Black Friday has become one of the most anticipated shopping events of the year, not only for consumers but also for businesses looking to boost their sales and profits. As we approach Black Friday in 2023, it’s crucial for businesses to plan and execute effective marketing strategies to stand out in the crowded marketplace.
Last week, we highlighted the 2022 key stats, and with Black Friday 2023 anticipated to be the BIGGEST Black Friday yet, we’re staying ahead of the game to provide the best insights for a Cyber Week of success.
In this blog, we will explore five top tips to help you make the most of Black Friday:
Start Early and Build Anticipation
The Black Friday shopping frenzy doesn’t just happen on the day itself. It’s essential to start your marketing efforts as early as possible to build anticipation and create a buzz around your promotions.
Black Friday research commences several weeks ahead of the event in November, with search results rising as early as October. During this period, consumers embark on the quest for enticing deals. They may not yet commit to any particular brand or product, remaining receptive to brand and product discovery – the perfect time to engage with them!
The largest segment of spenders is Generation Z, actively participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with a substantial 65% of them intending to make purchases during this year’s sales events. A great place to start your brand awareness campaigns is TikTok, considering 40% of Gen Z using TikTok as their go to search engine. You can tease your audience with sneak peeks, countdowns, and exclusive pre-sale offers directly in the app they spend most of their time scrolling on.
Don’t forget to utilise other social media platforms, email marketing, and your website too to keep your audience engaged and excited about the upcoming event.
Personalise Your Offers
Personalisation is a key element in modern marketing, and it’s especially important on Black Friday. For example, 83% of shoppers would exchange data for a more personalised experience. Use analytics to segment your customer base and tailor your offers to specific groups.
One thing is for sure, people want deals. In fact, In 2022, Adobe’s report on pricing trends unveiled a remarkable surge in discounts, setting a new benchmark in the realm of e-commerce. Cyber Monday, in particular, emerged as the shining star, boasting an average discount of 25% off the listed price. Personalising these deals can add to purchase intent even further, with 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalised experiences. For instance, for customers aged 45+, deals ranging from 21-30% off tend to catch their eye compared to 41-50% being the attention grabbers for 18-34 year olds.
Send personalised email recommendations, offer discounts on products related to a customer’s past purchases, and create targeted ads on social media. Partner this with engaging copy that accents urgency and you have winning messaging. Personalisation not only improves the customer experience but also increases the likelihood of conversion.
Optimise for Mobile
In today’s digital age, mobile shopping is on the rise, and it’s crucial to ensure your online store is optimised for mobile devices. 82% of consumers primarily engage with marketing content on smartphones, while 63% engage with content primarily on computers. Shoppers will be browsing and making purchases on their smartphones and tablets, so a responsive and user-friendly mobile website or app is a must.
According to the e-commerce giant Shopify, a jaw-dropping 73% of all sales for their merchants in 2022 happened right from the palm of your hand – your trusty mobile device! That’s a notable jump from the 71% in the previous year.
Mobile optimization is not only about design but also about page loading speed, seamless navigation, and secure payment processing. Test your site thoroughly to ensure it performs flawlessly on all devices.
This trend underscores the rising importance of mobile devices in the world of online shopping. And guess what? It’s not slowing down anytime soon. We’re looking at you, 2023, to keep the mobile commerce momentum going strong!
Leverage Social Media and Influencer Marketing
Social media plays a significant role in Black Friday marketing and considering running paid advertising campaigns on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google is a given this cyber week.
However, influencer marketing can be a powerful tool to endorse your products and deals and collaborate with relevant influencers in your industry will help promote your Black Friday sales. In fact, influencers are pretty ‘influential’ with 79% of Gen Z saying their shopping is informed by social media. Now I know we’ve already exclaimed how TikTok is a great fit for the Black Friday spenders this cyber week, however it also boasts a great shopping feature you can utilise.
TikTok live is a feature that allows users to live stream themselves anywhere, at any time. Combine that with TikTok Shop and you have a winner. TikTok shop allows users to seamlessly buy products at the tap of a button, right as they are being showcased in the live. This feature facilitates a smoother transition from showing interest to making a purchase. In the world of e-commerce, it’s a well-known fact that the fewer obstacles your potential customers face before buying, the higher the likelihood of converting them into actual sales.
A survey conducted by the Influencer Marketing Factory showed that 40% of individuals within the Gen Z/Millenial age group have made a purchase of at least one product or service while tuning into a social media livestream.
Given that the combined purchasing power of Gen Zs presently stands at $360 billion, they represent a highly attractive market to engage.
Provide Excellent Customer Support
70% of the buying experience is based on how the customer is treated and 64% of businesses say they can notice sales growth due to good customer service.
Black Friday can be a hectic and stressful time for shoppers. To stand out from the competition, it’s beneficial to offer exceptional customer support. 75% of consumers will spend more with businesses that have a good customer experience so ensure your customer service team is well-prepared, responsive, and available via multiple channels, including live chat, email, and phone.
Address customer inquiries and concerns promptly, and make returns and exchanges as hassle-free as possible. Happy customers are more likely to become repeat customers, so prioritise their satisfaction.
Leave it to the experts
We achieved award-winning results last Black Friday and we’re ready to hit the mark again.
Despite being our first Black Friday, Shay & Blue trusted us as their strategic partner, allowing us to achieve a 1009% ROAS, resulting in a record-breaking period of online trading for Shay & Blue. Revenue attributed to Paid Media increased by 244.59%, generating their biggest month in online revenue in a single week.
We also saw high levels of engagement among younger audiences, who left comments on social media. New customer site visits increased by 49.23% and revenue from all sources increased by 159% YoY.
Vital to success, we integrated the campaign into all owned media; first touchpoint to website. Our foreplanning, strategy and execution increased awareness of the niche brand, while competing with major labels and retailers.
We even won Paid Social Campaign of the Year at the UK Paid Media Awards 2023 for our work!
Black Friday presents a significant opportunity for businesses to boost their sales and build customer loyalty. By implementing these five tips for Black Friday marketing in 2023, you can increase your chances of success in this highly competitive retail event.
Remember to monitor your results, adapt to changing consumer trends, and continuously improve your marketing efforts to stay ahead of the game in the evolving world of Black Friday sales.
And if you’d like some extra help leveraging your campaigns, Arke can help. Get in touch with an Arkenaut today to discuss how we can level up your Black Friday marketing.
