Black Friday Marketing – 10 Social Media Post Ideas
Seasonal marketing is productive. We know that. But no one talks about the pressure that comes with planning the campaigns year after year. They’ve to be effective. And not to forget, unique! One such shopping season that is on most marketers’ minds right now is Black Friday. We see you nodding your head. We have rounded up some easy and effective social media post ideas to enhance your Black Friday marketing strategy. If you are looking for inspiration, this list will be a good place to start.
You must have heard enough about Black Friday campaigns and ad designs. So, let’s talk about social media marketing in particular. After all, social media is now a great place to meet and communicate with your customers.
- But is Social Media Marketing Important for Black Friday?
- Black Friday Marketing – 10 Social Media Post Ideas for Conversions and Conversations
- 1. Focus on the emotional value
- 2. When you do talk about deals, focus on the most attractive ones
- 3. Good humor never fails
- 4. Keep the conversations alive
- 5. Bridge the gap between online and offline promotions
- 6. Talk about your previous sale
- 7. Stay creative, stay responsible
- 8. Talk about things that most people don’t talk about
- 9. If you do not have special promotions, you can still talk about Black Friday
- 10. When you make mistakes own it like a boss
- Up Your Black Friday Marketing Game With KIMP
But is Social Media Marketing Important for Black Friday?
Your doubt is valid. We get it. Black Friday has always stirred up this scene of people camping outside stores, fist fights inside the store, and all other dimensions of the in-store shopping frenzy. Then how is an online marketing strategy like social media promotion relevant here? The past couple of years has brought in a seismic shift in the world of retail. So much so that ecommerce sale, (valued globally at 5.2 trillion U.S. dollars in the year 2021) is expected to reach 8.1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2026.
That’s why many brands are now running Black Friday deals not just in their brick-and-mortar stores but also on their online channels. As you know digital advertising comprises a huge chunk of the marketing realm. And in 2022, social media advertising stood at $137 billion overtaking paid search ads. So, social media promotions can indeed be fruitful for brands looking to give their Black Friday promotions a push.
A good mix of engagement-driving posts and promotional posts will do the trick. Wondering where to start? Here are some social media posts to try this year.
Black Friday Marketing – 10 Social Media Post Ideas for Conversions and Conversations
1. Focus on the emotional value
There is one secret ingredient that can make even promotional posts more engaging – an emotional message. Emotions make your post memorable.
On social media, conversations are what bring conversions. So, creating an emotionally relatable post will make a difference. Here is an old one from Nintendo.
The concept is simple – promoting the Black Friday deals on a gaming console. But instead of focusing on the straightforward idea of saving money, this one focuses on the “joy” of gaming with family and friends.
Do you know why that works? Because most other brands focus on the “price” and how much money customers can save. While that’s a good thing, when you talk about saving money, you are reminding people that they are spending money. And buyer’s remorse is pretty common, especially during a shopping season like Black Friday. So, focusing on the experience, the emotions rather than the price makes a better connection.
2. When you do talk about deals, focus on the most attractive ones
While the emotional connection is important, you cannot leave out the actual details of your Black Friday deals. After all, most people shop during Black Friday hoping to save money. So, keep these direct promotional posts to a minimum. And when you do post about the deals, talk about the ones that are irresistible.
Talk about the value they add to your customers. This could be because the item will be selling at a discounted price for the first time. Or because there is a combo deal that will help them save even more on buying more than one item.
Focus on the bestsellers. Talk about items that are loved and reviewed by a huge number of customers. A quick video or image post that highlights these handpicked deals will make a high-conversion social media post. In 2022, Lidl added a series of posts each highlighting just one product that was selling well that season. This eliminates decision fatigue that’s common during such peak sale seasons.
#BlackFriday? More like Vac Friday 😉 pic.twitter.com/b7RwMogAfo
— @LidlGB (@LidlGB) November 25, 2022
KIMP Tip: Videos like the one you see above do not cost you anything in video shoots. Crisp product images and a little bit of creativity are all it takes. And yet, videos always have an upper hand over images on social media.
Need help creating simple animated social media videos for your Black Friday marketing? Get a KIMP Video subscription.
3. Good humor never fails
80% of marketers find funny content to be effective, especially while connecting with customers on social media. So, during times like Black Friday when customers are bombarded with promotional posts, they appreciate light-hearted humor. Memes are pretty effective in achieving this result.
Even well-known brands like Amazon use humor in their Black Friday marketing. Here is an example.
The subtlety of the office humor in this post makes it unique and memorable. There is promotion and there is humor – a combination that both brands and customers love.
KIMP Tip: Memes are growing to be a rage in marketing. Gone are the times when people thought that memes are only to share inside jokes with friends. So, if you wish to communicate with your customers or break the ice with the help of memes, you can also create some branded ones.
Need help creating branded memes for your social media marketing? Get in touch with the KIMP team today.
4. Keep the conversations alive
Focusing on your conversion paths during busy times like Black Friday is important. We get it. But you should also have a far-sighted approach. Remember that there might be many customers who get introduced to your brand or make their first purchase during your Black Friday sale. So, you should also have posts that keep the conversations alive.
Create posts that ask questions, posts that inspire customers to hit the like button or share with their friends, or at least leave a comment. Polls on social media platforms can come in handy for this.
🎁 To: You
— Microsoft Store (@MicrosoftStore) November 22, 2022
🎁 From: You
Which @Xbox game are you treating yourself to this #BlackFriday?
The above idea works because:
- It talks about the games everyone is playing, thus giving you an idea of what to buy.
- And it makes a connection with the fans of the respective games.
As people engage with such polls, you get valuable insights into customer interests. Instead of working based on algorithmic observations of customer interests, you get a direct response from your customers about what they like. This helps you optimize your audience database and better segregate the data for a more productive lead-nurturing strategy in the future.
5. Bridge the gap between online and offline promotions
Though Black Friday was once a big deal only for offline stores, now many brands run online discounts too. In fact, even ecommerce brands that operate without a physical store run Black Friday deals to keep up with the trend.
If you have both online and offline purchase channels, then you can run similar promotions on both channels or create some online-friendly deals. After all, online shopping is becoming a more dominant trend.
Posting exclusive deals for your online shoppers on social media will help increase your engagement rates. People who have not yet followed your brand on social media will be willing to do so in order to get quick updates on online deals that might interest them. So use your social media channels as an exclusive space to talk about all your online sales.
Most brands use doorbusters to gain attention during Black Friday sales. Crocs ensured that online shoppers do not have to miss out on the fun.
6. Talk about your previous sale
Nearly 60% of millennials report making a reactive purchase on experiencing FOMO. Knowing what products are trending, what other customers are buying, and how much money other shoppers are saving are just a few drivers of FOMO that brands find relevant.
One of the best ways to convince customers who have not yet placed their order will be to talk about your previous sale. How was Black Friday last year? Was there a bestseller? Or is there an item that most people have wishlisted this year? Data like these can convince hesitant shoppers.
A Pan-African technology company, Jumia added a series of posts highlighting some of the memorable Black Friday experiences of its employees. Like the one below. These are a good way to look back at the previous years’ sales and the stories behind them.
Abigail recalls how a happy customer picked up his TV from our pick-up station, and let everyone enjoy a match with #Ghana Black Stars before he could take it home! #blackfriday #JumiaBlackFriday22 #ecommerce pic.twitter.com/1rI8r6Nri4
— Jumia Group (@Jumia_Group) November 10, 2022
With posts like these, you are giving customers reasons for not missing the sale. And by showing how your previous sale was a success you are also showcasing that a huge number of customers trust your brand. And this in turn earns the trust of new customers.
KIMP Tip: A wrap-up email after your Black Friday sale will give a warm closure to the sale. And it opens the channel for more new conversations to follow. After all, you have Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year sales soon after. So, do not post content just before Black Friday and forget about your customers after that.
Need help optimizing your email marketing strategy for the holiday season? Choose a KIMP Graphics subscription.
7. Stay creative, stay responsible
Most consumers are now responsible shoppers. They trust brands that have a sustainable approach. People love brands that work towards the betterment of society. In short, consumers love brands that give back to the community. And the sale season when a lot of attention falls on your brand you can come up with creative social media posts that talk about your responsible measures.
If you have planned something creative to keep the whole process more sustainable during the sales talk about it on social media. After all, this is where people get to know the human side of your brand.
IKEA does this brilliantly, year after year.
The first one is a post from 2022 and the next is from 2020. See the consistency the brand maintains across timelines and across geographical locations. They are both about sustainability but from different perspectives. Efforts like these make a huge difference. They ensure that your brand does not drown in a competitive space.
8. Talk about things that most people don’t talk about
Heart-warming ideas are a big hit no matter what time of the year it is. During Black Friday we often talk about brands, consumers, and products. But it’s not often that you come across people talking about the hard work of the employees at busy stores. Coca-Cola did.
Black Friday comes every year. So you end up using all your ideas. And when you need something out of the box, ideas like these work. These are the kind of ideas that make people stop and take notice of your brand even amidst the sea of Black Friday ads.
9. If you do not have special promotions, you can still talk about Black Friday
Sometimes, it does not make sense to jump on a new trend just because everyone else is following it. It could be because it’s not aligned with your business model. Or because it just does not resonate with your brand. Either way, if you do not have Black Friday sales planned, you can still talk about the occasion. After all, social media gives you a good space to talk about all things your customers are talking about. And this way you can easily connect with them.
In such cases, you can tie your products to the occasion in some way. The Coca-Cola Tweet we discussed in the above section is a good example. Here is another one, from Dunkin.
View this post on Instagram
The above post is also a good example of using visuals for maximum impact during times when there are so many posts from brands from around the world. The above image is simple. It puts the products in focus as the sole attention-grabbers. By the time you move past the post, you are already thinking about coffee and a sandwich.
So, as you finish an all-nighter for your Black Friday shopping, you might end up thinking about that coffee and sandwich you saw on Instagram. Dunkin scores the point!
KIMP Tip: Unlike other channels like emails, and web banners, visuals are not just supportive assets on social media. They rule the game. So, you need to be double-sure that every image you post, Black Friday sale or not, should be on-brand and visually captivating. That’s when people remember your brand and react to your posts.
With KIMP Graphics, you get unlimited designs every month. So, you have a consistent stream of content to keep your social media audience engaged.
10. When you make mistakes own it like a boss
Holiday season burnout is real for marketers and business owners. Black Friday marketing can get a tad bit overwhelming. Planning ahead and double-checking your content calendar can save you. But still, if mistakes happen, own them. After all, we all love bloopers, don’t we? So do your customers. Showing the mistakes you make and owning your failures humanizes your brand. It breaks the ice and strikes a conversation with your customers.
That’s exactly what McDonald’s did. During its 2017 Black Friday campaign, McDonald’s messed up by posting an unfinished Twitter post that simply read, “Black Friday **** Need copy and link****”
Fails like these are not uncommon. What makes this event a memorable one is the way the brand dealt with this blunder. Most brands would have taken down the Tweet on realizing the mistake and left no traces of it. McDonald’s, however, responded to its own Tweet with a comic meme that made this an epic social media fail that turned out to be a brilliant marketing lesson. And the best part is that you will find the post on the brand’s page even today!
So, don’t be afraid to talk about any blunders you make along the way. This might end up becoming a light-hearted conversation starter that sets your brand apart during a busy shopping season like Black Friday.
Up Your Black Friday Marketing Game With KIMP
If you want to set your brand apart from your competitors on social media, you need great designs. There are no two ways about it. So, for all those brilliant Black Friday marketing ideas you have, you need designs that make the ideas a reality. You need designs that strike the right chord with your customers. In other words, you need designs that bring in conversations and conversions too. To revamp your social media designs and to create a strong brand presence on social media, a KIMP subscription can be a good place to start.
Finding it tough to make up your mind? No problem. Start with a free 7-day trial and then think about it.