Last year, consumer spending during the Thanksgiving weekend reached an all-time high. Nearly 200 million Americans spent an average of $325.44 (an increase of 8% from the year prior).
This is great news for brands and retailers gearing up for the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend in 2023 — so long as they have a strong digital marketing strategy. According to the National Retail Federation, online shopping vastly outpaced in-store shopping throughout the weekend, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
If you’re looking for Black Friday Cyber Monday digital marketing tips, you’re in the right place. Our #1 tip for marketers is to plan early, but if you’re reading this blog, you’re already doing that. So, congratulations! Now, let’s dig into our best tips for maximizing your return on investment during the biggest shopping weekend of the year.
Sections
1. Review last year’s performance
Comb through Google Analytics and review the performance of your social media, email marketing, search and display campaigns during last year’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend.
Refresh your memory of what your competitors did, too. You may find some goldmines!
2. Start growing your audience now
Use remarketing campaigns to build carts and capture email addresses today, so you have them by the time Black Friday arrives. Entice shoppers to sign up for email and SMS alerts with a welcome discount, or early access to your steepest holiday discounts.
Email marketing drives a ROI of $36 for every $1 spent, so the more customer emails you have, the more sales you can expect to bring in!
3. Create seasonal organic content
Use your learnings from last year, coupled with your strategy for this year, to develop organic content that highlights your best deals, gets people excited about your sales, and promotes your best-sellers.
Also create content that makes Black Friday/Cyber Monday easier for your customers. Round up your top-sellers, develop gift guides, and offer tutorials for how to use and get the most out of your products.
4. Prep your search advertising campaigns
Draw inspiration from your more successful campaigns, and add in new keywords focused on sales, discounts, and promo codes.
Drive clicks through urgency, by highlighting the limited-time nature of your promotion in your ad copy. (Add countdown timers to your website to drive this message home once they click through.)
5. Get your social ads ready, too
70% of Instagram users discover new brands and products on the platform, with over 130 million of those users tapping on shopping posts each month. Plus, people have more time to shop and scroll during the holidays, which may explain why social media traffic spikes by 73% during this time.
By ramping up your social ad spending in the weeks leading up to Black Friday/Cyber Monday, you can drive awareness and interest in your products, so they’re ready to buy once your sale starts.
6. Get your website ready
Retailer website traffic increases by 9% in the week leading up to Black Friday, suggesting that customers start browsing days before the holiday weekend begins.
Implement wishlist functionality now if you don’t have it, and if you do, develop campaigns encouraging shoppers to add items to their wishlist ahead of time. Then, you can send personalized emails once your sale starts with the very items they looked at.
7. Partner with other brands
Social media sweepstakes can drum up excitement and help you reach new audiences during the holidays. Connect with complementary brands and influencers so you can ride the wave together.
Find bloggers and partner brands to promote your site content, and drive backlinks ahead of the busy season.
8. Reward your loyal customers
Loyal customers are your lowest-hanging fruit during the noisiest weekend of the year. Existing customers are up to 70% more likely to convert, compared with the 5%–20% odds of a new customer.
Win their sales by offering exclusive gifts with purchase, multiplying their loyalty points, or giving them first access to the sale. You could even spin up a targeted advertising campaign with a lookalike audience and highlight the perks of your loyalty program, encouraging them to sign up now to enjoy instant benefits.
Prepare your business for Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2023
Are you ready to acquire new customers, boost conversions, and increase cart totals this Black Friday/Cyber Monday? Talk to Your Marketing People for a digital marketing strategy designed for your business.
