Black Friday: Best Practice Paid Social
Below you will find our best tips for getting the most out of Paid Social when it comes to Black Friday. We cover both Top Funnel activities that should be implemented before Black Week, and Bottom Funnel activities that are best run during the period.
Top Funnel Activities: Before Black Week
Although Black Friday typically spans a week, there is a great deal to be gained on social media in the weeks leading up to the event. Make sure to focus on generating awareness around your upcoming deals and discounts. Use your SoMe campaigns as a push medium with the aim of optimising your success during the Black Friday period itself.
1. Review last year's performance
Learn from previous years' experiences by analysing the data you collected during past Black Fridays. Conduct an evaluation of what has worked before and what has not, in order to increase your chances of achieving even better results this year.
2. Build awareness before Black Week
Start building awareness a few weeks ahead of Black Week to ensure your business is “top of mind” with your target audience. We recommend starting the process 7–10 days before the week begins. This gives you the opportunity to inform your customers about your upcoming offers and benefits, while also giving them a preview of what to expect later.
3. Create engaging and informative content before and during Black Week
When preparing your Black Friday campaigns, there are several crucial aspects to consider. Start by striking a balance between your brand identity and the message you want to convey, and write content that engages your target audience. This forms the foundation for how you will differentiate yourself from competitors.
In addition, it is essential to identify your purpose, your unique selling propositions (USPs), and the discounts you are offering. Create personal and original content — such as video content — to capture customers' attention. It is also important to highlight your prices and discounts clearly and prominently in your ads, so customers understand what to expect and what benefits they gain by shopping with you. Be equally clear about how long your campaigns and discounts will be valid, as this helps to inform and engage customers effectively.
Normally, bright ads perform well, but during the Black Friday period, dark colours and the recognisable yellow and white colour combinations are particularly effective.
Overall, it is about balancing all these elements to optimise your Black Friday campaigns.
4. Create lead campaigns and build your customer list
If you want to move a little further down the funnel ahead of Black Friday, you can benefit from collecting email subscribers and building a customer list that will play a crucial role during Black Week. Start the process of collecting potential customers (leads) a few weeks before Black Week, so you can reach your target audience when Black Week begins. Your lead campaigns can be based on, among other things, competitions, pre-access, event sign-ups, and campaign codes, etc.
5. Fill up your remarketing lists
Alongside building your customer list, it is also essential to focus on your remarketing lists. This enables you to target your campaigns precisely at consumers who have already shown interest in your business or products.
By including these potential customers in your Black Week campaigns, you can take advantage of the prior interest they have shown and increase the chances of converting them into active customers when the period arrives.
6. Consider Pinterest as a push channel
Pinterest is a platform widely used for finding inspiration and new ideas within areas such as fashion, travel, cooking, art, and interior design. As a result, many people also use it when searching for gift ideas, making Pinterest an attractive platform for generating awareness before the holiday season begins.
Although Pinterest is used less frequently than many other social media platforms, its users often represent a more purchase-ready audience. At the same time, CPM is lower compared to other SoMe platforms, which is why it can be advantageous to choose Pinterest to generate interest in your products — provided it makes sense for your business.
Bottom Funnel Activities: During Black Week
Once the groundwork above has been completed, it is time to shift focus towards conversions so you can sell products during the peak season. The following initiatives therefore primarily concern Bottom Funnel activities.
1. Conversion campaigns on Meta
During the peak season, it is crucial to focus on conversion campaigns with the aim of generating more conversions and increasing revenue. Conversion campaigns on the Meta platform play an important role in turning consumer interest into actual purchases during Black Week. This can have a significant impact on your business's success during this critical trading period.
2. Convenience is key
Convenience plays a decisive role in appealing to your target audience as effectively as possible. Make sure your unique selling points (USPs) are clearly communicated, and inform your customers of important details such as return policies, exchange services, and free shipping. When this information is clearly presented and easily accessible, you increase the likelihood that customers will prefer your products or services. Where possible, it is also beneficial to include Trustpilot to provide social proof that strengthens your credibility and gives customers a sense of confidence when shopping with you.
3. User experience #QuickOnTheChat
In this competitive period, user experience can be decisive in determining whether a customer converts or looks for alternatives with competitors. It is therefore essential to prioritise quick responses in chat and comment fields to address customer enquiries, as this can open up further sales opportunities. Make sure to be proactive in this area to ensure a positive customer experience and at the same time increase the opportunities to retain customers and achieve additional sales.
4. Experiment with different Paid Social ad formats
It can be advantageous to test several different ad formats to see which perform best and deliver the strongest results during the period. You should therefore consider including carousels, collections, videos, and similar formats, while also evaluating how the chosen ad formats align with your Black Friday objectives. Collections and catalogues can, for example, promote cross-selling, while videos lend themselves well to building hype and communicating information.
5. Competitions, giveaways, and Live Shopping
It may also be worth considering whether it makes sense to run competitions or giveaways during the peak season. Here, it is possible to engage your audience by encouraging sharing, tagging friends, or creating user-generated content (UGC) featuring your products. This type of interaction can lead to extended brand reach and a stronger connection with your audience, while also generating positive attention around your products.
Furthermore, you should also consider incorporating Live Shopping as a potential sales channel in your strategy. This gives consumers the opportunity to purchase selected products featured in your live video, contributing to increased customer engagement while creating a more interactive and engaging shopping experience for your customers.
It is worth noting, however, that each approach has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is therefore essential to consider whether it is appropriate for your business.
6. Spend budget
When it comes to your spend budget for paid ads during the Black Friday period, it is crucial to take several factors into account. First and foremost, you should base your spend on estimates from previous years and the expected CPM for this season. Since CPM often rises during this busy trading period, it is necessary to adjust your budget accordingly.
To manage your budget effectively, you should also set a daily spend and ensure that your ads remain within this limit. This helps to balance ad expenditure and ensures stable performance of your ads throughout the entire Black Friday period.
Last chance for Black Friday preparations
To achieve maximum success during the peak season, it is absolutely essential to prepare as thoroughly as possible for Black Week, Cyber Monday, and Christmas shopping. Start by focusing on Top Funnel activities today to build awareness and be “top of mind” with your target audience.
At the same time, prepare your Bottom Funnel activities for the Black Week period and concentrate on conversion campaigns on platforms such as Meta. In addition, user experience, convenience, and the choice of ad formats all play a central role in attracting and retaining customers.
Remember that thorough preparation and careful planning are the keys to successful Black Friday campaigns — and now is the time to act in order to optimise your strategy and ensure a successful peak season. A well-crafted Paid Social strategy not only maximises holiday sales, but can also set the stage for further growth and success going forward.
