Black Friday is an important date for many businesses as it allows them to attract a wealth of new customers on possibly the most competitive day of the year. In 2021, US consumers spent around $8.9 billion online and a further $10.7 billion on Cyber Monday. For your business to see this kind of success, Netinfluencer will discuss how you can use influencer marketing to maximize your revenue on Black Friday. 

The History of Black Friday

The first recorded reference to Black Friday was on September 24th, 1869 when a pair of notorious Wall Street financiers bought an abundance of gold to help drive up the nation’s price. This did not go to plan as the market suddenly crashed and left millions of American citizens bankrupt.

Most recently, Black Friday now refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving. In the 1950s, police officers in Philadelphia used the term to describe the pandemonium seen before an annual Army-Navy football game. As such, many locals and tourists would flood the streets in order to prepare for the big game.

In 2022, Black Friday falls on the 25th of November with the newly created Cyber Monday falling on the 28th of November. 

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How Effective Is Black Friday for Brands?

Black Friday has been a godsend for many brands, especially as the tradition expands on a global scale. In fact, e-commerce retailers note that their revenue increases by 240% on Black Friday and sees a further increase of 380% on Cyber Monday.

Many brands also use this time to emphasize their marketing strategy seen as an average of 116.5 million emails are sent on Black Friday. This is more than on any other day of the year

A key example of this is Stegmann, a shoewear company that has seen a large amount of success during Black Friday, particularly within its influencer marketing campaigns. Megan Wilson, the Creative Director of Sweet Talk Strategy notes

“The footwear brand creates shoes that are over $100, so a 15% off sale is a big deal. We really work to leverage our influencers who have been long-time ambassadors of the brand so the message makes it to readers and followers who have already seen the influencer wear the product.“

These statistics not only highlight the popularity of this holiday but also signify its ability to increase competitiveness on an unbelievable scale. 

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How To Use Influencers in Your Black Friday Campaign

1. Make Sure the Influencer Operates in Your Niche

Influencers are often seen as thought leaders that can offer businesses a plethora of insider knowledge regarding the workings of their target market. Thus, it is important to collaborate with an influencer who operates within your respective niche. For example, if you operate in the makeup and beauty niche, it is vital that you recruit an influencer who is known for makeup artistry or lifestyle content. This can help your campaign to become more relatable to your target market and help you to gain more revenue as a result. 

2. Show off the Product Effectively

The success of Black Friday relies on timing, ensuring that your product range is the first to market and your discounts are clear. Your chosen influencer should be able to promote your product effectively and in-depth. They should also be sharing your discount information or any codes that are affiliated with them. As such, make sure you are working alongside an influencer who operates across a selection of active platforms and has the ability to post a variety of different mediums. 

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3. Use a Variety of Platforms

As the social media industry continues to grow at an exponential scale, it is important that your brand remains aware of the nuances of each platform. Luckily, influencers can help your brand to increase engagement on a wide variety of platforms and create a more genuine connection with your customer base. For example, if you are selling a collection of high-end gaming equipment, an influencer could review the product whilst live streaming on Twitch. This offers your customer base more information on the product and ensures that they are receiving a trustworthy opinion. 

4. Offer an Affiliate Link

Affiliate links are specific URLs that enable an influencer to gain commission on any products purchased from that link. This form of marketing is becoming increasingly popular and is a great way to compensate your influencer without any hefty costs. Moreover, affiliate marketing programs can be an effective way to attract new influencers toward long-term partnerships. This can help you to build an arsenal of brand ambassadors that you can use in your future campaigns. 

5. Create a Shoppable Livestream

Platforms such as YouTube and TikTok now allow creators to produce shoppable live streams. This is content that is recorded in real-time and enables influencers to promote a variety of products which customers can then buy directly from the social media platforms. Shoppable live streams can provide a more intimate shopping experience and can also allow potential customers to ask questions in the chat. Therefore, this is a perfect option for businesses that are looking to interact more with their customer base. 

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6. Set a Realistic Deadline

By being so close to Thanksgiving and Christmas, Black Friday does not leave a lot of room for error. That is why it is so important for businesses to plan ahead in order to see the best results. Try planning your campaign a few months before to ensure that your chosen influencer is fully aware of your desired outcome. As this time is also very competitive for content creators, conduct your influencer outreach strategy earlier in the year to make sure that you have enough time to work with the best influencer for your brand. 

7. Experiment With Different Mediums

Successful influencers are able to work with a variety of digital mediums, allowing your campaign to be seen by an abundance of new audiences. It can be beneficial to encourage your influencer to use a variety of content types such as long-form and short-form. For example, if you are working with an accomplished YouTuber, ask them to upload a collection of YouTube Shorts so that your campaign can be easily consumed by new customers. 

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8. Bring the Influencer Into Meetings

Though a large portion of the world continues to work remotely, it must not deter businesses from including content creators in important strategy meetings. This can help your chosen influencer to feel more involved in your campaign and gives them the chance to share their industry knowledge. Creating these meetings can also help your business to establish any rules or guidelines to help the influencer keep your targets in mind throughout the campaign. 

9. Pay Them Fairly

Influencer marketing can offer very profitable results and this success needs to be shared with content creators. When forming an initial campaign with an influencer, it is good practice to ask them about their pay rate and agree on a price point before any content is produced. This allows businesses to successfully manage their budget and also ensures that influencers are being paid accordingly for their hard work and effort. 

10. Assign a Point of Contact

When introducing an influencer to your business and its employees, it is vital that they have an individual to turn to if they feel lost or confused. An effective way of doing this is to assign a point of contact that the influencer can refer to if they have any burning questions. This relationship is also the first step to forming a strong bond as the influencer can reach out if they wish to collaborate in any other future endeavors. 

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Black Friday is a pivotal date in the business calendar, helping many brands to see an incredible influx of revenue and profits. Influencer marketing can help your business to reach new audiences and can promote products in a much more detailed way compared to traditional advertising methods.