Black Friday 2017 saw 1.8x more online conversions than an average day in November, which makes Black Friday one of the most important dates on any eCommerce stores calendar.
Still not sold on why you need to be running Black Friday or Cyber Monday campaigns? Especially on the internets largest social media platform with over 2 billion monthly active users… well, this blog should put you straight.
The numbers behind #BlackFriday in the UK – https://t.co/ijOzQIN3kL #Retail #stats pic.twitter.com/PNcCaiSpqt
— Esendex (@esendex) November 12, 2018
Black Friday originated in the USA where huge discounts in-store and online occur the day after Thanksgiving in what they claim to be the first day of Christmas shopping. One thing led to another, Black Friday spread globally and now we also have a Cyber Monday, which mainly focuses on online eCommerce discounts.
In this blog, we will discuss the results of last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday and how these can give us an insight into what to expect this year. We will also be letting you in on some of our top tips on how to run your Facebook Campaigns throughout the occasion.
Black Friday & Cyber Monday in 2017
In the UK last year, Black Friday sales soared up by 11.7% to £1.39bn when compared to 2016. It was originally forecast that sales would see a 9% growth.
2017 was the second year in succession where mobile devices dominated the share of Black Friday sales. 39% of sales on the day occurred on a mobile device, outperforming both tablet and desktop.
Videos are becoming more pivotal when it comes to digital marketing on Facebook. Black Friday was an example of this. With users showing a high amount of engagement with the Ad format.
When it came to Cyber Monday, the peak time of sales in the UK was 4:38PM. Cyber Monday also saw more non-electrical retailers take part in the event as eCommerce stores looked at maximising their sales.
It’s Cyber Week – Increase Your Budget!
The last few years have seen Black Friday and Cyber Monday become less of one-day events, and more so of what has become Cyber Week. Many large retailers now begin their promotions the week before Black Friday.
This year will see Cyber Week run from 19th – 26th November.
Year on Year statistics shows that website visitors on Black Friday is plateauing, with the days before and after increasing, providing a greater opportunity for retailers.
All of the attraction and hype surrounding Cyber Week comes at a cost, with the cost-per-click on your Facebook Ads expecting to cost you 140% more than on any other average day.
So here’s our first tip. Increase the budget on your Ads! If you do not you are likely to run out of daily budget early on in the day, meaning you could miss out on the peak times in the afternoon.
Our Tips for 2018
Go Mobile!
With more than 39% of customers expected to purchase through mobile devices, you need to check that your Ads are optimised for display on the mobile news feed. This includes ensuring that your main calls-to-action in your text copy can be seen clearly within the first couple of sentences of the Ad.
You may want to run specific device campaigns. Only targeting mobile devices. This is optional and depends on your preference. This can be done when selecting the placements of your Ad.
Use Video & Carousel Ads
People are in a buying mood throughout Black Friday and Cyber Week. Show them a variety of your products by using the Carousel, Slideshow and Video Ad formats. These formats are also more engaging and eye-catching than still Single Image Ads.
Use Dynamic Product Ads
Using Dynamic Product Ads and the Catalogue Sales objected allows you to show Facebook users tailored products which they have either shown interest in or may be interested in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMotakZyoD0
Facebook recently introduced Creative Tools which can help personalise and enhance your Dynamic Product Ads, taking them to the next level. You can upload your logo or specially made promotional banners as frames to your Ad and select where on your Ads they appear.
This guide shows how you can add frames and Catalogue Information to your ads.
If you are only running promotions on a small number of products it would be best to place them within their own Product Set within the Catalogue. After doing so, you can run Dynamic Product Ads only showing products within this set, showcasing the products you have on sale over those you do not.
If you are unsure how to create Product Sets you can use the Facebook help guide.
Collection Ads Work Great!
Collection Ads allow you to combine the benefits of Dynamic Product Ads and video together. Collection Ads are specifically designed for mobile devices giving the user a truly stunning experience.
Clicking the Ad opens up a fullscreen experience within the Facebook app. Using templates provided by Facebook or creating your own allows you to bring your Products to life.
If you need help on setting up Collection Ads, you can use this Facebook help guide.
Hashtags & Emojis Are Essential
Hashtags and emojis are crucial when it comes to making your Ads stand out from the many competitors. Emojis can help catch the eyes of Facebook and Instagram users, while hashtags allow your Ads to be found by users searching for these hashtags, improving the organic reach of your Ads.
Here are some emojis which you could use to improve your Ads visual looks.
Use Accelerated Delivery
With the competition for Ad Placements being fierce you may struggle in seeing your ads earning impressions. One method which Facebook themselves have given is that using Accelerated Delivery on Black Friday and Cyber Monday can help counteract this.
Using Accelerated Delivery will result in Facebook’s algorithms trying to spend all of your budget through the day, leading to your Ads appearing more frequently.
Audiences You Have To Use
As always, your key audience should be a remarketing audience consisting of those who have added products to their basket but never completed the purchase. Throughout Cyber Week this remains the same. By using Dynamic Product Ads with your remarketing campaigns you’re able to recapture individuals who showed a high intention of purchasing your products.
You can also create remarketing campaigns targeting an audience of individuals who viewed products on your website but never added any to their cart. This is another hot audience which is likely to convert throughout the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.
People are in a buying mood during Cyber Week, especially on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Because of this, targeting lookalike audiences has never been more beneficial. Creating 1% lookalike audiences of those who have converted in the past or added products to their cart should all show positive results when combined with creative and engaging Ad design.
These last-minute tips should help you see your Ads bring in the clicks and revenue this coming Cyber Week. If you would like more help with Facebook Ads, we offer FREE consultations on your account, find out more about this here.
