What’s better than Christmas? Black Friday. Well it is if you have goods or a service to sell. Honestly, find me a person who has no interest in a bargain…
Black Friday 2018 saw South Africans spend a total of R2.9 billion, a 15.92% growth year on year, according to BankservAfrica.
While many brands will have been ahead of the game in preparation for the largest revenue event of the year, if you haven’t started planning yet, don’t worry – you haven’t missed the Black Friday (trolley) dash.
Here are some last-minute marketing ideas and actions to help you mark your place amongst the Black Friday chaos.
Email marketing
Black Friday is a prime opportunity to capture your potential customers through email marketing.
Email marketing can prove highly successful, since it is a time where consumers are far more present, waiting in anticipation for the latest deals to arrive into their inbox from their favourite brands.
You can use this to your advantage, by enticing consumers with discount teasers and live offers that can be redeemed in-store or online, ultimately helping you to drive traffic and generate more awareness.
Remember to build a sense of urgency in the days running up to Black Friday; incorporate timers and countdown features within your emails to build anticipation.
Reward loyal, returning customers by making them feel special with early bird discounts or additional discounts.
Incorporate ‘limited time only’ deals to transition consumers very quickly from the awareness stage to the purchase stage of the customer journey.
Social media
Before Black Friday approaches, consider teasing and tempting your customers, exposing them to real-time offers as and when they launch.
Heighten your social media presence by posting engaging content more frequently. Highlight your offers and make sure your deals are irresistible to customers. Create gift guides for your consumers, delivering inspiration and support as they search for the perfect gifts. Here are some ideas we rolled out in 2017 on the East Coast Radio website.
Twitter is a great platform for creating campaigns around hashtags – consider running competitions to spark audience engagement and increase awareness.
Make paid ads on Instagram and Facebook your priority. They allow you to target new or existing audiences, and you only pay once your advertisement is clicked on.
PPC
Countdown functions are a great feature to consider using as part of your PPC ad strategy
In order to entice individuals to your advertisement, make sure the content is worded appropriately and the creative is eye-catching.
Black Friday landing page
Develop a bespoke Black Friday landing page that your customers will love. Include all the relevant information they need i.e. when the offer ends, current stock availability and number of people viewing the product. You should also showcase your product with high-quality imagery. Here are some ideas from AutoGrow.
Pop-ups
Consider pop-up offers to keep people shopping. Pop-up offers can be an effective way to stop them leaving in the first place. Pop-up offers could be anything from additional discounts, free shipping or product giveaways. The intent of these pop-ups is to attract your audience’s attention and persuade them to stay.
SMS promotions
SMS promotions are great for connecting with your audience; you can send deals directly to your customers. Think of things like pre-sale invites or unique codes with special offers attached to them.
If you run an ecommerce store and find your customers are abandoning their baskets due to stock availability, consider sending them updates notifying them whenever new stock becomes available, starts running low or if it’s about to expire. You will definitely get them to be more reactive.
Encourage sharing
Offer incentives for sharing – discount codes can be a powerful incentive for sharing and the further news of your offers travel, the more buyers you’ll have, so make the most of the Black Friday traffic by getting them to bring a friend. Last year Woolworths offered incredible deals to keep people shopping and sharing.
Retarget customers
Strategically use ads to retarget visitors to your site who are yet to complete their purchase. This is even better if personalised (e.g. ‘Hey Mandy, it’s not too late to get 20% off that dress’). You can complement these ads with follow-up emails featuring recently viewed items or their basket.
Personalisation
I am a believer in data and really understanding your audience/customer. Whether it’s via email or on-site, offer consumers about whom you have information offers tailored to their preferences.
Radio
Radio provides a more intimate approach than TV or print and can reach target consumers at key times during the day.
You can also consider presenter live reads, radio ad spots or sponsoring show features.
Look at pairing radio adverts with online advertising. Some radio stations boast a large website following and having your advert on-air and online with one brand is a great way to reach multiple audiences.
Last and most important point, plan better next year!
Charis Apelgren-Coleman is the market engagement manager at Kagiso Media Radio. She has worked with small and large local organisations as well as large multinational organisations, while managing specialist content teams.
