Something magical happens when the clock strikes midnight on Halloween… everyone wakes up in holiday shopping mode. Even with US Thanksgiving still on the horizon, November marks the month when shoppers around the world begin their quest for the perfect Christmas gift. And year after year, ecommerce takes home an even bigger chunk of the Christmas spending pie.
In this edition of our blog series, we’ll look at how you can ramp up and prepare for the biggest shopping weekend of the year: Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM). And get your share of the pie.
Plan Your Content Strategy
If you’ve been following our social media calendar series, you decided on your photography and offerings in October. You’re ready to schedule—and write!—your content.
Creating a basic spreadsheet is a quick and simple way to track the content you’ll be posting this month. And being strategic now frees up your time in the weeks to come so you can focus on managing your business.
Once you’ve created your content strategy, make sure you have the content and assets you’ll need. For example, do you have all the photos you need for each post? Do you need to change any social media banners? If you need some last-minute graphic content, tools like Canva help you design beautiful, professional graphics for popular social media platforms.
From here, start scheduling using your preferred tool. (Don’t have one? Our clients use tools like Later.com or Hootsuite, among others.) After setting up your schedule, you’ll soon see any gaps for more promotional content.
Plan Your Advertising Strategy
Every ecommerce business will be competing to get valuable shoppers to their site. Not only should you you have good content for reaching your audience and retargeting them with ads, but also for reaching new customers who might be interested in your products.
Decide how much you’re comfortable spending on advertising and where to spend it. If you have $300 to spend, how much will go to Facebook and how much to Instagram? How much on boosted posts and how much on planned campaigns? If you don’t know where to start, consult a digital marketing expert or agency to get the most bang for your advertising buck.
After deciding your advertising strategy, you’re ready to plan longer campaigns. Ideally, have one campaign to reach your current audience already following you on social media, and another campaign to reach new customers. Each campaign will have different goals, which means different messaging. Your current audience is familiar with you, but new customers will need introducing to your brand. For each campaign, you’ll need:
- Content: consider using a video of static images of your brand, or a carousel of images
- Ad copy
- Budget
- Timescale
- Destination link: consider creating a BFCM landing page
- Audience set: decide on locations, interests, and age groups that match your target customer
After planning and scheduling a longer term campaign, go back to your social media plan. Decide which posts will be boosted, and their respective budget and timescale.
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Make this BFCM your best yet with these knockout tips, ideas, and promos. You can thank us later!
Pro Tips: BFCM Social Media Post
Engaging your audience is a shade more nuanced than images plastered with “SALE! 50% OFF!” Read on for tips to create a social media post that stays true to your brand.
Tip 1: Be True to Your Brand
There’s a reason your audience connects with your brand. Your followers don’t want to go from interacting with high-quality, meaningful content to being shouted at (ALL CAPS, anyone?) with sales and discounts. Keep your brand voice and tone consistent. Make sure your posts match the aesthetics and style of your usual content.
Tip 2: Demonstrate Value
The value of your sale isn’t that customers are getting products for cheap—it’s that they’re getting a bargain on products that are high quality. Demonstrate the value of your products. Is it a bestseller? Then mention that in your copy. Is it a gift set that contains a few select items? Talk about the items included in the amazing deal you’re offering.
Tip 3: Tailor Your Content to the Platform
Make sure the content you post—whether images or copy—suits where you’re posting it. Also, take advantage of the platform you’re using. For example, promoting your deals through Instagram Stories is a great way to get lots of content on the platform, have your audience immediately see it, and keep your regular feed more organized.
Content Idea: Gift Guides
If you’re looking for additional content to stand out during BFCM, think about creating gift guides. Gift guides let you unabashedly promote your BFCM offering but in a way that’s more valuable and engaging for your audience. You aren’t simply pushing a sale at them—you’re giving them gift ideas and inspiration... and hey, it’s also on sale!
For example, if you’re a coffee roaster, try “Best Gifts for Aeropress Lovers.” If you sell kitchenware, try “Top 5 Gifts for Experimental Cooks.”
Publish your gift guides on your blog, then promote on social media as a more creative way of advertising your sale.
Promo Idea: Platform-Specific Promotions and Giveaways
As well as your sitewide promotions, consider creating some specific offers for each social media platform. This creates a sense of exclusivity for each audience, and encourages them to visit all your profiles for other deals. It will generate more interest in your sale and in your other social media accounts. Win-win!
Another great way to get your audience doing all the legwork is to have giveaways in the run-up to BFCM. Share & Like contests, with “extra entries” if a purchase is made on the website, are a great incentive for people to share your content and promotions with friends and family. And when a fan shares your page, their connections now know what to buy them... your products! Indeed, 'tis more blessed to give than to receive.