When advertising on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there are some key considerations to guide your efforts. The right approach to your Black Friday advertising strategy will help you succeed ahead of the holidays and rake in sales.
In this blog, Ignite Visibility’s VP of Paid Media, Meghan Parsons, will guide you on how to build highly effective campaigns using paid media and other strategies.
What’s Covered:
- Why Is Paid Media Crucial for Black Friday Success in 2024?
- Core Paid Media Strategies for Black Friday
- Effectively Target Your Audiences
- Leverage Google Merchant Center Next for Black Friday
- Maximize Black Friday with Meta Ads
- What Metrics Should You Monitor for Black Friday Marketing?
- Transitioning from Black Friday to Cyber Monday
- Black Friday and Cyber Monday Tips
My Expert Opinion on Black Friday Advertising
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are among the most popular holidays for shoppers, and recent statistics illustrate their popularity. For example, the U.S. saw $9.8 billion in Black Friday sales in 2023 across nearly 230 million consumers. To put this into perspective, 64% of people tend to shop on Black Friday.
Cyber Monday is arguably even more attractive to shoppers, with an estimated total of $11.3 billion spent on this day every year.
Whether you’re in the ecommerce space or another industry, I find Black Friday and Cyber Monday advertising to be essential to any marketing campaign. However, you might not be sure how to advertise Black Friday deals or Cyber Monday offers.
I suggest you make the most of various channels for Black Friday advertising, including paid media and pay-per-click (PPC) ads, shopping ads via the Google Merchant Center, and the metrics you gather to gauge your campaigns’ success. Also, preparing well ahead of both holidays will help you fully equip your strategies for real success.
Why Is Paid Media Crucial for Black Friday Success in 2024?
To achieve the best results with Black Friday advertising campaigns, you need to fully utilize paid media channels that connect with audiences. The right targeting and use of your budget will help you stand out among the intense competition during this time of year.
With so many brands competing for digital space, your advertising for Black Friday must make your brand more unique and recognizable. By effectively using paid media and other strategies, you can get the best possible results from your Black Friday marketing campaigns.
Core Paid Media Strategies for Black Friday
When using pay-per-click campaigns to fuel your Black Friday advertising campaigns, the following are some key strategies to implement.
Budget Optimization
While during much of the year, you might focus on the top and middle of the funnel (TOFU and MOFU), you really want to focus on the bottom of the funnel (BOFU) when approaching Black Friday.
This period is all about remarketing to people you’ve already pulled deep into the funnel, emphasizing conversion over awareness. In short, focus on people who are ready to convert and drive more loyalty among existing customers.
Normally, your budget might be around 70/30 for TOFU and MOFU vs. BOFU campaigns, but this time of year, you’ll want to shift to something closer to 50/50 or 30/70 as you focus more on people who are most likely to convert.
When it comes to keyword research here, target more branded and product keywords that connect with people whose buyer intent is at the decision stage. Doing so will likely drive more action than going after broader, generic terms.
At the same time, you can still allocate a certain amount of your budget to consideration as you attempt to move them toward the decision stage.
Generally, you’ll want to effectively allocate your budget across campaigns to get the most from each Black Friday advertising channel.
Ad Scheduling
Don’t wait until the last minute to launch your Cyber Monday and Black Friday PPC ads—prepare all copy and creative for Meta and Google Ads accounts at least five days before the holidays.
You also need to effectively schedule your advertising for Black Friday in the days leading up to this holiday and Cyber Monday. Knowing when to start advertising for Black Friday and Cyber Monday will help you gain a competitive edge as you capture audiences more immediately.
Launching your campaigns early will ensure everything is ready to go when Black Friday and Cyber Monday arrive, as you’ll give your ad platforms ample time to review your content.
Also, schedule ads and extensions to launch by the time your sales go live on your website.
You may also benefit from targeting Black Friday Facebook ads and others as early as late October, when consumers often begin to research their potential purchases before the holidays.
Create Ad Copy & Creative that Clearly Outline Your Promo
As you prepare your ad copy and creative for the coming month, ensure it’s geared toward your Black Friday promotions and make them clear.
Make sure people know exactly what you’re offering, and make your Black Friday marketing materials appropriately themed.
At the same time, generate a sense of urgency with your advertisements for Black Friday using techniques such as:
- Countdowns toward the end of sales
- Flash sales that only last for a short period
- CTAs that drive action, including “Hurry before you miss out!” and “Last chance to take advantage of this deal!”
- Indicators that inventory is limited, e.g. “Only 2 items available!”
With a combination of compelling discounts, urgency, and clear CTAs in your ad copy, your Black Friday advertising campaigns will more effectively convert customers before and during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Effectively Target Your Audiences
Make sure your Black Friday and Cyber Monday advertising campaigns connect with the right people with effective targeting.
Gathering and using your first-party data is critical in optimizing your Black Friday 2023 ads and reaching your target audiences. There are a couple of things to consider regarding first-party data this time of year.
Update Your Top-Quality Lists & Retargeting
If you’re late to get started on this, you should take some time to build lists with your highest-quality customers based on the data you’ve collected. You can then retarget these users with your Black Friday sales advertisements and other channels to boost your marketing efforts.
Be sure to connect email and paid media teams, along with SMS, to harness the power of segmented first-party data. You’ll be able to connect with users on all platforms this way, whether they’re on their desktops or on the go with mobile.
Also, connect with people who haven’t converted in 180 days or longer. Reaching out to people who have converted in the past but not in a long time can help increase conversions and loyalty.
Another segment to target is people who’ve abandoned their shopping carts, as they may find inspiration from your campaign to complete their orders.
Developing highly-targeted ad campaigns like this will help you build the best PPC bid strategies for Black Friday and make the most of your budget.
Examples of First-Party Data Segments
There are plenty of first-party data segments you can target with your advertisements for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, including:
- Past purchasers from the last year, i.e., the last 365 days
- People who’ve abandoned their carts in the last year
- High lifetime value (LTV) buyers from the last year
- Customers with a high average order value (AOV) from the last year
- Potential customers who’ve signed up for email and SMS correspondence without completing a purchase
- Customers who made a purchase during the previous Black Friday and Cyber Monday but haven’t done so in 180 days
These are some of the main groups that fall under the action phase of the sales funnel.
Leverage Google Merchant Center Next for Black Friday
Recently, Google launched an updated version of Google Merchant Center called Merchant Center Next, which makes it easy to update products listed on a connected website for improved and automated inventory management.
The following are a few ways to use Google Merchant Center Next to enhance your Black Friday marketing campaigns.
Optimize Visuals With Product Studio
High-quality product visuals are a great way to appeal to consumers, as they can reflect the quality of your product and differentiate you from other less aesthetically pleasing brands.
Product Studio uses Google’s AI Principles to help you create unique and visually appealing product images using ethical generative AI. With effective visuals showcasing your products, including animations along with static images, you can see an increase in click-through rates and conversions.
Assess Your Strategies With Enhanced Analytics
Google Merchant Center Next also provides more insights into your campaigns with rich analytics. Get an overview of your products’ performance or look into individual products to inform pricing strategies, and see how you compare to competitors.
By tracking competitors’ performance and measuring it against your Black Friday advertising campaigns, you can determine which products to market for higher ROI around the holidays.
Streamline Product Management With Automation
Another advantage of Google Merchant Center Next is the ability to automatically update your product management dashboard with products that appear on your website and their corresponding data.
These automatic data detection capabilities and product management tools can subsequently help you minimize errors in your ad campaigns. You’ll see how users are interacting with each product to create the ideal user experience and get some more Black Friday advertising ideas to generate engagement and sales.
Performance Max Campaigns for Black Friday
Google’s Performance Max (or PMax) gives you even more effective tools to gain more control over your ad campaigns to maximize your reach and performance using major paid media channels.
Using Performance Max, you can start by setting specific conversion goals for your campaigns, such as form submissions, completed purchases, free trial sign-ups, and scheduled appointments or phone calls. You can then develop ads and strategies that help you achieve these goals and measure their results.
When developing Black Friday marketing campaigns, you can optimize ad assets, including copy and visuals, with automated bidding strategies available to help you make the most of your available budget.
You can also integrate Google Merchant Center Next with your PMax campaigns by connecting your product feeds with your campaigns. In the process, you’ll be able to target specific customer segments around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
You can easily connect accounts by going into Merchant Center and linking it to a new or existing Google Ads account, but you may be able to bypass this step entirely if your Google Ads account is already connected to the Google Account associated with Merchant Center.
Maximize Black Friday with Meta Ads
Diversified Creative for Maximum Reach
Diversifying your creative assets is essential during the holiday season. By using a variety of formats like videos, static images, and carousel ads, you can reach different segments of your audience.
Meta’s AI can optimize these diversified creatives, delivering the right message to the right audience, ensuring that your holiday campaigns resonate. Whether promoting trendy fashion items or outdoor gear, adapting your creatives to align with holiday shopping motivations—such as promotions, convenience, and product quality—can significantly enhance engagement.
Leverage Advantage+ Campaigns
The Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (ASC) are designed to help retailers quickly scale and maintain efficiency.
By using ASC, businesses can ramp up their campaigns swiftly and adjust dynamically as consumer behavior evolves during the holiday shopping period. This approach not only boosts return on ad spend (ROAS) but also simplifies campaign management by automating audience targeting and ad placements.
Supercharge Price Overlays on Product Images
Testing price overlays can be a powerful tool during Black Friday month. By prominently displaying price reductions or strike-through prices directly on product images, you can grab attention and emphasize the value proposition.
This strategy, combined with Advantage+ catalog ads, allows you to highlight promotional deals effectively and match products with the most relevant audiences at scale.
Optimize with Video Creative for Reels
With over 50% of time on Instagram spent watching Reels, incorporating video content into your campaigns is crucial.
- Use 9:16 video formats
- Include sound
- Add engaging elements like stickers or voiceovers
Such dynamic content has been shown to decrease cost per acquisition (CPA) while boosting ROAS and reach. This strategy keeps your brand front and center, enhancing visibility and conversion rates throughout the holiday period.
By combining these tactics—using diversified creatives, optimizing Advantage+ campaigns, and enhancing visual content—you can ensure your Meta Ads strategy will help you win this Black Friday.
What Metrics Should You Monitor for Black Friday Marketing?
The following are some key metrics to measure against your campaign goals to gauge performance:
Conversion Rate Optimization Metrics
To optimize conversion rates for your Black Friday ads, you need to measure a few key metrics, such as:
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): This metric measures the revenue your ads earn against your total spending.
- Click-through Rate (CTR): Measure how many people click through your ads to visit your website.
- Cost Per Click (CPC): This measurement will help you determine how much you’re spending per ad click to better manage your budget.
Price Competitiveness
Using Google Merchant Center Next analytics, you can compare your pricing with competitors to see how you stack up. Based on competitors’ pricing models and performance, you can tweak your own pricing to maintain a competitive advantage and keep people buying from you.
Customer Acquisition vs. Retention
Determine when to focus more on acquiring new customers vs. retaining existing ones. For instance, you may want to make increased customer acquisition a goal toward the beginning of your campaigns when advertising for Black Friday, while increased retention may be a goal following initial sales as you work to gain repeat business.
Transitioning from Black Friday to Cyber Monday
As you begin to advertise for Cyber Monday following your Black Friday campaigns, you can use the data you gathered from the best Black Friday ad campaigns to inform them.
Take a look at the analytics gathered through platforms like Google Merchant Center Next and Performance Max and adapt your strategy to cater to Cyber Monday deals.
Also, if you find that any Black Friday Facebook ads or others underperformed on various channels, you can adjust your strategies accordingly to perform better ahead of and during Cyber Monday.
For example, you may not have allocated enough of your budget toward Black Friday social media campaigns, or your targeting efforts may not have reached people who are most likely to convert, in which cases you can make any necessary changes to your efforts for improved results before Cyber Monday.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday Tips
To get the results you want from your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing strategy, the following are key tips worth following.
Ensure Product Feeds & Catalogs Appear Properly On Each Platform
On your ecommerce platform, social media sites, and other platforms, you should make sure your product feeds and catalogs look right and function properly.
Whether people are browsing your product selection on desktop or mobile devices, on Shopify or Facebook, streamline the product selection and shopping process.
Expect an Increase in Competition, Conversion Rates, and Average CPC
In the days leading up to and through Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you’ll see some alarming increases in competition and cost-per-click rates. Thankfully, there are ways to adjust your Black Friday PPC ads to account for this while boosting conversions.
Specifically, you can adjust your campaigns to a slight degree to make them more flexible during auctions. You may also want to make seasonal bid adjustments if it makes sense to do so.
Just don’t overreact and make drastic changes to your campaigns when you see CPC and CPM metrics increase. Subtle but effective adjustments are key to cost-effective and generally effective Black Friday PPC advertising.
Keep Performance Marketing Campaigns Aligned
Align all performance marketing channels to drive better results with your advertisements for Black Friday.
One way you can do this is to give your paid media team your email and SMS calendar, which will inform ad campaigns and determine the best times to run them. As a result, you’ll be able to reach the right people at the right time with your ads and marketing materials.
In maintaining alignment across your campaigns, keep offers, copy, and creative consistent, which will help clarify promotions and boost brand recognition.
Make a Plan in Case You Miss Your Goal
Have a contingency plan to help you if things don’t quite go as planned. The e-commerce industry can be challenging to navigate this time of year, meaning even some of the best initial plans can fall through.
You might find that you’re falling below the kinds of figures you wanted, whether your goal was to increase sales, provide deep discounts, or add more products to your Black Friday sales. In any case, you should have a backup Black Friday marketing strategy to help you work around it.
If you’re ultimately disappointed with your campaigns’ performance, learn from the issues you experienced. For instance, if you find you didn’t adequately connect your paid media teams with email and SMS to get the desired results, you can pinpoint what worked and what didn’t.
Eventually, with future Black Friday sale advertisement strategies, you can get the kinds of results you originally envisioned. Your campaigns could even surpass your expectations as you perfect them over time.
Use What You Learned on Black Friday to Plan for Cyber Monday
As you learn more about how to advertise and develop Black Friday advertising ideas, you can take what you learned and apply it to your Cyber Monday advertising campaigns.
For example, if you find that certain products performed exceptionally well on Black Friday, you might want to continue offering deals on these products through Cyber
Monday. Conversely, if certain products failed to gain the kinds of sales you wanted, you could revamp your ads for improved performance on Cyber Monday.
Prepare Your Black Friday Advertising with Ignite Visibility
Want to get real results with your Black Friday 2023 ads along with future campaigns? Ignite Visibility is here to help! From paid media and email marketing to comprehensive digital marketing strategies, we’re here to develop a campaign that really works for your business.
When you team with us, we’ll help you with every aspect of your Black Friday strategy, including:
- Developing high-quality and relevant copy and creative
- Using paid media in conjunction with email and other marketing channels
- Choosing the right platforms for your ad campaigns
- Measuring the success of your campaigns
- Making any necessary adjustments to ads for better performance
- And more!
If this sounds like the right approach to your Black Friday advertising efforts, we’re ready to connect.
Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for your business this holiday season and beyond.
