Get ready for the biggest retail event of the year…. Black Friday!
Pandemonium across the online community with popular items such as children’s gifts, perfumes and electronics all sold out within seconds, it’s crazy to think how popular Amazon’s traditionally American phenomenon of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become. Yet every November, the race to the discounted “buy now” becomes our new normal.
Amazon first launched their online shopping spectacle in the UK back in 2010, with smash hit albums by Take That and Susan Boyle selling for as little as a £1 (some may protest that it was still £1 too much!) Since then, the mega sales event has easily become one of the most anticipated shopping experiences of the consumers year.
You’ve all seen the videos online of people camping outside of their favourite stores and barging in, only to find that their favourite items are already out of stock within minutes. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a study into Purchase Channels conducted by research expert D.Tighe shows that in 2020, 90% of all shoppers in the United Kingdom preferred to take their business online rather than to the bricks and mortar alternative, proving that we now prefer a much more sophisticated shopping experience.
We love to bag a bargain and it’s been documented that in 2019, the United Kingdom spent nearly £9 BILLION (yes with a B!) on consumer goods over the Black Friday weekend.
It’s because of these astonishing numbers that Mighty Social cannot stress highly enough the importance of a well thought out, comprehensive and expert Social Media Strategy.
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Millions of new clients rush online during the Black Friday period, so at the risk of sounding like BoJo, Retailers will need to be “ahead of the curve” if they want to make the most of the boom.
In preparation of the event, here are a few top tips that will allow your brand to stand out from the crowd, increase traffic and produce more sales:
1. Analyse
Business owners should study the spikes and trends of the past few years and analyse any relevant key words for their profession. Which words generated the most traffic last year and which queries did people use to discover your products and deals? If you’ve had success with these in the past, there’s a strong chance that these we will work again!
Targeting irrelevant keywords or those with no purchase/product research will simply waste your budget, so it’s important we get it right at the beginning.
2. Social Media
It’s estimated that over 3.6 billion people use Social Media globally, yet Social Media advertising is often overlooked when it comes to Amazon and E-commerce listings. A constructed Paid Social Media and Targeted Ads campaign will be imperative to driving traffic towards your site. Your paid search campaign quality should be based around a mix of historic ad performance data and new keyword findings. Leave some ad budgets for ad experiments. Try inventory Google Ads, LinkedIn sponsored posts (if you are in B2B space) or TikTok advertising tools (if you are in B2C).
3. Respond quickly
Black Friday Social Media posts see a huge increase in comments. Consumers will increasingly be reaching out with questions about products, frustrations over returns and delays, discount clarifications and genuine excitement about your offerings. You need to respond quickly, accurately and genuinely across your profiles. Take your time and make sure that no one falls through the cracks!
If you would like some more advice on how to improve your social strategies for this huge event, please contact us today.