5 Black Friday marketing strategy ideas to bank on in 2022

When the ancient Blackfridayians first set foot in America in 1482, they brought forth a bountiful harvest of sales on the latest electroni…wait what? That’s not how Black Friday started? 

Hold on, we need to make some calls. 

No matter how it started, Black Friday is one of the biggest, boldest, and busiest shopping days of the year. Coming straight after the day we give thanks for everything we already have, it’s a chance to then get some more things to be thankful for. 

For small businesses, Black Friday is an amazing opportunity to put your name out there with some bright and bold marketing campaigns to catch the attention of shoppers hungry for great deals. 

But when everyone is doing the same thing — and without literally giving your products away for free — how do you stand out and make the most of one of the biggest shopping events of the year? 

We’ve put together 5 Black Friday marketing ideas paired with some examples of Black Friday social media posts that you can use to boost your sales and engage with your audience. 

1. Sale, sale, sale

If there’s one thing we know to be true about Black Friday, it’s that everyone sells everything with big, big discounts. 

Discounts so big that people camp outside of shopping malls. Discounts so crazy that you’ll buy a TV you don’t even need because “just look at that price!”

Take a look at this Black Friday Twitter ad from Burts Bees — there are enough numbers in that tweet to get you through to the New Year! It’s also a great example of Black Friday sale ideas that get your name out there early — that Black Friday promotion was posted a full 14 days before the sale. 

For some fresh and eye-catching sale promotion templates, make sure to check out our range here.

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2. One day? No way! 

Whoever said Black Friday sales should only be on the Friday is wrong. Pure and simple. 

Black Friday gave birth to Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday grew into Cyber Week, and no doubt Cyber Week will grow into Cyber Month, and so on and so forth until the whole year is just one big sale event.

Honestly, we were joking when we said to do a month-long sale, but Target certainly picked up the idea and ran with it. 

Black Friday sale marketing is all about grabbing your audience’s attention early and keeping hold of it until you reveal your biggest sale — so don’t be afraid to extend your sales outside of just a single day. 

Check out VistaCreate’s creative Cyber Monday templates to extend your Black Friday offers:

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Use this template

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Use this template

3. Have a bit of fun with it

There are a whole bunch of different ways to catch the eye and attention of your audience. Whether it’s staggering visuals (speaking of which), bold statements, or a good old-fashioned bit of fun. 

Some of the best Black Friday marketing ideas are based around humor. We all like to have a good laugh, so why not make use of that?

This Amazon Black Friday YouTube ad is a great example of being a bit silly with your marketing. A big Amazon box man running down the road bringing deals to your doorstep? Great imagery, a lovely bit of fun, and a great way to showcase the ease of Amazon.

4. Get inventive

We’ve already made the point that most businesses roll out the same few ideas year in, year out — “Here’s 98% off!”, “Get 18 for the price of 1!”, “Honestly, at this point just take it!”

So to stand out, try and think outside the box.

We’re not saying reinvent the wheel, but try and find a way to come up with something that is uniquely related to you. Run a competition, try and get a hashtag trending, send out some funky Black Friday email chains — anything that can instantly link your audience to you.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. But here’s some inspiration for you:

Walmart’s #UnwrapTheDeals campaign was a rousing success and branched out its marketing to the popular social media platform TikTok. It was fresh, it was exciting, and it fully engaged their audience.

5. Make it pop

Friendly reminder: Black Friday is the name of the holiday, not the color scheme. 

Adverts are at their best when they catch the eye. Adverts that are bold, electric, and beautiful to look at will always resonate with an audience. Because — to put it simply — people like looking at pretty things.

Black Friday Facebook ads from Alo Yoga always have design at the forefront. Take this one for example — you’ve got a gorgeous snowy background that perfectly matches the season and a yoga pose that is just weird enough to make you take a second look. 

That ticks the eye-catching box in two ways. 

Black Friday? Colorful Friday.

We hope that some of these Black Friday ideas for small businesses have given your creative side a healthy boost. Because we know how hard it can be to keep coming up with Black Friday post ideas year after year. 

Are you now locked and loaded with ideas but struggling to match them to a design? Well isn’t that a happy coincidence —because we’ve got the solution right here.