Black Friday is nearing. This year, it falls on the 27th of November followed by Cyber Monday on the 30th.
The 4-day event is easily one of the busiest for eCommerce. Especially important this year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday pose an excellent opportunity to boost your sales.
Across the board, we have seen effects of the first lockdown back in March send eCommerce traffic and revenue soring. While this decreased slightly throughout the summer months, we expect internet usage to increase following the November lockdown.
With this big shift in shopping habits, many retailers and eCommerce businesses are having to rethink their Black Friday marketing strategies. Some businesses may choose to stick with traditional marketing such as tv ads and direct mail. However, why wouldn’t you meet your customers where they are – on the internet?
In this article, we offer you a digital marketing strategy that can help your businesses stand out and stay ahead of your competitors by expanding your eCommerce business further through digital marketing.
SEO for eCommerce
The majority of online shoppers now derives from search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Having your eCommerce site rank at the top of these search engine results means your business and products will be visible to your ideal customers who will potentially buy from you this Black Friday.
Optimising your product headlines, meta title and descriptions, and other website contents based on key terms that emphasise promotions, sales, and discounts this Black Friday will help you stay visible amongst your competitors. Using the terms “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” alongside your brands and products is a great place to start. Other key terms, such as free delivery, deals, promotion, discounts, and offers are also great words to consider.
Tip: Remember to remove all mentions of Black Friday as soon as it is over!
Ensure optimal site performance with technical checks
Technical SEO is of high importance for any eCommerce site; this usually includes checks on page speed, UX (user experience), checkouts process, mobile-friendliness, and link errors. We highly recommend doing this before promoting Black Friday, so everything is running smoothly during your campaign.
Organic and Paid Social Media
Social Media can be highly effective for eCommerce businesses.
Features such as shoppable Instagram posts, Facebook shops, and Pinterest shopping catalogues have made promoting and selling products much more personalised for the user. Leverage your social media by showcasing your products, its benefits, price drops, and more. Additionally, introducing influencer marketing as well as featuring user-generated content, is a great way to drive engagement.
Paid social methods now offered by almost every social media platform will help ensure that your targeted customers are fully aware of your Black Friday promotions.
Display ads: Pop-ups and Banners
Display ads are usually animated images or media which can be used to communicate your Black Friday promotions being offered by your store. They are usually placed on websites with high traffic meaning your ad is highly likely to be seen. In addition to generating traffic, these ads can also be used to retarget audiences who have already visited your website, app, or social media pages allowing you to build a more personalised message for them near or on the Back Friday.
Add persuasive pop-ups in your web stores to remind users about the deals or promotions you are offering.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to remind your loyal customers that Black Friday is near and that they can get a deal on some of their favourite products.
Shoppers are more likely to make a purchase when they are offered discounts, so writing a creative yet informative email with an excellent call to action and something which will evoke fear of missing out is a great way to up your sales this Black Friday.
In Conclusion
To ensure you are getting the most out of your Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, it first starts with checking your website health through SEO and technical SEO. This ensures that your site will be found and lays the foundation for a smooth customer experience once on the site.
Supplementing this organic strategy with paid social, email marketing, and even PPC or display ads will have traffic flooding into your store. With the right discounts and promotions on-site, you are all set for a record-breaking Black Friday weekend!
With the right marketing strategy in place, Black Friday can be one of the most profitable events for any eCommerce business. Why not talk to one of our marketing experts and see how we can help you get your traffic and sales where you want them this Black Friday? Give us a call on +44 (0) 1227 68 68 98.
