Black Friday social media marketing 101: An essential guide for smashing sales

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'Tis the season for in-store and online holiday sales. While some people love the deep discounts and consumerism craze, other customers reject it and want more meaningful transactions with your brand.

In this article, we will walk you through how to excel in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. We'll focus specifically on social media marketing for Black Friday and how to do it in a way that resonates with customers.

We also want to steer you away from common pitfalls that give your brand stale, salesy vibes to transform it into something you can be proud of (and something that customers adore).

When to prep for a Black Friday sale

If you're reading this, the time to prep for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is (probably) now. In fact, consumers are interested in Black Friday deals starting in early October. Don't be discouraged! It's not too late.

Big brands start early, and social media marketing is often their first way to prep for Black Friday. This can be in the form of organic posts, lives or paid social ads. We'll dive deeper later on.

Why it's best to stock up on Black Friday content early

Now that you know when you should prep for a Black Friday sale, it's very important to stock up and get your content ready well in advance.

Not only will this relieve pressure and stress, but planning your content early will give you plenty of time to create high quality posts and effective ads.

Not to mention, you'll need to focus on other things as Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach. For example: You may need to update your site with more holiday graphics and copy. Or, you need to hit it hard with email marketing during the week of Black Friday.

In other words, you won't want to worry about taking pictures and recording videos for your socials right before the big day.

Do your content and ads first. Then, focus solely on orders and customer service when Black Friday hits. Trust us!

What you need for effective Black Friday marketing

The competition is stiff since everyone will be inundating social media channels with their own organic posts and paid ads.

But have no fear! We will demystify what works when it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing.

Social media checklist to prep for Black Friday sales

Follow this checklist to make sure you're setting your socials up for the most shopping, engagement and growth possible!

Step 1 - Clean up your accounts

Okay, let's start here. Mainly because it's easy and fast. Plus, this step will set the stage for everything else to follow.

Check to make sure all of your social media channels are cleaned up, activated and set to the proper account type. For example: Make sure you're using a business or creator Instagram account. Make sure your YouTube channel is set to public.

For reaching a wider audience and boosting sales, your accounts will need to be open for business!

Aside from ensuring your accounts are set up correctly, get rid of old posts that are off-brand. Delete outdated photos and under-performing videos. Make your accounts as fresh as possible.

Soon, you'll have more viewers, followers and potential customers flooding to your profiles. Put your best foot forward with a little clean-up!

Step 2 - Get your branding right

If you haven't added unique branding to your social media accounts, prepping for Black Friday sales is a great time. Now more than ever, customers want to know the brand they're purchasing from.

It matters who you are, what you do and what you stand for. Start your customer relationship off right with distinct branding that catches their eye and makes you stand out.

In fact, the Mojo app lets you save brand colors, fonts and logos so that you can apply these settings to a variety of templates. It makes video creation go way faster.

Step 3 - Focus on what really works

Since you're about to put a significant amount of energy into your social media marketing, prioritize what kinds of ads and organic posts will have the biggest impact on impressions and engagement.

Let's cut to the chase with some tips to help you prep for Black Friday in the most effective way possible. Here are some things to remember when posting content on social media. Each of these tips can help you rank better with platform algorithms:

What works well on all channels

• Social channels prioritize original content on each platform (so avoid cross-posting)
• Time of day to post has a significant impact on engagement
• Day of posting impacts engagement
• Precise audience targeting on ads is key
• Analyzing what worked in the past is helpful for future content

And as always, be sure to abide by all platform rules to avoid violation of community guidelines.

What works well on specific channels

• For Instagram: Reels tend to perform way better than other Instagram video content.
• For TikTok: When viewers stay with a video, it gets more attention. So load up on value!
• For YouTube: Viewers love watching demos, so put your products to the test.
• For Facebook: Square videos get better engagement since they're optimized for mobile.
• For Twitter: Tweets with videos get more engagement and lower cost-per-engagement.
• For Pinterest: Users come for inspiration or ideas. Educational videos may open them up.

For more insight, check out our channel-specific articles for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and more in our blog.

Step 4 - Collect all your media

Scrape up all of the unused photos and videos you have on hand. When you're pressed for time before the holiday season, try to use everything you can.

You can also consider recycling other content from high performing posts. There's no shame in revamping what worked well in the past!

However, you'll also need to take footage of new products, seasonal collections and anything else to freshen up what you have.

Since you will be scheduling tons of content for the next few months, designate a day or two to product photography, behind-the-scenes footage, educational content and whatever else you need for a diverse selection of Reels, Stories, TikToks and more.

Step 5 - Knock out content with templates

When it comes to Black Friday marketing, work smarter, not harder! That's why it helps to use existing social media tools (like the Mojo app) to generate engaging content quickly.

Not every post has to be 100% original. In fact, you want organic posts and paid ads to look consistent. Within our app, you can create brand guides which enable you to apply your branding to various templates in seconds.

Step 6 - Schedule your posts

Use scheduler apps like Later Media to plan out all of your Black Friday content in advance. While you may want to take advantage of high traffic times, consider posting during off-times as well.

This will help you work around stiff competition. You'll have a better chance of getting seen if there are less posts to fight off in the feed.

5 Mojo templates for Black Friday marketing

With 400+ premade templates - and the ability to create your own - we're sure you'll fall in love with something in the Mojo app! You can find all sorts of stunning video templates, grouped by style or purpose.

Let's highlight specific templates to consider for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing campaigns.

1 - Minimalist video templates

Remove the clutter with minimalist Mojo templates. They are clean and simple so that your products can do the talking. Highlight product collections or the people behind the brand for extra consumer trust.

2 - Headline video templates

Get attention using big, bold lettering and compelling copy. Use these templates to announce big Black Friday launches or your absolute best deal.

If your goal is to do good this holiday season, use these video templates to announce your philanthropic efforts. This will speak volumes to your customers, so you might as well transform it into a breathtaking headline.

3 - Sell products video templates

Tell customers about your deals with eye-catching headlines and clear call-to-actions. These video templates are best for dissecting product features and to call out what customers are looking for. Take advantage of features like star ratings and testimonial blocks.

4 - Beauty video templates

Create stunning video ads with large images and simple transitions. Even though your beauty products will look great in these templates, feel free to use them for other types of products. Above all, these video templates make your content look professional and polished.

5 - Fashion video templates

Make a statement with bold headlines and full-screen images. Use these templates for product advertising.

You can also use them when taking a stand on social issues that matter to your brand. Highlight images of your team volunteering or people benefiting from your products.

Regardless of your branding, Mojo has a template that will make your video content stand out and shine on a crowded social media platform.

Start making your video content in minutes with the Mojo app!

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