In 2023, US consumers spent $9.8 billion on Black Friday. Not only is it one of the biggest shopping days of the entire year, it also kicks off the frantic holiday shopping season.
Black Friday is a crucial day for consumer-facing businesses to jumpstart the season’s revenue generation and ensure they close out the year on a high note. To maximize your success on the day, it’s essential to invest in Black Friday marketing in advance.
Black Friday sales are a classic tactic, and we’ll share some ideas for structuring discounts below. But we also have insights into how to step up your marketing ahead of retail’s big holiday.
Let’s look at Black Friday marketing ideas that can help ensure your holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year.
Contents
- Black Friday marketing ideas before the big day
- Black Friday sale ideas
- More Black Friday marketing and sales ideas
Black Friday marketing ideas: Leading up to the big day
Building anticipation in advance is crucial to Black Friday success. Those weeks before are a time to reconnect with old customers, reengage recent ones, and meet new prospects.
Leaning on a diverse set of marketing tactics can help you reach the widest audience—which is key to bringing in the most shoppers on the day.
Try some of these Black Friday marketing ideas to get the word out about your event.
1. Run a social media contest
This can certainly be a day-of tactic, but running a social media contest before Black Friday can offer other benefits.
Most businesses ask entrants to follow them on social media as part of the contest rules. As more people enter, your follower count grows. Once you’ve announced the lucky winner, you can start teasing your Black Friday sales to all of your newly gained followers.
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2. Create a gift guide
To advertise your Black Friday sale, why not design a handy gift guide that features your favorite products?
Break down your gift guide into categories. How you choose to group items will depend on your business. You may group by gift recipient (“Gifts for Mom,” “Gifts for Your Boss,” etc.), or by price (“Gifts Under $50”).
You can also flag the items in your guide that will be on sale on Black Friday. Highlight the deals, and show the original price so consumers see the benefit of shopping after Thanksgiving.
Finally, distribute your gift guide widely! Post it on social media, share it via your email list, and put it front-and-center on your website.
3. Start teasing your Black Friday plans on social media
The best Black Friday marketing ideas build anticipation around the day.
Use your marketing channels to tease your offerings and keep your audience hooked—this helps ensure they keep an eye out for your content. After watching your Black Friday marketing rollout for weeks, they’ll be eager to shop with you when the time comes.
Social media is a great place to build that buzz. Consider ways to hint at what you’re planning with both words and images. Keep copy mysterious and images obscured to start. Then, as the weeks go on, slowly share more specific information.
4. Apply the same approach to your email marketing
Email marketing is another great place to roll out your Black Friday plans slowly.
Your email marketing audience is likely getting bombarded by messages from other brands unveiling their Black Friday marketing ideas, so take the time to craft some clever subject lines to stand out.
As the day draws closer, you might even entice your readers to click with a special “just for subscribers” discount code that gives them an additional treat—maybe another 5% off their purchase, or free shipping on any order.
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5. Invest in social media advertising
As wonderful as it is to get your messaging out to existing followers, Black Friday social advertising allows you to introduce your brand to a wider audience.
84% of consumers plan to take advantage of Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales. If you can get in front of this vast audience while they’re mapping out their day, your business might end up on their shopping list.
Social media advertising allows you to show your ads to consumers who are the best fit for your brand. You can target social media users by demographics and geographic information.
From there, create social media campaigns that show the most relevant messages to each audience. An electronics store might show deals on gaming consoles to teens, while it targets homeowners with ads for appliances.
6. Include display advertising in your plans
Display ads are another way to spread the word about your Black Friday plans. These ads appear as banners or in the margins of other websites. Because they include copy and visuals, you can design eye-catching ads that stop people mid-scroll.
Like social media ads, display ads offer targeting parameters to help get them seen by the most relevant audience. You can even try remarketing—that is, showing your ads to consumers who’ve already visited your website.
7. Update your Google Business Profile
When someone looks up your business, one of the first things they’ll likely see is your Google Business Profile. This panel appears on the right-hand side of desktop search results and in Google Maps.
Google invites brands to claim and customize their Google Business Profile. Hopefully, you’ve already undertaken the basics (if not, now’s a great time to do that!). But there are some more advanced Google Business Profile hacks business owners should know.
Set your holiday hours in your Google Business Profile.
One of them is adding profile updates. You can update your “from the business” section to include any message you choose. Try using this feature to promote your Black Friday plans. And while you’re at it, update your hours to reflect any holiday changes.
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8. Add pop-ups to your website
Recent research has found that the average conversion rate for pop-ups on websites hovers around 11%.
Consider adding a pop-up to your website before Black Friday. Use it to advertise your sale, tease some products, and announce the discounts you’ll offer.
Even if visitors don’t click the pop-up, they’ll still see your message about Black Friday. They may quietly take note and simply return on the day of the event.
Black Friday sale ideas
For many businesses, Black Friday means one thing: sales. This is what consumers expect to see, and many people plan their days around the parade of discounts. Over 60% of consumers report searching for deals ahead of Black Friday.
That’s why designing a sale that stands out is crucial. You’re competing against many other businesses—what can you offer that grabs the attention of your ideal customer?
We’ve got some Black Friday sale ideas that will entice these shoppers to join you on the big day.
9. Doorbuster deals
This classic Black Friday sale tactic invites the early birds to enjoy special discounts as you open your doors for the day.
Doorbuster deals can be a win for your business on several levels. It encourages consumers to put your store first on their shopping itinerary—which might mean they have wiggle room in their budget and can buy extra items.
It can also make for a strong start to your day. There’s something to be said for creating early momentum on one of the biggest shopping days of the year.
Finally, it might attract other shoppers. As they walk by your windows early and see a bustling crowd inside, they might duck in to see what all the fuss is about.
10. Buy one, get one
Another classic sale structure is buy one, get one, or BOGO. This tactic invites your customers to buy one item and get the second one at a discount (or free).
BOGO sales can convince customers to spend more than they’d originally planned. They’re also a great way to move more inventory out the door, which can clear space for new holiday wares or simply increase your revenues.
11. Hourly deals
Another option is to structure your deals to change throughout the day. Hourly deals increase the sense of urgency among your customers—they only have 60 minutes to get their desired item at a discount.
It may also free you up to offer discounts on a wider range of products, knowing you only need to cut the price for an hour of the day, rather than all day long.
Best Buy is launching a new doorbuster deal every Friday leading up to Black Friday.
There is a lot of flexibility in how you structure these deals. You may offer discounts on groupings of products, like electronics, skincare, or bedding and towels. Or, you may highlight even steeper discounts on just one product each hour.
12. Bundled deals
Bundled deals encourage your customers to spend more with your business. For example, you may say that all appliances are on sale at 20% off, but you’ll double that when customers buy three or more items.
You’ll have to crunch some numbers to find the right bundle deal for your business. You don’t want to offer a discount so steep that it erodes your margins. But you also want enough of a discrepancy between the normal discount and the grouped deal that people bite on the bundled offer.
13. Offer a sweetener for your loyalty program members
The start of the holiday season is a great time to show appreciation for your loyal customers. Structuring your Black Friday sale to include an additional benefit to subscribers or members of your loyalty program can be a great way to do just that.
For example, you may offer double bonus points when loyalty members shop with you on the holiday. Or, you may offer these shoppers an additional percentage off your standard Black Friday deals.
14. Discount your gift cards
When it comes to Black Friday marketing ideas, it’s always smart to expand your thinking about what’s possible. While you’ve likely considered offering deals on products, what about discounting your gift cards?
The National Retail Federation estimated that global gift card spending would surpass $29 billion last holiday season. Entice your customers to give a gift card by offering a discount on the cost of the card. For example, you may sell cards with a $100 value for only $80.
This tactic can hook buyers who might wish to only give gift cards this holiday season. It also opens you up to the potential of future revenue—when the gift card recipient comes in to shop, they may exceed the value of the card and pay the balance out of their own pocket.
15. Spin the wheel for savings
Add a pop-up on your website that invites visitors to spin the wheel and unlock a certain percentage discount.
This tactic gamifies your sale and adds some excitement and suspense to the online buying experience, which is otherwise pretty straightforward.
16. Mystery savings
Another way to introduce anticipation into your online sale is to structure your Black Friday deals as a mystery offer.
Don’t keep your audience completely in the dark. Tease a range of discounts that people can expect to see, but only show the actual discount once the item is in their cart.
17. Create an online-only discount
If you are trying to encourage more online shopping—either in place of or as a supplement to in-person sales—consider creating an online-only discount for Black Friday.
This may be an additional percentage off, or it may be an offer that’s specific to online shopping—like free expedited shipping.
18. Promo code with extra discount sent to email subscribers
This is another Black Friday marketing idea to reward your most loyal audience. Create a promo code with an extra discount that you only share with email subscribers.
Tease this special discount in the subject line to encourage folks to open the email, and reward them with a special code when they do.
More Black Friday marketing and sales ideas
Besides the sales ideas above, which you can tailor to suit any business, these Black Friday marketing ideas help e-commerce brands shine on sale day.
19. Extend your shopping hours
Many businesses extend their hours on Black Friday. Not only does this allow customers more time to shop, it also opens the door to offer late night or early bird sales.
Design special sales for the hours you’re not typically open. Those sales may just be the extra incentive a consumer needs to get up early or rally at the end of a long shopping day.
20. Add countdown timers
This Black Friday marketing idea reminds your website visitors just how fleeting your deals are. Create an “X hours until the sale ends” timer to run through the end of the day. As each minute ticks by, visitors will feel an urgency to complete their purchase before time runs out.
Other Black Friday marketing ideas
Beyond sales, what other Black Friday marketing ideas can you deploy to capture your audience’s attention? These tactics can supplement your sales and help pull even more focus from your competitors.
21. Give a percentage of your sales to charity
80% of Gen Z and millennial shoppers are likely to base their purchase on a brand’s mission or purpose. This makes engaging in charitable giving more than a nice thing to do—it can be a differentiator for your brand.
Go all-in on your social mission like Pala Eyewear did when they opted for “donations not discounts” on Black Friday.
Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday season, which is a time of gratitude and charity. Consider incorporating giving into your plans for the day. You might donate a percentage of your sales to a local charity or give a set dollar amount if you reach a certain number of sales.
22. Host a live shopping event
Formerly only the domain of television channels like QVC and HSN hosted live shopping events, but, today, social media platforms enable any brand to create a live shopping event.
Go live on Instagram or TikTok and start showcasing your wares on Black Friday. If you’re offering hourly deals, you may go live at the start of each hour to share the currently-discounted items.
23. Offer a free gift with purchase
This Black Friday Marketing idea is another way to give your customers something beyond the standard sale.
Structure your Black Friday event to offer shoppers a gift with every purchase. Many brands create a minimum dollar amount consumers must spend to be eligible for the gift, so they can give a decent gift without eroding margins on smaller purchases.
24. Launch a new product
With the excitement inherent in the day, why not up the ante by launching a new product on Black Friday?
Many brands create limited-edition holiday items, and this day at the start of the holiday season is a great time to unveil them. You can also offer a special discount on your new items to encourage a healthy first day of sales.
Black Friday marketing ideas for holiday success
Start your holiday season off on the right foot. You can use these 24 marketing ideas to promote your sale, offer deals your audience wants to shop, and generate attention with additional tactics.
- Run a social media contest
- Create a gift guide
- Start teasing your Black Friday plans on social media
- Apply the same approach to your email marketing
- Invest in social media advertising
- Include display advertising in your plans
- Update your Google Business Profile
- Add pop-ups to your website
- Doorbuster deals
- Buy one, get one
- Hourly deals
- Bundled deals
- Offer a sweetener for your loyalty program members
- Discount your gift cards
- Spin the wheel for savings
- Mystery savings
- Create an online-only discount
- Promo code with extra discount sent to email subscribers
- Extend your shopping hours
- Add countdown timers
- Give a percentage of your sales to charity
- Host a live shopping event
- Offer a free gift with purchase
- Launch a new product
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