The time has come to start planning and going live on one of the most lucrative times of the year – Black Friday – which falls on the 27th of November. This is the time of year where online transactions from mobile devices increase by up to 40%!
Although with restrictions lifted this year and shops are all open, it’s clear that many users who have made the switch to online shopping will continue to do so, making the coming weekend one of the most important times of the year (just before Christmas) for online sales and for you to have a clear-cut approach to your paid advertising strategy.
So, what can you do to prepare and ensure yours is a success with the help of a digital marketing agency?
First off, you need to create new ad copy surrounding Black Friday. Where possible, include countdown timers in your ads to create a sense of urgency to the user or key USPs that separate your brand and products from your competitors such as fast delivery times or free delivery when X amount is spent.
This also provides you with the ideal opportunity to test new descriptions and headlines. You want to create FOMO for any user that sees your ads so think of using words and phrases such as “hurry” and “don’t miss” to drive urgency.
Also, use Promotion Extensions in both Google Search & Shopping to highlight your key offers and discounts.
Make sure to include audiences of users that previously visited your website/product pages, and these will be more likely to convert or make a purchase.
It’s more than likely that your competitor will be planning and executing their Black Friday/Cyber Monday strategy right now.
This is why it is important to do your research and analyse what your competitors paid advertising strategy looks like.
Look at what their display campaigns look like; are they utilising any pop-ups on their website or email marketing?
Are your competitors offering a site wide percentage off or special discount codes?
All these small, individual factors play a role in creating the larger picture of a successful paid advertising campaign.
Around this time, we see CPCs spike due to competitors fiercely increasing their budgets to gain a higher market share in paid search platforms like Google.
We would always recommend having a 20-30% extra of your click spend ready to combat these higher bids and to ensure your ads get shown more often during this period.
You could have the best digital strategy and a limitless amount of capital to invest into paid advertising, but if your website is not up to scratch and is not user-friendly then you will find that your sales will reach your goals.
Today, users want a fast and responsive website, without too many steps to make a purchase, we would recommend reviewing your website, implementing heatmapping to look at the data, and see where your drop-off points are.
Also, don’t forget to test and make sure your payment portals work!
Although Black Friday is over a month away, we see some retailers start their Black Friday campaigns as early as the end of October.
It’s vital to start planning your strategy and preparing so you gain the edge over your competitors for one of the biggest online shopping events of the year.
For more information, get in touch with a member of the Absolute Digital Media team today on 0800 088 6000.
