Black Friday Marketing Ideas 2023: How To Set Yourself Up For Success

Black Friday – retail’s most celebrated event – is fast approaching. 

With every passing year, Black Friday marketing efforts continue to grow – achieving the unthinkable and piling on the pressure to up the ante for next year. On the surface, things may appear to be executed flawlessly, but behind every sea of excited shoppers is a marketing army, headed by a jam-packed seasonal content calendar.

If our nod to a seasonal content calendar has lost you – or even frightened you – then not to worry, you’re exactly where you need to be. That’s here, with us, as we guide you through our top 5 essential Black Friday marketing ideas to take your campaigns from drab to fab. 

Keep reading for our Black Friday marketing tips!

THE BEST BLACK FRIDAY MARKETING IDEAS

1. Start early!

Of all the marketing ideas for Black Friday we’re offering you in this article, starting early is one we cannot stress enough. Getting ahead of the curve is an advantageous way to secure your position as a frontrunner this shopping season, helping you stand out from the millions of other retail competitors looking to get their foot in the door. 

Let’s be honest, everyone knows Black Friday is coming, but not every one of your customers is a die-hard fan with an unlimited budget. To help persuade them to spend their money with you, start building anticipation for your Black Friday deals weeks before they’re set to go live. 

Reports suggest that Black Friday shoppers begin visiting websites 43 days before the event. That’s 6 weeks to weigh up, evaluate and compare products from hundreds of different retailers to help inform their purchase decisions. 

The aim is for your site to be worth returning to. 

Early Black Friday marketing ideas could include launching a teaser campaign on social media like that from meundies: 

@meundies

We have 6 days of deals so good, you can only shop ‘em for 24 hours. Check back every day this week to see what deal is coming next. ?

♬ original sound – MeUndies – MeUndies

Or, tease discounts and new launches across your socials to generate a buzz around what your brand will be offering in a few week’s time. Being transparent with your customers about what they can expect from you is a great way to keep them enticed and increase the likelihood of them spending their Black Friday budget with you. 

2. Partner with influencers

Black Friday marketing ideas have the potential to reap better results should you get an influencer involved with them. 

Social media influencers can sell almost anything to anyone and your Black Friday sale is no exception. Partnering with carefully selected influencers within your niche to help run your Black Friday promotion ideas can increase reach, broaden visibility and escalate traffic to your specially-designed web pages for the event. 

Influencer collaborations are a great way to diversify your content this Black Friday, as they can take on many different forms. Of course, not every single type of collaboration will fit your goals/brand, but it’s wise to be aware of what’s on offer.

A common approach to Black Friday marketing ideas involving influencers is to have them film Haul videos of the products and their discounts shoppers can expect to find on the day.

@alixearle

All from @asos Black Friday! Let me know which outfit you like best. #ad

♬ original sound – alix earle

Other effective ways to promote your Black Friday marketing ideas with the help of influencers include:

Launching a Black Friday-specific hashtag: ask influencers to include this in the captions of sponsored content

Creating shoppable posts: which can be posted on an influencer’s account for optimum traffic increase to your site

Promoting your deals through influencer generated content: IGC is a great way to spread the word about what you’ve got to offer this shopping season. 

On the note of partnerships, perhaps you might want to consider partnering with a charity who will also reap the benefits of your Black Friday marketing ideas. Use your platform to donate a percentage of your earnings to an organisation that aligns with your brand’s outlook. Check out the example below by Good Light.

3. Level up your email marketing game

Email marketing will be an integral part of your Black Friday efforts. Gen Z, in particular, are partial to a great email marketing campaign and seeing as they’re among the most likely to make purchases this shopping season, you’ll want to ensure your Black Friday email marketing ideas are killer!

Here’s what we advise. 

Start compiling your email lists early. Building your mailing list ahead of time will ensure your promotional efforts are reaching as many relevant people as possible. Teasing discounts and eligible products in the week’s leading up to their launch will ensure they’re ingrained into the mind’s of your email subscribers ready to be unleashed on shopping day.

Below are some examples of successful email marketing campaigns for Black Friday.

Here, we can see the use of urgency, CTAs and early marketing efforts. All of which contribute to a fantastic email marketing campaign. Other factors to consider include:

Writing an attention-grabbing subject line

Putting your best graphics forward

Optimising for mobile use

Writing engaging copy

Using humour (where appropriate)

There’s no upper limit to how many emails should be sent out ahead of Black Friday, but we do strongly advise to avoid spam-like behaviour. With catchy subject lines and incredible offers, your customers will know where and how to find you without a bombardment of emails. 

4. Host a live shopping event

As the new kid on the block, live shopping events are a strong contender when compiling your list of Black Friday marketing ideas. 

Gen Z are leading the way in social commerce, with 47% of consumers having made a live shopping purchase from both the US and UK. Live shopping events also offer your audience the chance to experience the capabilities of your products much more than if they were being browsed through on your website. 

Black Friday marketing ideas for live shopping events should be product-focused and clearly highlight what discounts you are offering. Other benefits of hosting a live shopping event for Black Friday include:

Bridging any information gaps for shoppers

Converting ready-to-buy customers

Curbing hesitation caused by crowded stores

Today, live streaming options are in abundance, with the majority of platforms offering up their own versions. Think Instagram Live, TikTok live streaming, Twitch etc. All you need is an internet connection and smile! 

5. Continue your sales through to Cyber Monday

It might come as a shock, but not everything’s about Black Friday any more. Sure, it’s still the most talked about retail event of the year, but, as of recently, Cyber Monday’s stepped into the spotlight, offering just as great a deal as its predecessor. 

Thanks to both events ending one week and beginning the next, Black Friday promotions can continue throughout the entire weekend, allowing you to offer a competitive edge by being available to shoppers who perhaps aren’t able to shop on Friday. 

Your Black Friday marketing ideas should be expected to span the entire four days, so ensure you’re creating enough content, have enough stock and keeping those discounts high! 

There you have it. A detailed overview of our top 5 Black Friday marketing ideas for you to run this November. If this list of Black Friday marketing ideas tickled your fancy, be sure to check out our other Black Friday-focused articles on their execution, including which hashtags to include in your captions and other showstopping campaigns from previous years. 

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@ Socially Powerful