Best Cyber Monday and Black Friday Advertising Tips for eCommerce

We are super close to the start of the holiday shopping season, which means it is time to start planning digital marketing campaign strategies. 

By thinking about your needs now, you can help have the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales volume yet.

Not sure where to start? That’s okay. 

Our Rock Content experts have compiled a list of the best Black Friday advertising tips.

Of course, these ideas won’t implement themselves, which is why you’ll want to pay attention and start planning or executing them as soon as possible.

Let’s get started.

#1: Know Your Audience’s Needs

The first key step in creating the best advertising for the holiday shopping season really starts with knowing your audience’s needs.

If you haven’t yet created a few buyer personas that describe your target customers, then now is the time to do so.

Not only does this help you adjust your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing message, but it also gives you a good idea of how to engage with them during other parts of the year.

And don’t be afraid to get creative here. Give your imaginary buyer a name, descriptors, a list of likes and dislikes, etc.

#2: Think About Gift Giving Strategies

While it is important to know your primary customer, it is a good idea to also keep in mind that they won’t always be the ones shopping during the holidays.

Instead, have options for those who want to give your product or service to your ideal buyer. 

For example, a husband buying his wife her favorite beauty products or a mother buying a toy for her child.

This is where a lot of online brands go wrong with their ads. They don’t take into account their marketing needs to attract friends and family of their target audience. 

So, don’t miss out on seeing other angles like this when crafting your campaigns.

#3: Know When to Take on the Big Guys

The holiday shopping season is a madhouse when it comes to retail — both online and offline.

While you might be tempted to run some major campaigns to try to take on the big guy corporations, it isn’t always a good idea.

Instead, you might consider cutting through the noise and offering incentives directly tailored to current customers. 

Not only are they familiar with your brand and more likely to make a purchase, but they likely won’t skip on the chance to stock up on their favorites during a good sale.

#4: Focus on Those Looking to Pamper Themselves

Another excellent Cyber Monday and Black Friday advertising tip is to focus on those looking to pamper themselves.

If your product is something of a luxury item, high-ticket, or involves personal care, this is a great strategy to follow.

When it comes to these major sales days, a lot of shoppers are looking for things they can purchase themselves instead of just as gifts. 

This gives eCommerce brands an angle to take with campaigns that center around why it is important to treat yourself occasionally.

Of course, you would want to use this in conjunction with other front-facing approaches centered around holiday gift buying, too.

#5: Use Word-of-Mouth

Testimonials and word-of-mouth campaigns are super popular during the holidays. 

To help make this possible, you could run paid search or social media ads that outline the benefits of sharing a favorite small business retailer with a friend or family member.

If you have a customer incentive or bonus program, offer extra points or coupons for sharing posts via social media, email, and on other channels. 

For those with a tight advertising budget and an extensive number of existing customers, it can be a great way to see growth.

#6: Adding Pop-Ups to Attract Attention

When it comes to on-site advertising for your eCommerce brand, consider adding pop-ups to your page for just the day or the entire Thanksgiving weekend.

This is an excellent way to attract attention for significant savings or specials that you have going. 

It can also be a great catalyst for asking visitors to join your email list for additional savings or to join your customer appreciation program.

Likewise, you can also use pop-ups to alert shoppers to special clearance or Black Friday deals on a special landing page on your website.

#7: Create a Sense of Urgency

One of the best Black Friday advertising tips we have doesn’t consider the type of message, but rather the tone. 

After all, how you say something is just as important as what you’re saying.

The more you can create a sense of urgency with your advertising, the more likely shoppers are to take action. 

For example, use timers to show that special offers run out at a specific time. 

Some brands even offer a different deal every hour on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which keeps buyers coming back every hour to see what they could score.

#8: Advertise Buying Guides

Another really amazing holiday shopping campaign idea is to run advertisements for buying guides on your website. 

These can be a mix of products from your brand and others that you have worked deals with ahead of time. 

Think about themes like the best gifts for sports fans or what mom really wants for Christmas.

In some cases, retailers will even create specific landing pages for the guides and drive traffic to them through paid advertising. 

This is a great way to showcase great deals and more effectively push products that you need out of your warehouse, too.

#9: Retarget Past Customers

When it comes to running paid ads within the holiday shopping season, consider retargeting past customers. 

After all, they already know and love your brand, right?

By setting your Facebook ads or search ads settings to attempt to reach those who’ve previously made a purchase, you’ll be able to remind them of why they became fans of your company in the first place.

Plus, by alerting them to a Black Friday sale, they’ll be even more apt to buy based on their previous experience. 

It’s a win-win for you and your existing customers.

#10: Remember Brand Consistency

If you’re running multiple ads with an omnichannel approach for Black Friday, make sure you remember brand consistency throughout all of them.

What does this mean? 

Having an identical or similar visual aesthetic throughout all campaigns makes it easier for customers to spot your ads. 

When they finally get to a point where they’re ready to check out your offer, they’ll already have spotted your previous ads and know exactly what to expect.

While this is a tip geared at Black Friday advertising, it is really something you should be doing all year long for better brand recognition.

#11: Work with Micro-Influencers

To help spread the word about your specific Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, consider working with social media micro-influencers.

While some digital marketers forget that influencer marketing is a type of paid advertising, others have been able to use it to their advantage in the past.

Micro-influencers typically have a following under 10K on a specific social media platform with a moderate to high level of post engagement. 

These audiences are known to perform well for conversions, as they already trust the influencer they’re following.

Usually, the only cost is a gifted product sample or a small stipend for creating a post. 

You can also be hands-on with the content by asking for proofs ahead of time or just letting the influencer do their own creatives.

#12: Redefine Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Another tip to keep in mind is to redefine the terms Black Friday and Cyber Monday with your advertising.

As many of the big corporations discovered in the last few years, expanding their special offers outside the Thanksgiving weekend and offering so-called Black Friday incentives for the entire month of November works well.

In fact, it elicited such a huge response from consumers that some are even opening those offers up in the month of October.

By giving customers deals earlier and earlier, you can often encourage them to make a purchase sooner than later. 

This means scoring their sale for your brand before your competition is able to even start advertising theirs.

#13: Catch Last-Minute Shoppers

There are always those last-minute shoppers who wanted to score a big deal, but for whatever reason couldn’t make it to your website in time. 

You can use this to your advantage by using paid ads after the holiday weekend.

Utilize special coupon codes or bundle offers on products that maybe weren’t as crazy big sellers during the actual days, but still are what your target customer is looking for.

While the old saying that the early bird gets the worm is still true, you can always cater to the latecomers as a way to increase sales after the major deals are gone.

#14: Advertise Gift Card Specials

If you’ve paid any attention to the global shipping crisis happening right now, then you probably have at least some concern as to whether the products you’re selling on your website will actually make it to your warehouse in time.

That said, there are a lot of eCommerce retailers who are making a huge push for gift card sales in their Black Friday advertising. 

When the clogged supply chain clears up at the beginning of the year, there’s likely going to be a surplus of items available.

Gift cards are a good way to move items faster in the coming months and allocate spending with your brand.

#15: Use Humor in Your Marketing

One thing that always works is humor — especially if it surrounds something relatable.

When it comes to Black Friday advertising, don’t be afraid to show off a little humor in your message.

For example, maybe the husband bought the wife a horrible gift last year and you want to stop him from making the same mistake this year. 

Or a laugh for parents who spent lockdown trying to teach their kids at home and now need to find a really good gift for this year’s teacher.

How this works for your industry and what’s deemed humorous will likely vary. 

But, just remember that a good laugh is always an excellent way to catch the attention of your ideal buyer.

#16: Support a Cause

Most consumers these days will readily tell you that they prefer buying from brands that work to do good in the world. 

From a marketing perspective, adding support for a cause to your Black Friday advertising is a good idea.

As an example, maybe your company is donating a meal to a local food bank for every purchase made on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. 

Or you could match dollar-for-dollar to a specific charity for the purchase of a certain amount.

From a business perspective, this does a couple of things:

• First, it can create a situation where customers relate to and trust your brand for giving back. 
• And, second, it allows you to spread joy throughout the holiday season. 

A great double combination, right?

Wrap-Up: Black Friday Advertising Tips for 2023

If you’re planning your Cyber Monday and Black Friday advertising campaigns, this list is a good resource to ensure your message gets noticed by shoppers. 

The bottom line? Be creative with your messaging and offer value. 

If you can accomplish these two things, your sales for the upcoming holiday shopping season will certainly show it.

While we’re at it, here are a few extra tips from our Rock Content team on how to improve ad performance!