Inspiration
Does Your Business Do Black Friday Sales?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner (I know – can you believe the end of November is approaching so quickly?). Many stores participate, both online and brick-and-mortar, and with Black Friday gaining $6.4 billion in online sales in 2018, you know it’s important that your store doesn’t miss out on the hype. If you’re planning an elaborate sale to celebrate the American Thanksgiving weekend and holiday season kickoff, we’ve got some tips to help your business succeed and standout amongst one of the busiest sales of the season!
Black Friday is often predicted as the busiest shopping day of the year – outpacing Boxing Day. On average, shoppers in the US are expected to spend approximately $1,000 each during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. You know customers love a good deal and it seems Black Friday offers irresistible sales pre-holiday season. Cater to those gift hunters, deal finders, and shopping lovers with these tips.
Black Friday Tip #1: Website
Your website is where your customers land to make a purchase or to browse your in-store deal offerings. Make sure you have a landing page that gets your customers excited about the sales and lets them know when and where to expect your deals. A dedicated Black Friday landing page can provide a lot of information and allows you to share about it on social media, in email marketing campaigns, and in any paid advertising.
Pro Tip! Use the .BLACKFRIDAY domain name for your brand’s landing page.
Black Friday Tip #2: Social Media
Don’t wait until Black Friday to use the appropriate hashtags. Capitalize on them early (#blackfriday is a pretty good guarantee for Twitter) and get to posting about your sales and products. Use templates to produce eye-catching social media content. Spend the couple weeks before the big event showing off the type of sales you’ll have for that weekend and getting people excited. Social media is a place where your landing page will shine and where you can judge traction via traffic and engagement with your landing page.
Pro Tip! Encourage users to follow, like, and share your Black Friday posts by offering a gift card or free product as a prize in a random draw.
Black Friday Tip #3: Email Marketing
Time for a drip campaign! Black Friday often provides such great discounts that most customers expect to receive emails from retailers and they’re looking for a couple of keywords – discounts or free. The best way to handle emails during this busy time:
- Send an email a few days priors to Black Friday to notify customers
- Send an email on Black Friday to announce the start of the sale
- Send an email on Cyber Monday as a reminder to snag the deals
Remember to send your follow-up emails within the campaign to those who engaged with the original email, such as by opening or clicking-through. If one product that is being promoted via email is out-performing in click-through rates (CTRs) compared to other products in the email, consider sending an additional email to those who clicked. You could consider offering free shipping or free gift wrapping on the product to help encourage a buying decision if people seem interested, but not making a purchase.
Pro Tip! Review all your previous email campaigns to determine which ones had the highest open rates. Compare those high open rate subject lines to determine your subject line for your Black Friday email. If you’re stuck between a couple ideas, run a split test.
You’ve got the shop, the customers, the products, and the exciting holiday season approaching. Use these tips to amplify your digital campaigns and show off your sales. While you’re here, check out Hover’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday domain deals!