Posted In: Digital by
Connor,
September 11, 2024
Fran Haigh, Senior Account Executive
Black Friday—the one day (or you could argue Month) a year where shoppers go wild for discounts, and marketers lose sleep over their ad campaigns. With ad costs climbing, competition intensifying, and shoppers becoming savvier, it’s getting harder to cut through the noise. So, how can you ensure your paid social accounts are ready to drive results without the trauma? Grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and let’s dive into the Black Friday prep you didn’t know you needed.
Before I dive into the paid social tips, let’s do a bit of housekeeping on the general consensus of Black Friday 2024….
Here’s the hard truth: Black Friday is becoming more expensive to advertise on social media. In 2023, it was reported that there was a 26% decrease in ROAS. That’s right, costs are rising, and your returns are shrinking. That’s why you’ve got to be smarter, not just splash more cash. A well-thought-out, month-long campaign beats a weekend blitz every time.
If you are planning on slapping a 20% discount off all over your socials and website and calling it a day, I’ve got some news for you. Discounts 20% and under rarely do well during Black Friday. Sure, 20% off might work for a summer sale, but this is Black Friday guys—go big, or you’ll go home with nothing but post Black Friday trauma.
Yes, I just spent a whole paragraph convincing you to amp up those discounts, but hear me out. Black Friday isn’t always about driving immediate sales. Sometimes, it’s the perfect opportunity to build your future marketing list. Data is invaluable these days, in fact email marketing is one of the most effective ways to convert for our clients. Think of Black Friday as a data-harvesting holiday, not just a manic sales weekend. No matter how good your discounts are, if you’re not collecting data for future campaigns, you’re missing half the point.
This should go without saying, but here we are: know your audience before you run your Black Friday campaign. What do they want? (Hint: It’s not the 20% discount – I promise I’ll shut up about that soon). Tailor your messaging to the people you’re targeting. Maybe your audience is looking for last-minute gifts for their mother-in-law, or maybe they’re the kind who will revamp their whole house with new home decor. Think about what their barriers or benefits might be as to why they need your product. The more specific you are with your audience segmentation, the better your conversion rates.
If your website and creatives aren’t mobile-friendly, (well first of all, have you not been reading my other blogs?!) but you might as well be burning money with your new firepit you got in the sale. Most Black Friday purchases will be made via mobile this year (Desktop is soooo 2000 and late). Make sure your checkout process is smooth, fast and mobile friendly, and your creatives are built for mobiles too – think UGC!
One of the biggest mistakes brands make during Black Friday is to go all guns blazing on the Friday of the sales. Yes, that will work for your email marketing or paid search campaign, but I am afraid that strategy will not work with the nature of paid social. If you launch your campaign on Friday, you will be wasting your precious time and money (at the most important time) on the learning phase. Instead, start teasing your Black Friday sale at least a month in advance, it’s always important to start building up your brand awareness before the weekend comes so you are already top of mind when the weekend hits. By the time Black Friday weekend comes, your ads will be sailing through the weekend without being stuck in the learning phase.
Last year, it was reported that 31% of sales were made on Friday, Sunday and Monday, at 6pm – 10pm. Saturdays were reported to be more for window shopping. Thanks to Meta releasing the ‘time-based budgets’ option just before the Black Friday weekend last year, you can now adjust your budgets and plan ahead to ensure your budget is being spent at the most effective time for your brand. We do recommend checking your own ‘prime time’ as your audience may differ.
Would it be a marketing blog if I didn’t mention AI somewhere? Black Friday is well known for its highly competitive and fluctuating landscape in the paid media world, and during this time Advantage+ can be a lifesaver. Meta uses its own machine learning and data to put your ads in front of those people most likely to engage and convert leaving out the guesswork. This means you are putting your budget behind an effective campaign that will guarantee a strong conversion rate and CPA.
During one of the busiest times for marketers, it can be easy to fall into a trap of trying to be the savviest paid social specialist out there, leading to the simple basics being forgotten. Before the madness, make sure your pixel and conversions API is up to date and tracking properly. These are essential for building our audiences and being able to re-target those with more intent and more likely to convert during the sale period. Remember when I mentioned your email lists earlier? This is the perfect time to start leveraging that data to create highly effective and engaged audiences
With all of this in mind, it is important to not forget about your other channels. Make sure your paid social campaign is working harmoniously with search, organic, PR and email marketing. The more touch points you have, the better. Think of it as a finely tuned orchestra and not a one man band.
Black Friday isn’t just about slapping a discount on everything and hoping for the best—it’s about strategic planning, understanding your audience, and optimising every aspect of your paid social campaigns. Get your discounts right, tease your audience, and make sure your mobile experience is as smooth as butter. But most importantly, don’t rely on one channel alone. Paid social, email, search, and even PR all need to play nicely together for you to win big. So, prepare now and may your ROAS be ever in your favour! What to chat more about Black Friday or your broader digital strategy – drop us a note and we’ll get the kettle on hello@weareboutique.co.uk
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