The holiday season is here, and that means one big thing:
Black Friday is coming (and so is Cyber Monday).
And that means lots of opportunities to get new customers, reel back in past customers, and make your current customers even happier.
Heck, Cyber Monday alone saw $3.19 billion in total digital sales!
But here’s the thing: Even the best discounts won’t matter if you don’t know how to advertise them.
And perhaps the best way to advertise them (aside from email marketing) is through social media.
So, how do you get the word out on social media about your amazing Black Friday/ Cyber Monday deals?
That’s precisely what we’ll cover today.
- Create a “Gift Guide”
Here’s a big source of angst that people have around the holidays: “What should I get for him/her?!”
With more and more cool gadgets, technology, and clothing, there’s a lot of analysis paralysis going on. People don’t know which gifts to buy!
So, why not help them out? That’s the beauty of a gift guide.
For example, let’s say you have a clothing company with several types of brands – some geared towards outdoors people, some towards animal lovers, etc.
You could post a picture of a deal on one of these types of shirts. In the caption, you could write, “Looking for the perfect gift for an animal lover? Look no further! Click here to get 50% off on these animal tees on Black Friday!”
Then, you could follow it up with a short description about one of the shirts.
- Host a Contest
What better way to build buzz than to get other people to share your Black Friday deals?
With a tool like Woobox, you can create coupons, contests, sweepstakes, and quizzes for social media.
With Woobox, you can also give people an incentive to share your content, like your page, and more. You can set it up so that they have to share your content in order to get entered into the contest, or to increase their chances to win.
Experiment with tools like this one and try to increase the amount of shares, likes, and comments on your Black Friday posts!
- Create a Designated Hashtag
We’ve talked a lot about how to choose the best hashtags for your Instagram posts and Twitter posts.
Well, there’s no matter time to have a great hashtag than during the holiday season!
Just take a look at what Kohl’s did for 2014…
kohls
With #BlackFriday and their own unique #KohlsSweeps hashtag, they gained over 450k total engagements (up 400% from 2013) and consistently made Twitter’s Trending Topics list.
They mixed the hashtags in with a sweepstakes, which made it even more powerful and shareable.
- Use Video to Announce It
Build buzz in the days leading up to Black Friday and tell your social media followers you have a big announcement. Tell them to say tuned, and tell them when you’ll be announcing it.
From there, create a Facebook Live video where you announce the deal as well as how to take advantage of the deal. You can also answer any customer questions about the deal.
Afterward, you can create a live Twitter video, as well as post about the deal on your Snapchat Story and Instagram Story. That way, you’ll be sure none of your followers miss out.
Use these guides to help you create the best video for the announcement:
How to Create Live Video that Your Audience Will Love
How to Use Twitter Videos for Your Audience
7 Elements of a Powerful Snapchat Story
How to Use Instagram Stories for Business
- Get Inspiration from Top Brands
You should always be learning and collecting new ideas, and considering how you can apply those new ideas to your business.
Well, the holiday season is a great time to learn from some of your favorite brands. You can be sure that brands like Amazon, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and more will be doing some serious Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotion.
So, make sure to follow your favorite brands, as well as some other big brands that may be relevant to your industry. Watch how they advertise and build buzz around their holiday promotions, and consider how you and your business can do something similar.
Conclusion
Black Friday and Cyber Monday present big opportunities for your business – but you must know how to capitalize on them. It’s not enough to drop prices – you must also spread the word about your discounts and build buzz around them. Use these social media strategies to make your Black Friday/ Cyber Monday discount deals a success!
How else have you advertised and built buzz around your holiday deals? Let us know in the comments below!