Win the Year’s Biggest Marketing Weekend

Since you’re reading this article, you know it’s time to start thinking about how to reach your customers during November’s mega shopping weekend. They say the early bird takes the worm, and we couldn’t agree more.

With Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday taking place this month, you’ll want to kick your marketing efforts into full gear. Earlier in the month, you should be amping up your social media presence and thinking of how you’re going to make the most out of one of the most important weekends of the year for small businesses. It’s your weekend to shine.

Beyond being a big sales weekend, it’s also a HUGE marketing weekend. From promotions and deals to customer acquisition and lead generation, the content you plan for this weekend can have a significant impact on the upcoming year.

Our big tip? Don’t wait until the last moment to capitalize on the biggest weekend of the year; plan ahead. Organize your Black Friday shoutouts, Cyber Monday sales videos, and Small Business Sunday efforts in advance. That way, when Thanksgiving weekend rolls around, you’ll have nothing left to do but press “Share”!

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s crush this marketing weekend in a big way!

The Most Important Weekend for Small Businesses

With three substantial shopping holidays crammed into four days, preparing a campaign for Thanksgiving weekend isn’t a head-scratcher. There’s potential for a lot of sales in this time period. That much is obvious. In fact, 30-40% of ALL retail shopping each year takes place in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and a large chunk of that will happen on the first weekend. For many businesses, this is the make or break time of year.

However, what you may not be considering is this: those sales are attached to people. A lot of them.

Yes, there’s a lot of revenue to be generated, but that also means that many people are coming into your business in a short window. These are people who may not be existing customers. These folks may be trying out a new store while searching for a holiday deal. They may be hungry and happen to be in the shopping center your restaurant is located in. The reasons are endless. The fact remains, you’re going to see an increased volume of shoppers.

Will those shoppers disappear after this extended holiday weekend, never to be seen again? The goal, of course, is to not let that happen. That is why this is not only a weekend for generating sales.

This is also a time for increasing loyalty, brand awareness, market penetration, social media engagement, and much more. Don’t let this opportunity pass your business by. It’s your time to shine!

Here are some amazing statistics to keep in mind for Black Friday weekend:

• Last year, during Black Friday weekend, shoppers spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases. Almost  50% of consumers plan to spend the same amount of money or spend more this holiday season.
• Don’t underestimate the power of social media! Last year, 45% of people who discovered something new online gifted it to someone.
• Last holiday shopping season, 77% of shoppers showed an interest in supporting small businesses.
• At the end of the day, over 82% of shoppers state they would rather support a local business than a large company.
• Small Business Saturday 2020 brought in 68.2 million online shoppers – an increase of 17% compared to 2019.
• As the power of online shopping rises, free shipping has become the main reason buyers make purchases they are otherwise hesitant about.

Where is 2021 going to take us?! We can’t wait to find out!

Black Friday

Let’s start with the mother of all shopping days. Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the most substantial shopping days of the entire year. This is the day when many large stores go big on deals, discounts, and promotions.

Black Friday is THE official kickoff to the holiday shopping season and one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Black Friday has a lot of built-in marketing done already, and people will be out in droves looking for deals.

Because of this, you may be tempted to think that you don’t have to do anything special for Black Friday. After all, people will be on the prowl and looking to shop. All you have to do is open the door, right? Wrong!

The increased volume is great. However, you want to step up and stand out from the crowd. Here are a few quick ideas to make Black Friday a hit.

• Informative Video: Like we said, it’s best to plan in advance. Take this opportunity to up your customer engagement weeks before Black Friday by providing a breakdown of the top 10 best local Black Friday deals. Don’t forget to add yourself!
• Hourly Deals: Black Friday is all about specials, and hourly deals can be a big hit. Select a product or service to promote each hour during regular business hours or for a set time.
• Customer Appreciation: Take Black Friday to show gratitude towards the customers that have been loyal all year round. Offer an extra 10% to customers you recognize!
• Offer a Free Gift: There’s nothing quite like a freebie incentive to get people in the door. Have a surplus of something you’d like to get rid of? Make it a freebie!
• Institute A Post-Sale Loyalty Program: You don’t want to lose track of all these new customers. Gathering email addresses at the point of sale (online or in-person) is a great way to build a list to follow up with later. After the craziness of the weekend dies down, a quick “thank you” email is much appreciated by customers. This is also an excellent opportunity to provide an incentive (such as a coupon) for them to return.
• Create an Email Campaign: Did you know? Emails that include the word “Video” in the title are more likely to be opened! In fact, an initial email that includes video content can increase clickthrough rates by up to 96%!

No matter what your business specializes in, one main goal you focus on throughout the whole month is creating a Black Friday video campaign. Whether you’re getting customers pumped for Black Friday that’s just around the corner or pushing your Black Friday sales, Promo has all the Black Friday video templates you need to achieve your marketing goals. You can easily make each video your own by adding your brand logo and customized text to fit your business’s Black Friday sales.

The fun doesn’t stop here; unlock the power of Promo and Black Friday by creating your own marketing videos this month with thousands of Black Friday footage and photos. Of course, these are all practices you should keep in mind for Cyber Monday as well!

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday was started to give a boost to small businesses during the busy holiday shopping weekend. The excellent news for SMBs is that this is the day where people are actively out in the community looking for local businesses to support. Local businesses just like yours!

The “shop local” movement is alive and well, and Small Business Saturday is a shining testament to it. Here are some great ideas to help you make the most out of Small Business Saturday this year.

• Partner Up: Find a local business that is related to your business without being a direct competitor. According to POS Quote, a wine store might partner with a restaurant, for example. Or a barbershop with a nail salon, etc. Partner up on an irresistible deal for SBS. Free haircut with every manicure? A wine tasting at the restaurant with discounts on bottles? Harness the power of two local businesses. This has the potential to expose your business to a new group of customers. Cross-promote the event on each other’s social pages with blog posts, video content, and event invites. Then, when the big day comes: double the customers, double the fun!
• Join Online Groups: All across Facebook, there are community pages/groups devoted to your town, county, zip code, and more. By becoming an active member of these communities, you can promote your business to a truly local audience. Many will also allow you to share and promote your content as well. This is a great way to get involved locally and put you on the map when Small Business Saturday rolls around.
• Promote the Selfie: You can harness the power of the selfie for your business on Small Business Saturday. Hold a social media contest where you encourage your customers to take a small business selfie in your store on Saturday. Alternatively, you can ask them to take a selfie with one of your products and post it to their social media channels. This will organically promote your business across local social channels. At the end of the day, select a winner (or several) to reward with a coupon, discount, or reward. #Selfiepower

Did you know? According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 83% of customers find that Small Business Saturday inspires them to “shop small” all year long. This means your customers are more likely than not to be interested in continuing their patronage if they feel valued and welcome. Don’t forget to build contact lists on SBS to continue and nurture the relationship.

Cyber Monday

When did Cyber Monday become a thing? More importantly, when did it become a bigger deal than Black Friday? This is a recent development, but it’s one that shows no signs of slowing down. Call it the ease of online shopping compared to in-store shopping. Call it the next evolution of retail. Whatever you do, don’t call it off! Cyber Monday may be the most impactful day of the holiday shopping weekend.

Okay, it’s not technically “the weekend,” but it’s close. This is a four-day shopping weekend. And what’s more, your customers aren’t going to be taking the day off from buying so you shouldn’t take the day off from offering a great incentive for shopping with you! Take advantage of the opportunity to increase your online sales not only this day but in the months ahead.

Here are some ideas to make it cyber-riffic.

• Exclusive Deals: Whether part or all of your business comes from eCommerce, there’s no time like Cyber Monday to create and promote an exclusive online shopping deal for your customers. This can be a percentage off, free shipping, bonus items, or more. The key is to create and promote your sale well in advance. Video marketing makes for a great medium to get the word out there, so be sure you’re creating content and promoting it early and often.
• Create Opt-In Offers: Customers love online shopping. For many, filling in their email address is just part of the process. Create opt-in offers and segment customer purchases into lists for later marketing and loyalty promotion. Don’t forget to follow up with a “thank you” email and bounceback offer later on and keep the relationship going.
• Count It Down!: Create a sense of urgency by promoting the fleeting nature of your deal. One day only, sale expires in an hour, etc. You can create countdown meters on your website or product pages and promote them with video online. Ensure people feel that FOMO, and they’ll be sure to click “buy now.” 

Ready to get cracking get customers excited? Check out our ready-made video templates and kick-start your Cyber Monday marketing strategy!

Don’t Forget About Giving Tuesday

With all the money spent over the previous four days, Giving Tuesday was started as an incentive to give back. This is not a commercial holiday in its truest sense, and the purpose is to kick off the charitable portion of the holiday season.

Nonetheless, Giving Tuesday represents an essential aspect of your business. Being part of a community can be a significant boost to your business in many ways. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it can also elevate your business to a place of prominence within the community.

We tend to think of “marketing” as being the actions businesses take to generate sales. It’s easy to forget that marketing is really about how you position, promote, and represent your business. This indeed entails traditional advertising activities. However, it also includes any action your company takes that is publicly visible and showcases your brand’s values.

Giving Tuesday presents an opportunity for your business to put a great foot forward and help others at a time when people are feeling charitable.

• Partner with a Local Charity: Local charities are always looking for community involvement from local businesses. This can include sponsoring a charity event or donating time, money, or resources.
• Hold Your Own Drive: Canned goods, toys, or clothing are easy donation drives to sponsor. All you need is a large box, a sign, and some video marketing online to let people know how they can get involved. Donations can then be distributed to local charities or organizations. To incentivize participation, offer a discount or coupon for customers who get involved and donate.
• Donate A Percentage Of Sales: Many businesses have found success by donating a specific % of sales on this day to a local or national charity. Choose an amount that will work well for your business and promote this to your customers. Incentivize them to shop on this day and be part of something good. 
• Social Media Video: Give your customers an extra push to celebrate the day by offering a sale to anyone who donated to a good cause or volunteered with a local organization. As an added bonus, Giving Tuesday is usually a much less crowded shopping day than the previous four days!

The Biggest Marketing Weekend in a Nutshell

The busiest and biggest marketing weekend is just around the corner. Start planning now and have your plan of attack ready for each of the key upcoming days. A key component of success is promotion. Social media, email, in-store, and more are your gateways to the holiday shopping community. After all, there’s no point in doing something special if nobody knows about it!

Plan your events and create a promotional calendar to follow. Promote your deals early and often during this time period for maximum success.  Video marketing is an excellent tool for getting the word out there and winning this holiday shopping season!