During Q4, there is significantly more digital competition as brands compete for audience attention to make year-end and holiday purchases. How can your business stand out with so much digital noise? You’ve probably learned by now that there is no quick or once-size-fits-all answer, but there are strategies that can improve your performance.

1. Get cohesive. All platforms should be consistent in their feel. This will look like emails, websites, social media, and Google ads all having a consistent look and featuring similar brand elements and layouts. This will aid in improving ad recall lift which is everything in a heavily saturated market. Further, your customers can feel confident in the information they are digesting due to the ease of interpreting.
2. Create a plan. Through testing and getting to know your ideal audience, businesses can create content and a strategy that appeals to them. Review past insights and research on what content performed the best and what led to the most conversion. Your job then is to recreate those pieces of content with your current objectives. Be sure to put precedence on the platform your audience prefers by putting more ad spend behind posts or posting more often and staying consistent on all of your platforms. By distributing your funds and/or content in this way, you are capitalizing on your best possible return on investment.
3. Create an email-user journey. A well-thought-out, automated email user journey is an irreplaceable element of a successful online sale any time of the year. By utilizing email addresses, you open the opportunity for countless benefits, such as building the email list into social media targeting and reaching their inbox directly. It’s important that the emails have catchy, creative subject lines to encourage opens. We could do an article on this alone but know that a great subject line can make or break email-open rates! You will want to use a platform that allows you to create rules based on where someone is in their journey to becoming a customer. One might also consider what it looks like to follow up after the sale - customers can feel used if we only connect to sell. Be sure to share your appreciation for their support of your business.
4. Consider giving back! People want to support a cause more than ever before. It’s a great season to partner with an organization, cause, or non-profit and give back with a percentage of your proceeds. A partnership during the holiday season shows your audience what is at the heart of your business. It’s a unique opportunity to join forces with your customers and do good in the community.
5. Think outside the box. There are countless ways to get creative and help you stand out. Far-reaching ideas might be the winning ones - give a gift with purchase, make a gift-giving guide, or just boycott Black Friday altogether… or maybe it's members/ subscribers only! Only those subscribed will get your sale benefits. Choosing something out of the ordinary for Black Friday could be the best way to show customers how much you appreciate their business.

Keeping these 5 points in mind will help you create a winning Black Friday strategy unique to your business and will stand out from all of the digital noise. If you’re still not feeling confident or want a second opinion, then be sure to contact Brand Catalyst. We’ll be glad to help.