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November 2024
Is your Black Friday marketing not working as well as you thought it would?
With the shopping season in full swing, it's easy to get lost in the noise. Whether you're looking to enhance your digital strategy or rethink your messaging, these tips will guide you toward success.
Strategy #1 – Build the momentum before the Christmas season
Black Friday advertising may not perform well over the actual weekend. CPMs will double, meaning that you're paying twice as much to reach the same audience to tougher competition.
Recommendation: Run your digital ad campaigns all year round. Start early in preparing your Black Friday and Christmas campaign. Doing so allows you to build custom audiences, and these are likely to be your best performers during the pre-Christmas period.
Sample Timeline:
Pre-Black Friday Prep (June - July)
Build anticipation and grow your email list. Start testing Facebook ads to engage potential customers early. Begin warming up your audiences with teaser ads, sneak peeks of deals, or early-bird promotions.
Pre-Black Friday Campaign (Nov 19 - Nov 24)
Focus on driving return on ad spend (ROAS) with curated promotions like gift guides or bundles. Increase ad spend to optimize your audience targeting and start retargeting past website visitors, email subscribers, and lookalike audiences.
Black Friday Weekend (Nov 25 - Nov 27)
Target custom audiences—email subscribers, past customers, website visitors—with significant discounts. Push high-converting offers (e.g., limited-time sales, exclusive bundles) and use urgency-driven messaging (e.g., "48-hour sale")
Post-BFC to Pre-Christmas (Nov 28 - Dec 23)
Keep momentum with BOGO deals and Christmas-specific packages. Consider offering "last chance" deals or free shipping offers to maintain engagement. Expand your reach by targeting new prospects who showed interest during BFC but didn’t convert.
Christmas Period (Dec 24 - Dec 31)
Run clearance sales and promote New Year’s offers. Focus on gift cards, last-minute gifts, and post-Christmas discounts to drive sales during this final stretch.
Strategy #2 – Broaden your targeting
One thing you shouldn’t do is narrow your targeting too much. Interest-based audiences will be heavily saturated and costly during this time. Instead, aim to cast the widest net possible among your audiences.
Recommendation: Target your custom audiences by combining smaller groups and extending their timeframes to up to 365 days to maximize reach. Ensure your email list is validated and uploaded to Facebook, and use the Facebook Conversions API and UTM tags for accurate tracking and data collection.
While broad audiences may seem counterintuitive, they are highly effective and should be used throughout every stage of your campaign, as ad creative quality often outweighs specific targeting. Schedule your campaigns 2-3 days in advance to avoid delays and monitor performance closely to adjust budgets and optimise results.
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Strategy #3 – Freshen up your creatives
This is your opportunity to tell your story, showcase your products, and attract new customers. In fact, compelling ad creatives are likely the number one reason people decide whether or not to purchase your product.
Recommendation: Emphasise the importance of fresh, engaging Facebook ad creatives to capture attention and drive purchases. Incorporate a variety of ad formats, such as video, carousel, and catalogue ads, and focus on strong, simple messages that highlight promotions or discounts. Allocate budget for A/B testing by spending at least double your CPA on each creative to identify what resonates most effectively with your audience.
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Wrapping up
The key is to plan every part of your strategy ahead of time. Often, the best time for sales is a much earlier than Black Friday, and don’t forget to factor in the time it takes to build your custom audiences.
When it comes to creatives, make sure to stay true to your brand while being innovative. The basic rule is to focus on one clear message, showcase your product well, and highlight your discount, especially if you’re promoting Black Friday deals. Once you have that, create your campaigns and optimise them daily. Don’t get discouraged by a slow day—always assess performance over a minimum 7-day window.
If you need help with your Black Friday or Christmas campaign, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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