It generates an insane amount of sales as retailers clamour for the eyeballs of the general public – but how can you make your advertising stand out from the competition?
Ricardo Seixas, head of digital at Click Tap Media, says the best option for those with small and medium-sized budgets is Instagram.
“Forget search and display ads, let’s talk about social media,” he told BusinessCloud. “And, depending on your target demographic, go all-in on Instagram.
“Instagram engagement and growth are skyrocketing and without a shadow of a doubt it is the platform that provides the highest ‘Return-On-Ad-Spend’, on average, across all verticals.”
However it would be a mistake to simply publish a static image and expect stunning eCommerce results, he says.
“Instagram is the new Super Bowl, so you need to be creative, capture attention and find a message that resonates with both the audience that “lives” in Instagram and a USP that is relevant to them.
“You should consider animated GIFs and video.”
Seixas says Countdown Ads – such as a ‘Black Friday weekend countdown’ – can create a sense of urgency.
“Let your users know what a deal they are getting and that it’s not going to last,” he said.
“Amazon’s lightning deals are an excellent example of this by creating scarcity and fear of missing out with the best deals on the homepage and only available for a few hours.”
Staging deals are also a good way of rewarding your best customers. “Encourage the actions you want your customers to take, such as signing up for early access to Black Friday deals,” he added.
“Making your loyal customers feel rewarded is key to Black Friday success.”
As always, creativity is king – and goodwill can go down a treat with Christmas just around the corner.
“Pieminister are running a Black ‘Pieday’ campaign this year, where surplus frozen stock will be given in return for a donation to Shelter the homeless charity,” said Seixas.
He added: “Finally, you can choose to not participate at all. Cards Against Humanity actually put their prices up in a stance against Black Friday and amazingly their sales increased versus the last year.
“This is largely due to the campaign being well received and going to the top of Reddit.”