Get Ready for Black Friday with This Handy Marketing Checklist

Despite its slightly ominous name, Black Friday is one of the business year's biggest opportunities. Taking place this year on 29 November, the pre-Christmas retail extravaganza will surely break last year's records, when online sales in the US alone totalled $6.2 billion (plus approximately $8 billion on Cyber Monday).

Customers these days have become used to shopping for Black Friday deals instead of waiting until after Christmas. They time their annual big-ticket purchases to coincide with late November, and spend more and more time tracking down the best seasonal offers.

This means that online sellers can't afford to neglect the Black Friday retail event. And it also puts a lot of pressure on companies to get their strategy right. At greatcontent, we want to help you capitalise on the year's retail highlight. So here is a quick checklist of ways to fine-tune your content as the event approaches.

How to Create the Best Black Friday Marketing Strategy

This year, following a few simple content guidelines can pay huge dividends in the run-up to 29 November. With online selling, content is king, but it has to be content that is built around the needs of Black Friday customers, with special SEO techniques to attract their attention. These tips will help you achieve that, without compromising your overall marketing strategy.

1. Let Your Customers Know About Your Black Friday Campaigns

Firstly, it's vital to inform your customer base about what you are doing this Black Friday. Don't expect customers to seek out your Black Friday pages automatically. Some will think to do so, but most people are more passive, and need some sort of prompting to seek out Black Friday deals.

Use your email lists to deliver attention-grabbing newsletters as the retail event nears. Highlight some of the biggest reductions you are offering, and different ways to purchase, but think beyond the basics. For instance, timing matters. Newsletters need to be sent when customers are likely to be available to read them (early evening works well). Adding some way to include your sale in users' calendars is a good move, too. That way, they can be primed to visit your site as soon as reductions appear.

2. Create a Killer Black Friday Page

Most successful retailers choose to create specialist Black Friday landing pages, and they also tend to maintain these pages all year round. This has SEO benefits compared with creating a new version every year, and attracts residual traffic from people who shop a long time in advance.

All landing pages should be mobile-optimized (a must in a world where smartphone shopping is ubiquitous). Add ways to interact, such as newsletter and social media sign-up buttons, and clearly show the key information about when deals will appear and what kind of offers to expect.

3. Make the best Use of Amazon and Other Sale Platforms

Nowadays, many companies share their Black Friday marketing between their own websites and Amazon pages, and some solely use Amazon for their promotional sales.

If this sounds like you, increasing your Amazon visibility will be a core challenge this Black Friday, and there are several ways to do so. First off, make sure that all of your content is well-written, updated, and properly structured.

Secondly, research trending products ahead of late November to get an idea of what products will sell. If there are any especially popular products or brands this year, build content strategies around them, and build traffic to your Amazon pages as a result.

Logistics also really matter. Make sure that you have enough stock to cater for sales rushes both before and during the Black Friday event. And think about adding free delivery for the event itself. It may impose costs, but waiving shipping can make a huge difference to customers when they are hunting for bargains.

4. Get Active on Social Media

Well before Black Friday arrives, your social media content strategy needs to be tight. Without spamming followers with appeals to shop with you on Black Friday, offer informative content about what's going to be on offer.

Provide in-depth explainers about how your products can help, what their unique properties are, and how they fit into followers' lives. And link them all to clear calls-to-action to shop on Black Friday. Done well, that kind of content can create huge bursts of traffic when the big day arrives.

5. Make Your Black Friday Deals Seem Irresistible

Finally, whatever style of content you produce, it needs to create a sense of anticipation with its audience. Whether shoppers are looking for exclusive perfumes at rock bottom prices, or the latest cybersecurity tools, they need to feel that Black Friday is an event that can't be missed.

Compelling content is essential, but little tricks can also help. For example, running Black Friday countdown timers creates a sense of urgency, stressing the fact that deals can be missed, and stocks are not limitless. Flash sales in the approach to Black Friday and on the day itself are also great ways to make customers act, instead of delaying their purchases.

In any case, crafting the best Black Friday marketing strategy possible is well within reach. And at the greatcontent content marketplace, you can easily source the content you need. Our writers are ready to help you entice customers and maximise your sales. So get in touch, and start commissioning content to make Black Friday 2019 the most lucrative yet.

Text: Sam Urquhart
Image: unsplash.com