The busiest shopping days for retail and e-commerce businesses are just around the corner.
And it would be best if you immediately started preparing those Cyber Week marketing campaigns as these five days cover major shopping dates: US Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Super Sunday, and Cyber Monday.
To help you prepare better, we'll focus this article on social media marketing campaign ideas for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as they are the crown jewels that could help you hit pre-set business objectives for 2024:
In digital marketing and social media, Black Friday is a crucial event that marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season and sets the stage for Cyber Monday.
Originally a post-Thanksgiving shopping day in the United States, Black Friday has grown into a global phenomenon where businesses, both online and offline, offer substantial discounts and promotions.
For businesses, Black Friday isn't just a single day of sales; it's a strategic opportunity to engage with customers, enhance brand visibility, and significantly boost revenue.
On social media, Black Friday campaigns are vital in building anticipation, creating buzz, and driving traffic to your online store or physical locations.
This day is the perfect time to use social media to connect with potential buyers, showcase exclusive deals, and turn engagement into actual sales.
Moreover, Black Friday serves as an overture to Cyber Monday, extending the shopping frenzy and keeping the momentum going through the weekend. Businesses can use this period to maximise their impact, ensuring that their social media efforts carry through to Cyber Monday and beyond, capturing even more sales and customer interest.
Cyber Monday, following immediately after Black Friday, is a day dedicated to online shopping and e-commerce, offering businesses another chance to capitalise on the heightened consumer interest generated during the weekend.
Originally conceived as a day for online retailers to compete with the in-store deals of Black Friday, Cyber Monday has now become a major event in its own right.
For businesses, Cyber Monday is an opportunity to extend their Black Friday promotions into the digital space or introduce new deals exclusively available online. Cyber Monday campaigns on social media are critical for engaging with an audience ready to shop from the comfort of their homes.
By utilising targeted ads, time-sensitive offers, and creative content, businesses can:
This day also allows businesses to re-target potential customers who showed interest during Black Friday but didn’t complete a purchase.
By continuing the conversation on social media and offering irresistible online deals, businesses can convert these undecided shoppers into buyers, making the most of the extended holiday shopping period.
With all of the fantastic sales opportunities that Black Friday brings for brands, it's helpful to know exactly when the event falls on the social media holiday calendar, so you can start planning your brand's Black Friday social media campaigns.
Black Friday falls every year on the Friday after US Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday the following Monday.
In 2024, Black Friday will be on 29 November, and Cyber Monday will fall on 2 December.
Now that we know the power that Black Friday and Cyber Monday hold as consumer holidays, it's time to start making your brand's social media campaigns even better this year.
Here are our top Black Friday marketing tips:
They say the early bird catches the worm; the same is true for social media marketers! The earlier you start your Black Friday promo on social media, the more potential customers will hear about them.
Build anticipation with your campaign by creating countdown posts, sneak peeks, and deal reveals for your followers to get excited about.
Notice how supermarket chain Walmart began their 2021 Black Friday campaign in early November, giving them plenty of time to drip-feed their followers with great deals before the big day.
Source: @Walmart
The biggest bonus of starting your Black Friday social media promotion earlier is that you'll raise awareness before your competition - and this especially rings true for ads!
To increase the chances of converting your followers into customers and generating sales, when writing your social media post captions for Black Friday weekend, make sure to include phrases like:
This is precisely how makeup brand Glossier advertised its Black Friday sale on Instagram.
Source: @glossier
And since Cyber Monday already lasts 24 hours, you can create a few countdowns throughout the day with various time-limited offers. This is an incredible hack that will keep your audience engaged full-time.
Utilising hashtags has long been a way to increase reach on social media. And luckily for social media managers, they can be used effectively on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
There are plenty of other reasons you should use hashtags in your brand's Black Friday social media campaigns. For example, hashtags can help increase your brand's visibility and attract new followers to your profiles.
In 2020, fashion brand ASOS included their very own hashtag in their Instagram promotions - #ASOSBlackFriday. This was a smart move because it will have increased the organic reach on the post and helped the brand to maintain a strong sense of identity amongst the frenzy of deals and offers happening on the day.
Organisation is a massive part of a social media manager's job, especially when promotional campaigns roll around.
Make sure to plan out your brand's content and promotions in a social media calendar beforehand so that you can keep on top of your priorities as Black Friday gets closer.
It's also worth investing in a social media scheduling tool like Sendible to save time and help take out the legwork of manually posting to each social media platform.
To avoid confusion for your customers, make sure to always add a note or disclaimer to your content or post a caption letting them know when your promotions will begin and end.
Similarly, if your brand plans to continue its promotions into Cyber Monday, let your customers know.
Notice how supermarket chain Target specifies exactly when its Black Friday deals start and end. This ensures that customers have their expectations set from the outset of the promotion.
Source: @Target
Excellent social media customer service takes time and resources. So, before you release your brand's Black Friday social media campaign into the world, ensure you've got the capacity to answer any questions customers might have about taking advantage of your promotions.
If you're a one-person team, consider scaling back the number of social media posts you create to promote your offering and which channels you decide to post them on. After all, do you really have time to reply to comments on multiple posts and messages on Instagram, Facebook, and X?
Remember that bad customer service on social media can make a big, negative, real-life impression, so never take on more than you can handle.
Social media marketers can take advantage of so many unique features of each platform and make this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday genuinely unforgettable.
Why not experiment with Instagram Video by creating your brand's promotions using Reels or Stories? Maybe you could take on TikTok to promote your deals, as you don't need any followers to reach millions of users. Or create a poll on X to ask your followers what kind of deals they'd like to see from your brand.
Hulu's Black Friday social media promotions on Instagram consisted of a Carousel post that viewers had to scroll through to reach the deal on the final image - great for creating suspense and engagement!
Source: @hulu
It doesn't matter if you're tight on budget or ready to invest thousands - Cyber Monday is the day to focus on dynamic retargeting ads.
Kickstarting your Black Friday marketing earlier this year means your ads will have more time to reach their full potential and target audience before the competitors start promoting their offers. But Cyber Monday is the same for everybody - it lasts just one day. And yes, you can transform it into a weekend sale, but with all the holidays before it, it's not likely your new ad campaign will have time to achieve anything meaningful.
This is why your Cyber Monday promotion should focus on retargeting people who have added items to their cart but haven't purchased them or those who have at least visited your online shop. It is the perfect time to give them that extra push and close the gap between "added to cart" and "purchased".
Creating compelling social media content is crucial for making the most of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here are some post ideas to help you capture your audience's attention and drive sales:
Build anticipation with daily or hourly countdowns leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Use eye-catching visuals and engaging captions to remind your followers of the upcoming deals.
Give your audience a sneak peek of the discounts and promotions you’ll offer. This could be in the form of short videos, carousel posts, or Instagram Stories, teasing what’s to come and creating excitement.
Post about limited-time flash sales exclusive to your social media followers. Use urgent language and countdown timers in your posts to encourage immediate action.
Encourage your customers to share their purchases or experiences with your products using a specific hashtag. Repost their content to build social proof and community engagement.
Show behind-the-scenes preparations for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Whether it’s a glimpse into your warehouse or your team getting ready for the big day, this humanizes your brand and builds anticipation.
Host a live unboxing event on platforms like Instagram or Facebook, where you reveal and discuss your top deals. This can create a sense of excitement and immediacy among your audience.
Collaborate with influencers to promote your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Influencers can create authentic content that resonates with their followers, amplifying your reach and boosting credibility.
Engage your audience with polls or surveys asking them what deals they’re most excited about. This not only boosts engagement but also provides insights into what your customers value the most.
Create and share a holiday gift guide featuring your products. This can help your audience find the perfect gifts and highlight your best offerings in a visually appealing way.
After Black Friday and Cyber Monday, post a thank you message to show appreciation for your customers. Include a call-to-action encouraging them to stay tuned for future deals or share their purchases.
Sendible can help you save hours on planning BFCM social media campaign, scheduling posts, managing and tracking them, and analysing performance to prove ROI.
You can use a plethora of features to better organise, produce, and manage your campaign:
There are many more features that can help you get the most out of 2024 Black Friday on social media. And the best news is that you're just in time to try them all for free, for 14 days! Get started today and watch how your ROI improves and stress declines.
Leverage Sendible’s extensive integrations to create, schedule, publish, and engage with your posts seamlessly.
