Smash your Black Friday sales:
A real-world guide to high-impact campaigns
Your 2024 guide to
high performing
BFCM campaigns
Not having a plan means missing out on significant sales, so here’s a guide to help you boost your sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start planning your marketing strategy.
As the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, Black Friday presents a massive opportunity to boost sales. In 2023, Black Friday online sales reached impressive figures globally, and not just in the US, it is now arguably the most important shopping day in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines.
2024 promises to be just as big!
When is Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Traditionally, Black Friday falls every year on the last Friday of November. In 2024, it will fall on Friday 29 November. The sales period now extends over the entire weekend culminating in Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, traditionally marking the last day you can purchase online to ensure delivery by Christmas. It's an annual one-day shopping event that occurs on the Monday after Thanksgiving, but it's not just for the US. Globally, businesses have jumped on board from the Philippines through to Australia and New Zealand.
How to boost your Black Friday Marketing
Set clear objectives and metrics
Be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Your metrics should reflect what you are trying to achieve. Try to set both leading indicators as well as lag indicators.
Build your engagement plan
Bring it all together into a marketing and engagement plan that is customised for your ideal customer profile.
Create killer content
Engaging Black Friday content is crucial to get cut through and drive sales. Get in early with AB testing. Think about how you can reach customers instantly, leveraging tools like SMS and MMS.
Boost your social skills
Identify the platforms that your ideal customer engages with. Keep your conversation going by interacting. Consider conversational AI or chatbots to be able to scale real time engagement.
Compliance counts
Ensure your marketing adheres to messaging and SMS regulations by region, including obtaining explicit opt-in consent and providing a clear opt-out.
Keep learning
Discover our templates, tools and success stories to elevate your Black Friday campaign game, or reach out to validate Your Black Friday Campaign with an SMS Expert.
Want to make sure you never miss a promotional period or industry event?
Download this year's Kudosity Marketing Calendar.
Set your objectives and metrics
Do you want to boost your sales from your existing customers, attract new customers, reduce abandoned carts or promote a specific product or solution?
Start by being clear about what you are trying to achieve. Once you have nailed your primary objective, identify your ideal customer.
Do you have ideal customer persona’s already you can leverage? Can you review who your most profitable customer groups are? If not consider building a hypothesis and testing during your BFCMY campaign. You can then leverage the learnings to better target as you go - and set you up for success next year.
Understanding your ideal customer is crucial for the next step. Setting up meaningful metrics before you engage. Your metrics should reflect what you are trying to achieve. Try to set both leading indicators (metrics that you can track in real-time and respond to) as well as lag indicators (metrics that will help you assess success at the end of the campaign).
Track your metrics, and then track them during the campaign so you can optimise in real time. This includes adding social listening and competitor analysis so you can respond accordingly.
Building your Black Friday and Cyber Monday
engagement plan
Now you know who your ideal customer is, and how you want to engage – bring it all together into a marketing and engagement plan.
Set clear goals and meaningful metrics
Be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Then, make sure you have a clear understanding of who your ideal customer is. Finally, set up meaningful metrics before you engage. Your metrics should reflect what you are trying to achieve. Try to set both leading indicators as well as lag indicators.
Identify your target audience
Use your ideal customer profiles to identify a target audience. Your plan will be customised based on their preferences, needs and drivers.
Customise your promotions
Develop tailored offers or special promotion based on your target audience profile. These could be promotions like exclusive discounts, free shipping, gift with purchase.
Create buzz with social media
Use the platforms most relevant for your target audience. Consider using influencers and content creators to endorse your promotions.
Optimise your website
Check for mobile responsiveness and user experience. Create landing pages specifically for Black Friday offers and optimise your sales pathway for your target audience.
Take an omnichannel approach
An omnichannel approach: get the right mix of the best performing messaging tools like SMS and MMS, and also leverage traditional vehicles like email to reach your customers in their preferred way with personalised messages.
Track your results
Be clear about what metrics are important and track them. Consider the use of analytics tools to better understand customer behaviour and refine your strategy. Make sure you also check the performance of your messaging, via your messaging platform reporting & analytics tools to optimise campaign performance.
Comply with regulations
Ensure your marketing adheres to messaging and SMS regulations by region, including obtaining explicit opt-in consent and providing a clear opt-out.
Ecommerce brand Bhumi uses SMS to boost customer engagement and revenue
“We started sending an SMS campaign only a month ago to 100,000+ customers and experienced a 20% increase in revenue, with increased site visits and conversions. We expect this to increase even further for Black Friday”
— Dushyant Baravkar Founder at Bhumi
Create engaging content
Making your Black Friday content engaging is crucial to getting cut through, driving engagement and driving sales.
Get in early and AB test the most effective way to get your message across, try a range of techniques:
Teasers and Countdowns
Create engagement and anticipation with teasers and countdowns. Share sneak peeks of your deals via social media, SMS, MMS, email, and your website.
Interactive Social Media Content
Use contests, polls, and quizzes to encourage engagement and sharing.
Offers and discounts
Reward loyal customers or attract new ones with bespoke, targeted offers. Capture attention with early preview deals. Try our SMS and MMS templates for sale previews.
Email Campaigns
Craft engaging emails with catchy subject lines, vibrant visuals, and clear calls to action. Highlight your deals and guide your subscribers to your website.
Call to Action
Use urgency to drive sales with phrases like “Act now!” or “Limited stock available!” Create a sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
Personalisation
Use your first party customer data to target, tailor and tune experiences using a specific hashtag and handles, make sure you engage with their content and reshare.
Video content
Create engaging reels, tik-toks and videos showcasing your deals, demo’s or even short, fun animations and posts, remember to make it relevant for your target audience.
Influencer collaborations
Partner with relevant influencers to promote and recommend your products or deals.
Mobile-optimised content
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly. Many shoppers will browse and buy on their smartphones. Don’t forget to also optimise your emails for mobile.
Promote better with SMS marketing tips and templates
Check out our handy tips and SMS templates for BFCM during the planning stages of the campaign through to launch and post event.
Leverage social media
Social media is everywhere. The first step is to identify the platforms that your ideal customer engages with. Once you know what your social media mix is you can start to engage with your audience.
Consider structuring your activity like a conversation, understanding the best time to leverage customer stories or showcase your product benefits.
Keep your conversation going by interacting, make sure you respond to posts and messages quickly.
You may also want to consider conversational AI or chatbots to be able to scale real time engagement.
Leverage advanced targeting options to reach your ideal audience. Use testing to create the right mix of copy and creative to drive targeted ad performance on social media.
Showcase specific customer use cases. Demonstrate an understanding of how your ideal customers use your solution, highlighting the key benefits and your unique selling proposition.
SMS for Retail ft. Glam Corner
Their customer support has always been phenomenal and their tech platform and interface has always been so easy to use. We also really like Burst SMS’s best-practice approach to anti-spam and privacy - the fact that there’s a lot of circuit breakers and reminders built into their platform gives us peace of mind that we’re being compliant while utilising SMS as an awesome marketing channel to connect with our customers.
— Dean Jones, Glam Corner CEO
Be privacy aware and compliant
Your customers privacy matters. If you're using SMS or MMS marketing, ensure you have explicit opt-in consent from your customers. Make it easy for them to opt out if they choose to. Keep your communications transparent and compliant with local regulations.
Is your SMS compliant with privacy regulations? You can check the compliance requirements for your destination country here.
While these vary between country, there are some common measures you can take to protect yourself:
Check what Numbers or Sender IDs are permitted for the country you're sending to.
Always provide an opt-out or unsubscribe link.
Identify yourself in the message.
Check if the destination country has a 'Do Not Contact' List.
Ensure there are no local time restrictions for business communications.
Check our our Resources section for more information.
Stay transparent and legally compliant
Navigating the complex landscape of SMS marketing regulations is crucial for businesses operating in Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. Each country has specific laws and best practices that must be followed to ensure compliance, build customer trust, and avoid big penalties.
SMS Compliance in Australia
SMS marketing is Australia's most direct and effective way to reach customers. However, to leverage SMS effectively, it's crucial to comply with Australia's regulations, particularly the Spam Act 2003. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines and damage to your brand's reputation.
SMS Compliance in New Zealand
With open rates close to 98%, SMS offers an unparalleled communication channel. However, to avoid penalties and maintain customer trust, it’s essential to adhere to the regulations set out by the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 and follow best practices
SMS Compliance in the Philipiness
In the Philippines, SMS marketing is a highly effective way to engage customers, with the vast majority of the population using mobile phones. However, this powerful tool has strict legal requirements under the Data Privacy Act 2012 and other relevant laws.
SMS Compliance in Australia
SMS marketing is Australia's most direct and effective way to reach customers. However, to leverage SMS effectively, it's crucial to comply with Australia's regulations, particularly the Spam Act 2003. Non-compliance can lead to significant fines and damage to your brand's reputation.
SMS Compliance in New Zealand
With open rates close to 98%, SMS offers an unparalleled communication channel. However, to avoid penalties and maintain customer trust, it’s essential to adhere to the regulations set out by the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 and follow best practices
SMS Compliance in the Philipiness
In the Philippines, SMS marketing is a highly effective way to engage customers, with the vast majority of the population using mobile phones. However, this powerful tool has strict legal requirements under the Data Privacy Act 2012 and other relevant laws.
Need help to validate your Black Friday campaigns?
Our team of messaging experts have helped thousands of businesses to lift performance and ensure compliance.
Keep learning
Get started with Kudosity’s
messaging software
Need help to validate your Black Friday Campaigns?
Message Content Optimisation: Ensure your messages are clear, concise, and compelling.
Timing and Frequency Analysis: Find the perfect timing and frequency for maximum impact.
Audience Segmentation: Reach the right audience with targeted messaging.
Compliance Check: Make sure your campaigns comply with all regulations.
Performance Metrics: Get insights into delivery and engagement rates.
Get started with a Trial Account, and one of our messaging experts will provide a free consultation to enhance campaign performance and ensure compliance.
