Standing Out From The Crowd This Black Friday
Traditionally an event in the USA’s calendar, Black Friday has slowly crept onto the radar of countries further afield. In the UK alone, Brits spent a huge £5.6 billion across Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2019 and predictions this year are looking closer to the £6 billion mark.
For e-commerce brands, this highlights a huge opportunity. Whereas the Black Friday/Cyber Monday highly-sought after deals tend to be based around the latest tech, plenty of other brands are often more than keen to jump on the bandwagon and offer discounts to eager shoppers.
This year, Black Friday falls on the 27th November and it’s likely it could be even busier than normal. With England lockdown news resulting in the closure of high street stores, which will stretch over Black Friday weekend this year, audiences are likely to be consuming more digital content, this should give a huge green light to e-commerce brands. However, the increase in online footfall is likely to result in more competition for both retailers and shoppers.
With some retailers opting to unveil their Black Friday offers as early as October this year, notably Amazon, it couldn’t be more important to make sure that your offers stand out.
Whether you’ve been planning this event for months or you’re only just getting round to it now, here’s four tips to boost your digital presence and marketing this Black Friday.
1. Do your research
In marketing we are big believers in doing your research and using data to inform next steps and with an event like Black Friday coming up, it could be an ideal time to delve into what your audiences are looking at right now.
Consumer behaviour has changed. We are digesting more digital content than ever before and it’s getting a bit boring to see the same content across all brands, whether that’s stocking up on ‘lockdown outfits’ or reading about how to spend your time whilst stuck indoors. Ahead of Black Friday it could be worth revisiting your target audience and having a look at what they are engaging with. It’s also a good idea to check out the competition and see what they’ve been doing.
2. Invest in your social media platforms
We’re always told that social media isn’t just ‘a nice to have’ anymore and that it’s something we need to seriously invest our time in to. Social platforms are crucial when it comes to getting your brand noticed and engaging with customers, both potential and existing.
Whereas organic social media is great for sharing that messaging when it comes to an event that’s going to have a lot of competition, you need to stand out. The answer? A robust paid social media strategy.
Investing in a paid social strategy allows you to reach your target audience much more effectively through data sources such as customer lists, pixel insights and 3rd party data. There is also the opportunity to increase customer lifetime value through the likes of retargeting.
3. Consider new channels
We haven’t got long until Black Friday so we aren’t suggesting a complete overhaul of your marketing activity, but are you really making the most of what’s out there and what’s relevant to your customers in 2020?
From introducing a mobile app to considering Google Ads or increasing your online content marketing with expert articles, trying new avenues could prove beneficial beyond November.
4. Track and measure
As digital marketers we live and breathe data so measuring activity for a higher ROI seems like a no-brainer to us.
By using digital marketing you can collate a huge amount of data that will, in turn, better determine what works for your brand and what doesn’t.
Implementing tracking during a big e-commerce event such as Black Friday is crucial in understanding if your activity is working. Have you seen a spike in sales over the weekend compared to a usual weekend? Maybe your sales weren’t as high as last year because you decided against Facebook Ads.
There are even plenty of free tools out there to help, from Google Analytics to in-platform insights on social media channels, so why not make the most of them?
Looking for support with digital marketing for your e-commerce brand? Get in touch today by emailing info@360-om.co.uk to find out how we can help.
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