In 2023, customers spent $9.8 billion on Black Friday. This shopping frenzy presents a great opportunity for e-commerce brands like yours to boost their bottom line. 

But, the competition is undoubtedly intense. With so many brands running aggressive ad campaigns, your customers may experience ad fatigue, which makes them less responsive to marketing messages.

On top of this, you need cohesive marketing messaging across multiple channels such as social media, email, and website. Inconsistent messaging can confuse customers and dilute the impact of the promotions.

Therefore, you need innovative Black Friday marketing ideas and a single AI-driven platform to execute targeted campaigns precisely. To set the ball rolling, let us explore both strategy and a tool that can help you maximize sales on upcoming Black Friday.

Best practices to Implement Black Friday promotion ideas

Before discussing Black Friday marketing ideas, let’s discuss some reliable steps to implement these strategies for the maximum impact: 

• Conduct market research: Start by thoroughly researching current market trends, customer behavior, and competitor strategies to identify what’s resonating with your target audience this season
• Brainstorm with the ream: Collaborate with your team to generate creative and relevant promotion ideas that align with the latest trends and your brand’s goals
• Analyze customer data: Leverage your customer data to craft personalized promotions and offers 
• Test and refine: Before launching, test your promotional strategies on a small scale to identify any potential issues and make necessary adjustments
• Plan a multi-channel approach: Ensure your Black Friday promotions are spread across all relevant channels—social media, email, website—to maximize reach and effectiveness

Steal these tried-and-tested Black Friday marketing strategies

Create hype on social media ahead of time

First things first: start engaging your audience early on to generate buzz and excitement that will drive traffic and sales when the big day arrives.

Black Friday marketing strategy for social media:

• Share teasers of Black Friday deals and promotions.
• Use daily or weekly countdown posts to develop a sense of urgency around Black Friday.
• Use popular hashtags like some text
  • #BlackFriday, 
  • #BlackFridayDeals, and 
  • #BlackFriday2024 
  • and brand-related hashtags such as #BrandNameBlackFriday or #Shop{BrandName} 

Start sending “Black Friday” SMS

SMS marketing is one of the best ways to implement your refreshing Black Friday promotional ideas. In 2024,  75% of customers purchased products through SMS marketing. So, it can enhance your Black Friday marketing strategy by delivering timely, personalized messages that encourage immediate action. 

Choosing the right platform is essential when implementing SMS marketing during peak times like Black Friday. 

As an all-in-one AI-powered customer engagement platform, Plivo CX takes SMS marketing to newer heights with speed and convenience.

The platform leverages Plivo’s premium carrier network, which spans 220+ countries and territories. Its low latency and affordability mean you can send your Black Friday messages to anyone at any time. As a result, you can cut your SMS costs by 70%. 

Also, you get robust features to maximize the impact of your SMS marketing efforts:

• First, segment your buyers with the Audiences feature based on factors such as purchase history, demographics, and engagement levels so you can send personalized messages to each group
• Then, use the Journeys feature to send messages based on triggers so your customers get the right message at the right time
• With Campaigns, you can schedule messages to ensure your customers receive the most relevant offers 

Not only that, Plivo CX also comes with a Copywriter AI so that you can create as much SMS marketing content as you need. Simply instruct the tool about your specific goals. You have complete control over the project's purpose, scope, deadline, priority level, and even the desired tone of voice. 

Sign up to Plivo CX to start preparing for the upcoming Black Friday. 

Optimize your website for “Black Friday”- related keywords

Evidently, every year around November, Black Friday-related keywords see a severe surge. You must optimize your website for these keywords to ensure your store appears in relevant search results when potential customers are looking for deals. 

How do you optimize your website for Black Friday marketing strategy?

• Start by identifying the most relevant Black Friday-related keywords for your products or industry. Add these keywords naturally into your landing page content, including the title, meta description, headers, and throughout the text.

For example, "Black Friday deals [your product type]," "best Black Friday sales [your niche]," or "Black Friday [your brand name]".

• Focus on long-tail Black Friday keywords in your blog, such as "how to get the best Black Friday deals on electronics" or "top Black Friday shopping tips for 2024". Long-tail keywords are less competitive and can attract more qualified traffic.

• Promote your Black Friday blog posts on social media to drive additional traffic to your site.

Share holiday gifting guides with product links 

Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. It’s the perfect time to help your customers find affordable gifts for their loved ones. 

Gifting guides let you showcase your products in a curated format. They also help customers who might be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available during the holiday season—a win-win for both brands and customers. 

Here’s how you can use gifting guides in your Black Friday marketing strategy:

• Segment gifts by recipients such as gifts for him, her, or kids.
• Create budget-friendly sections such as gifts under $10 or $20.
• Create bundles of similar items so customers can buy in groups.

See how IKEA has created a dedicated gift idea page on their website: 

Use “Black Friday” emails to lure customers

Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to drive sales, especially during high-traffic events like Black Friday. 

With direct access to your customer's inboxes, you can send compelling emails to highlight your best deals and encourage quick action. 

Plivo CX also acts as an email automation tool. It comes with a comprehensive suite of tools that can automate your email marketing ideas for Black Friday:

• Create customer segments based on unlimited rules 

• Journeys in Plivo CX can help you set up automated email workflows that trigger based on specific customer actions, such as cart abandonment or product browsing

• Copywriter AI crafts compelling email content quickly. It can generate high-quality content, regardless of whether you need catchy subject lines, engaging body text, or persuasive CTAs.

Offer gift cards

Gift cards make the perfect last-minute gift. They allow recipients to choose exactly what they want, making them a win-win for everyone involved. 

How to share or create gift cards

• Create and offer digital gift cards that anybody can purchase and send instantly via email or text
• Include gift card options in your Black Friday email campaigns
• Feature gift cards on your website’s homepage and product pages 

Use chatbots to ease customer experience

During Black Friday, many websites experience a surge in traffic. Products often get out of stock, customers can place the wrong orders or payment gateways may not work. As a result, it can lead to frustration and potential lost sales. 

In such a hectic scenario, chatbots can provide instant assistance during peak hours. They can answer queries, and guide customers through their shopping journey in real-time. 

To enhance customer interaction during peak shopping times like Black Friday, you can use Plivo CX’s OpenAI-powered self-service chatbots, along with a customizable IVR that drives personalized assistance to customers. 

Trained on custom data sets for more accuracy, these chatbots can manage multiple conversations simultaneously. They can provide personalized recommendations, answer frequently asked questions, and even assist with checkout processes.

Check out Plivo CX’s chatbots for your next Black Friday campaign. 

Offer exclusive deals to repeat customers

By rewarding your most loyal customers with special discounts or early access to deals, you create a sense of appreciation and exclusivity that can deepen their connection to your brand.

How to offer exclusive deals for Black Friday marketing

• Use your customer data to segment and identify repeat buyers
• Develop special discounts or early access deals specifically for these loyal customers
• Send outreach emails or SMS messages to inform repeat customers about their exclusive offers

Extend referral points 

Referral points incentivize your existing customers to bring in new shoppers. They help you increase customer engagement and expand your customer base at the same time.

How do you provide referral points during the Black Friday sale?

• Use email and social media to inform customers about the extended referral points
• Share them as a limited-time offer so customers are tempted to share referrals
• Ensure your referral program is easy to use and track so customers can quickly see their earned points and redeem them during their Black Friday shopping

Conduct virtual gaming contests

Virtual games create a fun and interactive experience that keeps customers engaged with your brand longer, increasing the likelihood of conversions. 

How do you conduct virtual gaming contests?

• Select a popular game or create a custom game that aligns with your brand such as tournaments or leaderboards)
• Announce the contest through your website, email campaigns, and social media
• Offer discounts, gift cards, or exclusive products as prizes for the top performers 

Come up with rewards 

73% of customers are more likely to refer a business if they are offered a reward, such as discounts or cash incentives. You can offer free gifts with minimum purchases to nudge customers to spend more. This Black Friday marketing strategy can increase your average order value. 

How do you set rewards?

• Ensure the minimum purchase amount required to qualify for the free gift is high enough to boost your average order value
• Choose a gift that complements your products, such as branded merchandise or a limited-edition product
• Advertise the free gift across your website, emails, and social media

Create bundles

Bundles can make your products more appealing, as customers can buy complementary items together at a discounted price. They can also boost your average order value.

• Identify products that naturally complement each other and create bundles for them
• Offer a discount on the bundle that makes it more cost-effective than buying the items separately
• Highlight your bundles on your website, in emails, and through social media

This “raw beauty travel kit” is the perfect example of a bundle. The brand has combined shampoo, cleaning balm, deodorant, and lip balm—a no-brainer choice for anyone who’s traveling.

Offer curbside pickup for Black Friday sale

Curbside pickup is convenient during the Black Friday sale, helping your customers avoid crowds. This service lets you quickly fulfill orders, thus increasing customer satisfaction. 

How to set up curbside pickup?

• Ensure your website has all the information about order placement, notification, and pickup procedures
• Designate clear pickup areas and ensure orders are ready on time
• Offer contactless handover for safe and convenient pickup

Try Black Friday BOGO deals

Running Buy One, Get One (BOGO) deals on Black Friday effectively increases sales volume and moves inventory quickly. It also tempts customers to purchase more than they might have initially planned.

How to run BOGO deals as a part of your Black Friday marketing strategy? 

• Choose products that pair well together or are popular with customers
• In your marketing materials, clearly communicate the value of the BOGO deal. For example, mention individual prices of the products and then compare them with BOGO deal prices
• Limit the BOGO deal to certain hours or while supplies last to create urgency

Send abandoned cart reminders

Abandoned cart reminders help you recover lost sales. With so much shopping activity on Black Friday, it’s common for customers to leave items in their carts. You can nudge customers with well-timed reminders to complete their purchases. 

How do you send abandoned cart reminders?

• Set up automated emails or messages that trigger shortly after a cart is abandoned, reminding customers of the items they left behind.
  
  As an SMS marketing automation tool, Plivo CX offers a no-code interface to build these journeys. You can set delays between an abandoned cart event and the message at your convenience. 

• Share a small discount or free shipping in the reminder email to encourage customers to finalize their purchase.
• To make the email more engaging and persuasive, use the customer’s name and show images of the abandoned products. 

Dominate this Black Friday with Plivo CX

As you prepare for Black Friday, make sure your e-commerce brand is equipped with the tools to maximize sales. To automate the e-commerce marketing process, you can try Plivo CX.

As noted above, Plivo CX is unique because it comes with its own premium carrier network that’s spread across 190+ counties, so you can run your Black Friday campaigns anytime, anywhere, with significantly reduced cost. 

Apart from that, here are some other Plivo CX features that can help: 

• Audience segmentation: Sync customers and segment them for targeted messaging
• Journeys: Send messages based on triggers events so they reach the right customers at the right time
• Launch campaigns: Easily set up and deploy marketing campaigns in a few steps
• Multi-channel delivery: Send messages across various channels (including SMS/MMS, email, and WhatsApp)
• Monitor performance: Consistently track how your campaigns perform 
• Automated copywriter: Generate personalized marketing content on the go. 

Ready to convert maximum customers this Black Friday? 

‍Sign up for Plivo CX today!