The expression “Black Friday” is a United States tradition, referring to the day following Thanksgiving. Traditionally, this day saw increased foot traffic and competition in stores as the Christmas shopping season commenced. In recent times, it has become more synonymous with a surge in sales, enabling businesses to move out of debt, symbolized by moving from “red” to “black.”
However, Black Friday is no longer limited to long lines outside crowded shopping malls and a frantic scramble for deals on rapidly emptying shelves. As bargain-hunting shoppers increasingly shift online, the very nature of this shopping event has transformed. For one, it’s no longer confined to a single day: it’s Black Fiveday.
Back in 2014, major US retailers like Radio Shack and JCPenney began opening their doors at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. This marked the beginning of the Black Friday period’s expansion. Now, it’s standard practice for retailers to extend their sales throughout the weekend and into the first Monday after Thanksgiving, aptly named “Cyber Monday.” Cyber Monday is swiftly becoming a pivotal day for e-commerce globally, with shoppers migrating from physical stores to online platforms to capitalize on last-minute deals. This signifies the culmination of the Black Friday frenzy, solidifying the entire five-day sales period as Black Fiveday. Given that the Black Fiveday period is occurring a week earlier than in past years, timely preparation is crucial. Implement these five straightforward suggestions to prime your search campaigns for the Black Fiveday surge.
1. Optimize Time and Bid Adjustments
While universally considered good practice for any paid search strategy, ad scheduling might hinder your performance potential during Black Fiveday. With numerous advertisers lowering bids in the evenings and weekends, and some pausing campaigns entirely, the last thing you want is to miss out on valuable search visibility during this five-day window. Review your ad schedule to confirm you are leveraging the shift in consumer behavior. Likewise, contemplate incorporating time and day bid increases. Peak shopping hours often deviate from the norm during Black Fiveday. As an example, the average peak hour for traffic and sales in the UK and Europe in 2017 was 4 p.m., implying that your typical Friday lunchtime peak might not hold true.
2. Leverage Device Bid Adjustments
It goes almost without saying that incorporating device bid adjustments should be standard practice for all marketers running paid search campaigns. Adapting to device-specific nuances, including user intent, conversion paths, and content, is vital, and this need is only amplified during Black Fiveday. Data from Campaign Live reveals that in 2017, 36% of all Black Fiveday online purchases were made on mobile devices (49% on desktops and a mere 15% on tablets), marking an estimated 15% surge from 2016. This could be attributed to the nature of Black Fiveday shopping: consumers often seek bargains at times that may not be the most convenient for browsing on larger devices, hence the reliance on easily accessible mobile phones. Simultaneously, societal comfort in making purchases via mobile devices is consistently rising, hinting at another potentially strong year for mobile transactions. Given these factors, is it time to reassess your device bid adjustments? The latest Google Ads interface makes this process quick and easy. A simple adjustment could be the difference between showcasing your ad to a potential customer browsing on their commute and letting a sale slip away.
3. Explore New Audience Lists
Black Fiveday exposes online shoppers to a realm of unfamiliar websites and brands. Research from Think with Google indicates that over 80% of consumer packaged goods (CPG) shoppers are either open to various brands or approach their shopping with no brand loyalty whatsoever. This presents a prime opportunity to introduce your ads to a fresh audience during Black Fiveday, achievable through Google’s latest Search Campaign targeting features. Earlier in the year, Google Ads introduced “In-Market” and “Life Events” audience targeting for Search Campaigns. Simply put, “In-Market” targets customers actively researching specific products or services, while “Life Events” targets individuals experiencing or who have recently experienced significant life events such as marriage, relocation, or graduation. Aligning these intentions and events with your offerings and crafting campaigns specifically targeting these audiences can effectively put your brand in front of new eyes. For instance, a handcrafted home decor business might aim to tap into the Christmas shopping market with their latest collection of tree ornaments. The “Christmas Items and Decor” In-Market audience would be a highly valuable target demographic in this case. Another scenario could involve a bridal boutique leveraging the “Getting Married Soon” Life Event to advertise a shoe sale to brides-to-be.
It’s important to remember that to ensure you’re reaching a fresh audience exclusively, exclude your current audience lists from the campaign. This prevents your ads from reaching users already familiar with your website, maximizing your budget’s potential to engage an entirely new audience!
4. Re-evaluate Your Budget
The soaring popularity of Black Fiveday unfortunately translates to heightened competition and increased cost-per-click (CPC) for advertisers. Considering many brands already operate under budget limitations, securing extra funds before this major event isn’t always feasible. However, a cash influx might not always be the solution. Instead, strategically reallocating existing funds before and after Black Fiveday could provide the necessary resources to stay competitive in search. Consumers are kicking off their Christmas shopping earlier, with a significant portion taking place during Black Fiveday. As a direct result, December sales are experiencing a decline, evidenced by a 1.5% drop in UK retail sales in 2017. This shift has been termed the “Black Friday Hangover,” signifying the movement of peak Christmas shopping from December to November. In a similar vein, as anticipation for Black Fiveday builds, shoppers are likely to postpone purchases, anticipating the deals at the end of November. This presents two opportunities to slightly reduce spending and redirect those funds to the crucial five-day period.
Analyze your account’s spending patterns from the previous November and December to determine if Black Friday Hangover impacted your allocated budget. If you identify underspending during that timeframe, consider reducing your budget for the same period this year and allocating the unused funds to your Black Fiveday budget. Even a modest boost to your Black Friday budget can significantly enhance your competitive edge and increase your chances of success.
5. Build Remarketing Lists
Remarketing is a powerful tool. It empowers you to tailor Search ads specifically for users who have previously interacted with your website. You can customize ad copy, scheduling, extensions, and more based on gathered user behavior data. If you haven’t already set up remarketing lists within your account, now is the perfect time. Don’t delay!
If you already have a collection of remarketing lists, consider building campaigns specifically designed around them. For example, target your list of non-converters with ad copy highlighting your Black Fiveday deals. Emphasize unique selling points like pricing, delivery options, or discounts within the copy to address any initial concerns that prevented conversion. Similarly, crafting new remarketing lists to gather data leading up to Black Fiveday can be beneficial. If you know a particular product or service will have a Black Fiveday promotion, create a list of its page visitors who didn’t convert, allowing you to retarget them once the offer goes live.
Conclusion
Black Fiveday has evolved from an optional event into an indispensable one for businesses. Consumers now anticipate promotions and deals, even in countries that don’t traditionally celebrate the originating holiday. Therefore, implementing even minor adjustments to your paid search strategy during this five-day retail phenomenon can yield significant returns. Seeking more Black Friday insights? Discover how to maximize results from your Black Friday Facebook ad campaigns!