5 Social Media No Nos for Black Friday

The holiday season is here, and social media is filled with debates on when to decorate for Christmas followed by product ad after product ad. The pressure to keep up can be a little overwhelming in the biggest sales season of the year.

But, we know YOU CAN DO IT. So, take a deep breath, and let’s dive into some tips to keep in mind so you can crush your Black Friday social media campaign!

1. Don’t wait till Black Friday to start posting

The work of getting the best results for your big sale starts at the beginning of the month. Create excitement and a sense of urgency. Build engagement with your audience. You could do this by…

• Allowing people to “opt in” to emails for early notifications

• Adding a countdown on your stories

• Creating teaser graphics hinting at what the sale will be

• Host a doorbuster giveaway for followers who tag their friends

For example, this outlet mall shares the dates of their Black Friday shopping while also creating a sense of FOMO by setting the vibe of your future shopping experience.

2. Don’t only talk about yourself and your product

What do you mean, “Don’t focus on my product? I’m trying to sell it, right??” Yes, of course. But people shop with a specific need or purpose in mind. Talk about your product as a solution to meet your target audience’s needs. Most people don’t get on social media just to shop. They’re looking for entertainment, inspiration, and answers to questions; then they end up shopping!

This creator on TikTok shares gift guides and must-haves. Her audience is moms with young kids, so she focuses on baby and toddler gift ideas. If you are a brand, you could create guides for your target audience to take some of the workload of planning gifts away while also inserting your product as one of the options.

3. Don’t just share graphics

Get creative with human-focused photos and videos. Too many graphics can clutter your feed and cause your audience to check out. Your followers want to hear from YOU. 

Let’s compare these two hotels’ feeds. The first uses graphics so heavily that you don’t get a feel for the hotel or its amenities. The second uses real life pictures of their food, activities, and guests, so you get a better sense of the experience they offer as soon as you click on their profile. Their feeds alone make us WANT to explore the second option and write off the first because it’s too unknown.

4. Don’t post and ghost

Plan your posts and create your content ahead of time, not when your sale launches. Once your sale is live, the bulk of your time should be focused on responding to comments and customer service, not consumed with posting. 

Keeping up with comments and messages will help boost reach and engagement on your content, pushing your product and sale to more people. Also, once someone has decided to purchase, you want to make the process as seamless as possible. If they have an issue, fix it right away, or they might purchase a similar product from someone else.

5. Don’t change who you are as a brand during the holiday season

This may be the most important tip yet. Don’t change your entire content strategy to only focus on sales. Keep sharing the behind the scenes and lifestyle content you typically add with your products. Maintain your tone through the holiday season, and stay away from tacky verbiage. The key is balancing your brand and existing creative strategy with the holidays sprinkled in.

Take big brands like Starbucks or Target as an example. They shift their content to be holiday-focused, but they still share behind the scenes, UGC, employee highlights, humor, etc. They make their topics relevant to the time of year while sticking to their existing content style.

Share which tip helped you the most in the comments below! How else can we help you with your social media presence this holiday season??