Wow…Black Friday. Have you noticed…every year it gets bigger, longer and more polarising for business owners.
As a marketer, Black Friday… you’re both a blessing and a curse!
It’s a great opportunity to get out there and unashamedly sell our wares (hurrah!) but on the other hand, the potential to erode profits and change customer behaviours as they await ‘deals’.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, Black Friday is officially Friday 29th of November. Followed closely by Cyber Monday.
Today is the 12th of November and already the big brands are promoting their ‘best ever deals’.
We’ve already been talking about it in my membership, Thrive Collective, so I thought it may be helpful to share some top tips should you be thinking about joining in with Black Friday or if you’re not, how to use that to your advantage as part of your content marketing and messaging.
- Beat the rush. OK, that may have meant starting a few weeks ago, but if you’re reading this when I’ve posted it (12th November), start early. If you believe people are waiting for your deals, why wait? Pull it forward and avoid the noise, avoid the media saturation and get yourself out there!
- Don’t be afraid of repeating yourself across your marketing channels. With average Facebook pages getting less than 10% organic reach (on a good day), Instagram Stories less than 30% (on a good day) and email open rates averaging 30% (on a good day), don’t be afraid to repeat, remind and re-communicate what it is you’re offering. I’m always a huge advocate of repetition across different channels, but if you’ve got a compelling deal, at this time of year confidently sell and share to your captive audience. It’s not often you hear me saying this so forcefully, but NOW IS THE TIME!
- Get excited! I know this sounds daft, but a reminder if you need it. Inject some energy in your offer, creatives and copy. Make sure you’ve got every communication channel that excudes excitement. Where you’re including a compelling and eye catching creative or image that promotes your wonderful offer, make sure copy matches it…no-one wants to read a boring, slopping or lame ‘ask me for more info’
- Be aware you’ll need to dig deeper for paid advertising – I personally avoid Facebook / Instagram ads around now as I know my investment needs to increase to get the same return I’m used to. If it’s in your plans, you’ve got 2 options. Consider diverting or rescheduling your budget or be prepared for an increase. That goes with any other form of paid for marketing. It’s supply and demand. The demand is high so prices will increase.
- It doesn’t have to be about discounting. Offering money off isn’t always right for a brand or business or attracting your ideal client. If offering a discount doesn’t sit well and you’d still like to wrap up an offer, consider what can you offer on top of your product or service? Adding in a freebie, a bonus or extra time if you’re a service? Rather than saying 25% off your product or service can you give 25% more? “For every product purchased on X day you’ll throw in a free XYZ that’s worth £X”.
- It doesn’t need to be about money either. I’ve seen some businesses very successfully offer a non-monetary deal. Providing a % of their sales to a charity or donating something on your behalf as part of their Black Friday deal. Consider what works well for your business, your ideal client and how to wrap up with your messaging.
And finally, offering a deal or getting involved with Black Friday is not for everyone. There’s so much noise and it’s easy to get swept up in the ‘what are you offering?’.
Sit it out, support other owners and observe which brands and businesses are doing it well.
I’ve seen some great brands with strong messages about why they don’t join in and so do consider how you can create content around this and use to your advantage. Do you already offer your clients deals during the year, are your clients already getting your best prices, do you have a driving value in your business where you don’t offer discounts or freebies? Turn your opinions into compelling content through blogs, lives, social media posts and emails to your client base.
Here at Thrive HQ we’ve already done our Black Friday deal in the Thrive Collective Membership (Soz if you missed out) and here in my marketing consultancy it’s business as usual when it comes to price points, value offered and transformation we provide to businesses. We will of course be supporting other business owners and keeping our eye open for a deal. Oh how we love a deal!
So what are you planning on doing for Black Friday?
Come join us in the Thrive Collective Facebook Community so we can support you with your offers and a place to share your views
I’m Sam Dixon, founder of Thrive With Sam Dixon, a Marketing Consultant to ambitious businesswomen who want to launch, grow and scale their business with flexible marketing support.
For a free 30 minute discovery call get in touch by email hello@thrivewithsam.com or come join Thrive Collective, my monthly membership community. JOIN HERE.