Black Friday is a major event for retailers. Shoppers go into a buying frenzy, and companies are competitively poised to go after those dollars. Make sure you’re in the right place to capture some of the holiday spending. Developing a carefully prepared Black Friday content strategy will help position your business for success on this profitable shopping day.
When Is Black Friday in 2022?
In 2022, Black Friday will take place on November 25th. Planning ahead for this crucial date is important so you can maximize the income-generating opportunities available at this time.
When Should You Start Preparing Your Black Friday Content?
It’s hard to start too early when it comes to Black Friday preparations. One study found that 54% of shoppers plan to start shopping for the holidays before Black Friday. Forty-five percent will start their shopping before Nov. 1, and 25% will get started before October. If you promote your deals and offers early, you might entice some of these shoppers to hold off and wait for your Black Friday sales.
Why Do You Need a Content Strategy for Black Friday?
A strong, coordinated content marketing strategy across a variety of platforms will help you maximize your opportunities during the key sales period that takes place on Black Friday.
A growing number of shoppers are researching sales and even completing purchases through social media sites, so it’s essential to maintain an active presence. Generation Z is especially active on sites like Instagram and TikTok. Half of college students have made a purchase through Instagram.
Though some contend that the popularity of Black Friday is waning, the numbers indicate this simply isn’t true.
The idea that Black Friday shopping must take place in-store while Cyber Monday is reserved for online sales could be outdated. In 2020, online spending on Black Friday surged almost 22%, hitting a new record. Curbside pickup for Black Friday purchases surged 52% from the previous year, and Adobe alone saw customers spending a stunning $6.3 million a minute online on Black Friday alone.
You need a content strategy for Black Friday marketing so you can make sure you’re getting your share of these sales and adequately communicating with your customers so they know what to expect and when.
What Does a Black Friday Content Strategy Look Like?
You should consider several important factors as you’re developing your Black Friday marketing strategy. These include your customer personas, content format, advertising channels, marketing timeline, and budget.
Personas
Identify the key personas within your market, and develop targeted Black Friday deals that will appeal to these personalities. Begin by aggregating essential data about your previous customers, including order recency, frequency, and spending. Use this information to create tailored campaigns for groups such as:
- Shoppers you haven’t seen recently: Engaging customers you haven’t connected with for a while can slow the decay of inactivity and increase your chance of developing customer loyalty.
- Top buyers: Recognize your brand champions with outstanding specials that aren’t available to the masses. These shoppers have already bought into your standard products and offers. Go above and beyond for them.
- New customers: Nurture your new customers immediately by sending them special offers they can cash in on for Black Friday. These new shoppers are more likely to trend toward loyal than inactive.
Also, keep in mind that Black Friday shopping is as much about gift-giving as it is personal purchases. Many shoppers are looking for items that will suit a persona other than their own. Help them identify the perfect recipient for your products with buying guides and packages that include clear gift-giving suggestions.
Download our Comprehensive Guide to Marketing Personas and build out everything you need to execute your strategy effectively.
Content Formats
You can use a wealth of formats to promote your Black Friday offerings. The best Black Friday marketing strategy examples incorporate several of these options. Diversifying your content marketing can help you connect with a wider audience. Consider including content formats such as:
- Blog posts: Provide easily scannable posts that highlight your best deals and call out accessories or add-ons that shoppers might want to consider adding to their purchases.
- Videos: Use how-to videos to highlight the uses of your more complex purchases so gift buyers can familiarize themselves with items they don’t know as well as the recipient.
- Articles: In-depth buying guides are great ways to encourage Black Friday purchases. Cater to gift shoppers who can benefit from an accessible introduction to your industry, such as the grandma trying to find the right video games for her grandchildren, or young adults who are lost when it comes to finding the right garage accessories for dad.
- Infographics: An infographic is another great way to format a gift guide. Consider playful quizzes or flowcharts that guide your readers through a series of questions that will take them from total confusion about what to buy to a clear suggestion for an item the individual will love.
Channels
Promote your Black Friday content across as many channels as possible. Prepare your social media sites for the season by updating your profile image and banner. Giving your logo a seasonal twist is a great way to garner attention during this prime shopping season.
While you can and should post content across your own website and social media channels, you can also boost your Black Friday marketing by promoting with affiliates, partners, and other key industry publishers.
Timelines
It’s never too early to implement your Black Friday content strategy timeline. Incorporate these key steps in your process.
- Evaluate past sales: As early as possible, set your marketing team to the task of evaluating your Black Friday sales trends from previous years as well as your more recent sales trends.
- Set marketing goals: Using the data on hand, set clear marketing goals for your Black Friday campaigns. Aim to have these goals in hand by October.
- Identify personas: Use the first week or two of October to identify the key personas you will market to.
- Segment your email list: Segment your email list so you’re prepared to launch a few campaigns uniquely suited to your different personas.
- Tease your promotions: Roughly two weeks before Black Friday, begin teasing the sales you’ll offer. Encourage customers to sign up for emails and notifications from you so they won’t miss out.
- Launch a multistage promotional campaign: Over the week leading up to Black Friday, send your customers a series of emails that prepare them for your Black Friday sales event, gradually releasing more information.
Budget
Plan to increase your ad spending significantly for Black Friday so you can take full advantage of the unique opportunities available at this time. On Black Friday in 2020, digital advertisers spent two to three times as much as the daily November average. Using statistics from previous years, you can estimate how much you’ll bring in over Black Friday 2021. This will help you decide how much you can dedicate to your marketing budget for the season.
How Do You Create a Black Friday Content Strategy?
Begin developing your Black Friday content strategy early so you can ensure all aspects of your advertising are in place. This includes:
- Load test your website to make sure you can handle the incoming bump in traffic.
- Develop pop-ups that will catch customers who are about to leave the site on Black Friday.
- Review your shipping and return policies to ensure they’re streamlined and hassle-free.
- Create your content calendar.
- Write and schedule your content early.
Though you might not execute your Black Friday marketing strategy until October and November, it’s best to develop all the pieces as soon as possible so your content is written, scheduled, and ready to roll out on time as you get closer to the holiday.
To What Extent Do You Need To Consider COVID?
Generally speaking, despite the new waves of COVID flowing over the globe, many places will likely have in-store shopping this Black Friday. Many of the procedures and rules implemented for 2020’s Black Friday should still be applicable to the upcoming event this year.
Features like curbside pickup are now becoming standards. You should prominently display the safety procedures that you and your staff are implementing this year along with any of the conveniences you have developed to improve the in-store and online shopping experience.
Last year, we produced a webinar for Navigating Black Friday for COVID that still feels relevant to this year’s big shopping day.
Watch the full webinar recording below:
3 Ways to Stand Out on Black Friday
The competition is stiff for Black Friday dollars. Make your products stand out with these stellar Black Friday marketing ideas for your campaign:
Encourage Guilt-Free Buying
The primary purpose of Black Friday is to provide steep sales for holiday gift-giving. However, many shoppers prefer to take advantage of these great prices for themselves. Eliminate potential buyer’s guilt with campaigns that encourage shoppers to treat themselves as well as their loved ones.
Share Sales Stats
Give your shoppers a little extra push toward that sale by highlighting your recent sales statistics. Include a sale count on product pages or pop-ups in the corner of your page that show shoppers how quickly your items are disappearing with each purchase.
Emphasize Your Return Policy
The frenzied shopping that takes place around Black Friday can leave some with buyer’s remorse. Reassure shoppers they can complete their purchase worry-free by highlighting your return policy. Let them know they or their intended gift recipient can easily process returns or exchanges if the gift isn’t just right.
The clock is already ticking down to Black Friday. If you’re ready to put together your marketing strategy, we can help.
Contact iPullRank for a content strategy consultation to get you on your way toward an outstanding and profitable Black Friday sales event.
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