Planning Your Black Friday Social Media Strategy

Now that we have entered November, brands are in holiday mode for the remainder of 2017. The countdown to Black Friday is on—only 3 short weeks away. If you in the process of planning or finalizing your strategy for Black Friday, the following tips are worth keeping in mind.

Tip #1: Think Beyond Deals and Get Creative

On social media, there is nothing worse than a traditional ad that screams “deal, deal, deal”. Even if you do have a great offer or special, resizing your print ad and posting it on your social channels won’t cut it. You will need to get creative in order to stand out in people’s feeds. If you can get your message across in video, even better. Think about using GIFs, stop motion, or even live video. A canvas ad is also another interactive experience that will grab and maintain attention, and they now work on Instagram Stories, as well. Bundling products for gift ideas or placing products in a natural setting can help people picture that they need it. If you are in need of some inspiration, here are our top Black Friday campaigns from last year.

Tease Black Friday Specials

Once you have your creative ready to go, start putting it out there. Two weeks or so before Black Friday is an acceptable time to launch. This will give you time to A/B test creative and targeting to see what is resonating and what isn’t. It also gives you time to build up some anticipation before everyone’s feeds get crowded with all of the other Thanksgiving and Black Friday messaging. Almost all brands tease their Black Friday deals well in advance, so don’t get left behind.

Start Promoting Early to Avoid Higher Costs

The earlier you can start promoting, the better. We usually start to see media costs rise as it gets closer to Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Since media dollars aren’t going to stretch as far during this time, be strategic. Focus your spends towards your best performing creative and target audiences and pause lower performing sets. Get in people’s news feeds early and hold off on spending money on Thanksgiving and Black Friday if you can.

Need help planning your Black Friday Strategy? It isn’t too late, we would be happy to help!



Ignite Social Media