The leaves are falling, the days are getting shorter, and Halloween is officially behind us… that can only mean one thing. The holiday shopping season is here, and Black Friday Cyber Monday, or BFCM for short, is the belle of the ball. If your holiday shopping marketing strategies aren’t already in place and strong, it is time to start planning, friends.

What was once a one-day only, in-store extravaganza has become a weeklong sales blitz immediately following the Thanksgiving holiday. And, with the majority of Americans shopping online, the blitz has taken over the internet. How is a brand to stand out when customer expectations are shifting and the noise around holiday sales keeps getting louder?

Let’s set the tone here with some irrefutable BFCM stats:

• Last year nearly 180 million Americans shopped during the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday (NRF)
• 49% of shoppers started their holiday shopping before Thanksgiving last year (NRF)
• In 2021, Black Friday saw 88 million online shoppers and Cyber Monday saw 77 million (NRF)
• Holiday shoppers are likely to be more conscious about spending money this year. 40% of consumers say inflation is going to impact their holiday shopping decisions in 2022 (Retail Dive)
• 50% of shoppers say they plan to start shopping as early as Halloween this year (Bankrate)

Letting the numbers speak for themselves, it’s safe to say, again, that if you haven’t started on your BFCM sales and marketing plans yet, now is the time to do so. Here are ten tips to make sure you hit this holiday season out of the park:

1. Focus on growing your email lists ahead of the holidays

It’s no surprise that marketing and media costs increase around the holiday season. Do yourself a favor and focus on collecting as many consumer emails as you can, as soon as possible. 

Tactics like giveaways, loyalty programs, and discounts can be a great way to incentivize email sign-ups. You can even start teasing BFCM and holiday sales through pop-ups on your website to encourage people to sign up for early access. 

Growing your list this way will allow you to rely less on paid ads this year. With such a crowded market and a fading consumer attention span, this direct relationship with your consumers will certainly pay off.

2. Start early

With the 2021 supply chain disruptions and shipping issues fresh in our minds, consumers don’t want to risk it this year. Some have even already started planning for the holidays. So, why not start early too? You can feature early-bird discounts or other promotions to encourage shoppers to buy early.

We love how Target offers holiday price matching during their Deal Days. This means that they’ll refund the difference if you catch prices dropping later in the holiday season, alleviating some consumer concerns about deals improving as holidays approach. 

3. Make your promotions easy to understand

No one likes feeling like they were misled. This year, leave behind the confusing discount options and be straightforward with your consumers. That means if you’re giving free gifts or shipping, make sure requirements are clear upfront. It isn’t worth getting someone to your site only to lose their trust later on. 

A brand that did this well last year is Girlfriend Collective. They were extremely clear on what the requirements were and how consumers can redeem them.

4. Diversify your marketing

This is a year-round marketing tip, but it rings especially true during the holiday season. Don’t rely too heavily on one single marketing platform but make sure you have a well-rounded campaign. 

Work with influencers across multiple channels (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc), have strong email funnels in place, leverage SEO and paid search, and don’t skimp on paid social and display. Make sure the content shared across your various channels are complimentary, not just duplicative. Having a diverse marketing strategy will allow you to meet consumers where they are, stay top of mind, and not have to worry if one channel doesn’t perform as well as expected. 

5. Use social media to build deep relationships

The amazing thing about social media is that it can be a great way to truly connect with your customers. Answer their questions in real time, hype them up when they tag you in photos or videos, and showcase real people. Not only do most consumers enjoy being featured (especially if they love your brand!) but it also is a great way to drive social trust. Act like the real, relatable human that you are when you’re online and people will notice. 

Alder Apparel does a fantastic job of hyping up and showing off their fanbase. It makes them seem more like a community than a company and we’re all here for that. 

6. Show your product IRL

The curated look is out. Now, consumers want to see your product IRL. Especially if it’s something they can wear. Show your products being worn on real and diverse people. This will answer a lot of consumer questions around fit and also help them envision the products in their reality. It’s also a great way to inspire fun styling ideas and celebrate your community. 

Outdoor Voices does a great job of including UGC from everyday people on their feed. 

7. Personalize your SMS and email campaigns

Use your email and SMS marketing campaigns to really personalize the messages you send to consumers. Create behavior-triggered flows and user-based landing pages to make the shopping experience as personal as possible. There are so many tools available to brands today (we love Klaviyo for email marketing and Unbounce for landing pages!) to create really personal experiences for customers. 

8. Create a sense of urgency

Have an item that always sells out? Say so in your marketing. And once inventory starts running low, include your remaining product count (or a mention that there’s just a few left) on relevant product pages. This will help push consumers to act instead of shopping around. Limited-time deals with urgency copy incorporated in them can also help drive consumers to act quickly. 

9. Feature your sales on your homepage

This may seem obvious to some, but make sure you include information about your BFCM sales on your homepage and landing pages. This should be the main content of your hero. 

Even if it seems redundant to include sales information on your landing page and your ads, do it. Consumers can easily get distracted and forget what they came to your site for. And, consistency is key to making consumers trust you. The last thing you want is for them to get to your site and feel like they were bamboozled or left wanting more.

10. Create gift guides

We love a good gift guide. With so many gift options available online, consumers are looking for ways to make shopping for their loved ones as easy and painless as possible. A gift guide can help do that while also introducing consumers to gifts or products they may not have originally come to you for. Make sure your guide is authentic to your brand and don’t be afraid to make it unique. 

Have some BFCM marketing tips of your own that you’d like to share? Let our community know in the comments below. Happy selling, friends!