. 48% of online sales are made on smartphones. Revisit your check-out experience The last thing you want is for there to be unnecessary friction in the check-out experience. Users prefer a fast checkout, so providing one-click checkout options is ideal. Making guest checkout or social sign-in an option will also create a better experience for users as many will want to avoid creating an account just to make a purchase. Make sure your website can handle surge traffic The last thing you need is your website going down at the height of Black Friday activity. Taking the time to evaluate the health of your website will ensure that when the day comes, it’s more than able to handle the surge traffic. Focus on load speeds and stability because even an extra five seconds delay in page loading can have your bounce rate skyrocketing. What’s the takeaway? Black Friday can make or break your year. Improve the effectiveness of your campaigns by planning early and taking advantage of digital channels like social media and email marketing. This is a great time to increase engagement and customer loyalty by rewarding users with exclusive promotions and discounts. 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