Black Friday is nearly upon us. Don’t anticipate bustling shopping centers and packed parking areas. Your customers will be hunting for bargains online and through social media.
As Black Friday has transformed into an extended event over the months, numerous brands are already in holiday marketing preparation mode. Based on data from Sprout’s Advanced Listening tool, there were 23,000 posts about holiday deals, shopping, and the season on X from August 9 to September 8, 2023.
Black Friday has undergone a change. If you intend to capitalize on the surge of holiday shopping this year, your marketing strategy must adapt as well. In this guide, we outline how to develop Black Friday social media campaigns to enhance your overall strategy this Q4.
Kinds of Black Friday social media campaigns (+ examples)
Driven by the increase of online shopping and social commerce, Black Friday has evolved into a five-day affair, incorporating Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. Some retailers kick off their promotions as soon as October. The National Retail Federation reports that consumers spent $38 billion online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday in 2023, reflecting a 7.8% year-over-year increase.
Shoppers are likely to concentrate on retail segments offering the most compelling deals. Brands recognized for showcasing the best Black Friday offers include:
- Clothing stores
- Electronics providers
- Department stores
- Small enterprises
- E-commerce retailers
- Beauty and skincare brands
- Home improvement and furniture stores
- Toy manufacturers
Craft a successful Black Friday marketing plan by harnessing the potential of social media. Here are some effective Black Friday marketing strategy examples that have inspired other brands and can aid in your campaign preparations.
Influencer collaborations
Collaborate with influencers to create customized content aimed at specific demographics. From fashion enthusiasts to technology admirers, influencers often possess niche followings. If your Black Friday offers resonate with a certain customer segment, teaming up with influencers who connect with that demographic is a sensible strategy.
For instance, last Black Friday, Macy’s collaborated with Robin Brown (@mystylemuse), a digital creator and stylist from California specializing in fashion stories to promote woman-owned and Black-owned brands available during the sale.
Contests and giveaways
Capture consumer interest by offering free products. Launch a social media contest or giveaway to enhance engagement and amplify excitement around your brand.
Contests and giveaways can increase your follower count, convert leads, enhance brand recognition, and foster loyalty.
Best Buy hosted a giveaway for followers to win a Theragun massage device and a $100 Best Buy gift card as a pre-Black Friday incentive. Participants followed the Best Buy and Therabody accounts, saved the post, and tagged two friends in the comments to enter.
Conducting this contest in early November enables Best Buy to expand its following, enhance engagement, and raise brand awareness, just in time for the Black Friday shopping period.
Loyalty initiatives
Looking to encourage your audience to revisit your website or shop with you after Black Friday? Promote your loyalty or rewards program. These programs typically provide discounts, coupons, or early access to returning shoppers.
Brands that offer added benefits to repeat customers can cultivate brand loyalty, particularly if they deliver an enjoyable experience.
Last Black Friday, Yogurtland rewarded their Real Rewards members with double points. They framed the offer as a “shopping break,” enabling them to embrace the Black Friday excitement without resorting to steep discounts, which can be tough for service-oriented businesses.
Omnichannel strategies
Consumers are discerning. When planning to make a purchase, the average consumer now consults ten or more brand channels prior to making a purchasing decision.
This Black Friday, implement omnichannel marketing by delivering a seamless customer journey—from your social channels and chatbots to email campaigns and customer service. Meet your customers exactly where they are throughout every phase of their journey.
Disseminate your promotions across various platforms and use tools unique to each social media platform to engage your audience. During their Black Friday 2023 campaign, makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury advertised a 30% discount on their Eyes To Mesmerise eyeshadows on both Instagram and TikTok.
Both posts share the same message, yet they customize the visuals to fit the platform and their branding.
Campaigns inspired by community
A brand community consists of individuals with an emotional bond to your brand. Successfully engaging your community can enhance brand loyalty and even inspire customers to become advocates for your brand.
When crafting your Black Friday content, consider feedback from your community. Understand their other preferred brands, social media aesthetics, and holiday traditions. Use these insights to influence your social content strategy.
For instance, after their Black Friday sales, Chewy, a pet supply retailer, announced on Giving Tuesday (the day after Cyber Monday) that they would contribute up to $1 million weekly in pet food and supplies to local charities.
Emphasizing a charitable endeavor post-Black Friday illustrates that your brand values more than just sales. It establishes a positive connection with customers, evident from the comments on the post.
Tips for an effective Black Friday marketing strategy
When crafting a Black Friday marketing plan for social media, proactive planning is essential. Now is the time to prepare your content calendar, evaluate what has been successful for you this year (based on metrics), and consider how to differentiate yourself from the multitude of Black Friday social media initiatives.
Adhere to these recommendations for effective execution of your Black Friday marketing strategy.
Encourage opt-ins and attract new followers
Begin increasing awareness for your brand by engaging with potential followers and email subscribers. Use early-bird specials to entice customers to follow your social channels or subscribe to your newsletter in exchange for an exclusive Black Friday discount code.
Place emphasis on expanding your customer base well ahead of Black Friday to achieve a broader audience reach with your content.
A/B test varied creative strategies
Launch your Black Friday campaigns early to conduct A/B testing on different creative approaches. For example, assess the effectiveness of a short-form video versus an infographic conveying the same message.
As Black Friday approaches, choose the creative format that yields the highest engagement, visibility, and favorable sentiment.
Collaborate with creators and influencers
Creators and influencers can help generate greater engagement, reach new audiences, and strengthen your social community this Black Friday. Begin reaching out to them as soon as possible.
Identify creators and influencers that resonate with your target audience and have experience with your products to create the most powerful campaigns. Keep in mind that the best content educates and entertains.
Prepare your profiles
One of the simplest steps to prepare for Black Friday is to update your profiles. An up-to-date profile is crucial for converting viewers and followers into customers and enthusiastic brand supporters.
People will first notice your profile images (including headers and profile photos). Think about refreshing your visuals with a holiday theme.
Additionally, consider adding links to your profile bios (Instagram, X, TikTok) or the About sections (Facebook, LinkedIn) pertaining to your Black Friday promotions.
Automate certain aspects of your social strategy
Expect to enhance your customer service approach and content output as the holiday season approaches. Employing automation and AI marketing tools will assist you in scaling efficiently and avoiding burnout during peak season.
Utilize a social media management platform like Sprout to:
- Schedule posts ahead of time at optimal times
- Program chatbots to manage the influx of messages
- Monitor the performance of various post types
- Implement social listening to gauge brand sentiment and discussions surrounding your brand/industry
- Leverage AI to formulate more engaging and personalized customer service replies
- Automatically determine optimal posting times
- Streamline your social media approval workflow
- Automate the generation of alt text with AI
- Employ sentiment analysis to identify high-priority incoming messages
- Plan automated report deliveries
These tools will facilitate a seamless and effective execution of your strategy in advance of and during the significant sale.
Develop distinct promotions for diverse audiences
If you cater to a singular, highly niche audience, skip to the next section. However, if you serve multiple audience categories, it’s advisable to create tailored Black Friday social media posts for each segment.
For instance, department stores should craft posts that showcase holiday offers tailored to distinct audiences, whether they are shoppers interested in home decor and electronics or seeking clothing and outdoor equipment.
Evaluate your campaign’s influence
Establishing a reporting framework for your Black Friday campaign is essential to gauge effectiveness and identify areas for enhancement. A campaign performance report should supply insights on reach, engagement, and conversions to assess whether your marketing efforts have been successful.
A campaign report also enables you to demonstrate to leadership the direct impact of your campaign on revenue, which helps validate its importance. These insights will guide you in making smarter, data-driven choices to optimize your budget and resources for the upcoming year.
Black Friday social media campaigns for inspiration
Check out these noteworthy Black Friday social media campaigns to inspire your planning.
REI
REI advocates for living a life in the great outdoors. This Black Friday (and every future Black Friday), they will close their doors to give employees a paid holiday to recharge (presumably outside).
The #OptOutside initiative may appear unconventional, yet it aligns with the brand’s narrative, mission, and values.
REI also urges customers to contribute to their Cooperative Action Fund on Giving Tuesday to support grassroots organizations working to, “create an equitable outdoors for everyone.”
If a mission-driven campaign seems suitable for your brand, ensure there’s brand authenticity. The last thing you want during Black Friday is a poorly conceived PR stunt. Remain true to your brand ethos.
Mejuri
The jewelry brand Mejuri went all out for Black Friday 2023, offering promotions for general shoppers and exclusive deals for Mejuri+ members.
Mejuri was highly active throughout the sale, even prompting a Threads user to joke about it. The brand embraced this humor by using the comment as inspiration for a playful Reel.
Mejuri exemplifies how to inject fun into your Black Friday campaign. The high frequency of promotional posts in a short timeframe can seem overwhelming for brands and consumers alike. However, it offers an opportunity to humorously acknowledge your own efforts and connect with your audience.
Google may not be the first brand that comes to mind for a Black Friday campaign, yet their approach is commendable.
Since many people turn to Google for information on local retailers, they leveraged the holiday to spotlight black-owned businesses and raise awareness about their search function dedicated to such enterprises.
Google initiated the #BlackOwnedFriday campaign, featuring a song and video with actress Keke Palmer. Subsequent posts showcased Keke visiting black-owned businesses across the country and engaging with their owners.
Let this Google campaign inspire you to consider unconventional approaches to Black Friday. Use the shopping frenzy to spotlight your new features or offerings, or to showcase your customers.
Amazon
Throughout November 2023, Amazon highlighted small businesses on their Instagram feed with the hashtag #SupportSmallWithAmazon.
This campaign excels in its timing. By sharing these videos well before the Black Friday shopping period, they communicate care for the small businesses operating through their platform—not just on Small Business Saturday. The high production quality of the videos reinforces this message.
The key lesson is, if you aim to capitalize on less sales-focused occasions like Small Business Saturday or Giving Tuesday, ensure the campaign aligns with your broader marketing and social media strategy. A standalone initiative can appear inauthentic and frivolous.
Plan and schedule your Black Friday social media postings
To prepare for the retail holiday, ensure your Black Friday social media campaign and customer service strategy are well organized before the end of November.
As you formulate your campaign, remember to reinforce your mission, align with your organizational goals, make your creative efforts count, and schedule your content well in advance.
For further resources to assist in your holiday strategy, check our insights on holiday retail social media metrics.
The post How to create a Black Friday social media marketing strategy appeared first on Sprout Social.
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