Originally started in the U.S in 1896, Black Friday has continued to gain momentum worldwide and is now undoubtedly the biggest online shopping day of the year. Companies who don’t participate are missing out. Creating a Black Friday digital marketing strategy to make the most out of this epic day whilst still achieving a ROI can be done by considering more than just the discount offered.

For some, this will prove to be the biggest month of the year in Revenue, if done right. To ensure you are getting the most out of your efforts, there are a series of steps that need to be undertaken before and during the campaign.

• Choose your discount. There is no need to have just one offer. Utilize the hype and offer different specials on different days or categorize the special offers. Make the offer worthy of spending more on this day. You can do this by offering more if consumers spend more or ensure your discount isn’t substandard.
• Update your web page to coincide with social media deals and banners. Ensure your messaging is consistent with other channels throughout the entire campaign.
• Get your creative on point – this does not mean throw a lot of money at the art work creation – rather ensure you evoke a sense of emotion from your content whether that be excitement, interest, surprise etc.
• Social Media networks are a great way to reach eager shoppers and EDMs accompanied provide the stronghold effect. Google Ads should not be forgotten in this. Run your display content in remarketing campaigns and ensure you have added a promotion extension to your account for the duration.
• From here think about scheduling your posts with a series of pre, during and final call sale announcements. This will create a sense of urgency and ensure you aren’t forgotten amongst all the other deals out there. Building a sense of urgency with wording or timers puts the pressure on to act now rather than later. Send out automated “Now Live” emails highlighting the deals.
• Don’t forget to keep clear communication lines open. The sudden increase in traffic and sales can cause a range of site/ stock delivery issues. Regularly updating customers of any such delays and responding in a timely manner you will reduce any anguish.

Our top 5 black friday marketing campaign TIPS

1. Over a third of online Black Friday sales occurred on smart phones in 2018. Having a mobile friendly experience can assist in the shopping experience and reduce customer drop outs.
2. All marketing content should be concise and avoid any misleading claims or offers.
3. Offer mystery deals to subscribers who click on a call to action that will take them to your landing page.
4. Traffic to the site will increase significantly over this period. Capitalize on this by offering deals to those who sign up to your newsletter.
5. Extend the discount date. Combining Black Friday and Cyber Monday into a long weekend of sales allows customers more time to shop.