It’s that time of year again when everyone thinks I’m crazy for talking about Black Friday so early, but you need to seriously start thinking about it now.
Why?
Last year we had maybe 10 businesses reach out, wanting help with their Black Friday, first week of November… by that point, it’s too late to do anything worthwhile. Brands are learning, I’ve already seen Black Friday sales, everyone knows that if you have your Black Friday sale you’re competing with every sale, so each year, brands go earlier and earlier.
But first, do you even want to go on sale?
Yep, it’s Black Friday – the biggest sale of the year, BUT, is it right for your business? Many brands just don’t go on sale on principle, some can’t afford it, some have other plans, whatever your reasoning – think about what’s right for you and your business and go from there.
If you don’t want to go on sale but want to do something? What can you do?
-
I’ve seen companies give to charity instead of going on sale.
-
Others release a limited edition collection purely for the time period.
-
Mystery boxes always do incredibly well.
-
Others do a gift with purchase.
These are all great offers, that don’t involve just a percentage off discount.
Know your margins
The biggest mistake people make around BFCM, or any sale in general, is picking a number that sounds good. But what they don’t realise, is that when you see brands doing crazy 70% off sales, it’s because they can afford it.
You need to know your margins and make sure you’re still profitable! You need to know how much it costs you, not just from a cost of goods perspective, but from your postage, rent, phone bill, marketing expenses, the whole lot! Then you can work out how much you can afford to give away while still making money – that last part is key. No point going on sale if you lose money, you’re not a charity (unless you are, and even they need to make money!)
Don’t know your margins? Check out our 5-Day Ad Sprint! We’ll walk you through all the things you need to make your ads profitable, it’s free and all you need is your laptop and a couple of hours to spare a day.
Don’t do Black Graphics
Last year, I saw SO many ads that were just black graphics with SALE written on them… my entire feed looked like this. At this point, I had no idea what these brands were selling, who they were, or what was going on.
I know it’s tempting to ‘theme’ your graphics, but you have to remember everyone is running the same sale and has the same idea. Make sure you clearly show what it is you’re selling and the offer. Make it neon, make it blue, make it your brand colours, just please, don’t make it black…
Ad costs skyrocket
Because of this increased demand, ad costs tend to skyrocket. Now is the perfect time to start running engagement ads to build up your audiences to keep costs as low as possible when the time comes.
What does this mean? Rather than your conversion ads focused on a sale, work on some video ads or ads with the goal of engagement by talking about your offer. Get people excited and hyped up, these ads usually run much cheaper than your conversion ads, and the best part is you can retarget those who have engaged with these ads when the time comes, and because you’re now retargeting these people, it’s a lot cheaper to reach them in the auction because Facebook already knows they’re interested.
Build your email list
My favourite strategy for Black Friday/Cyber Monday is to focus on building your email list for early access. This does a couple of things, it makes your sale or offer more exclusive, you build your email list which is always a huge bonus, and you avoid the increasing ad costs because you don’t have to spend that much over the weekend if you don’t want to. You can just email your list!
There is a lot to think about, which is why we recommend you start prepping and thinking about what you’re going to do for the weekend now.
Want more inspiration?
Check out these podcast episodes that have some great marketing advice that will really help with your marketing planning:
Have a question? You can contact us here, or book a Free Strategy Session and we will review your ads for you and help you plan your Black Friday/Cyber Monday ads!
