The busiest shopping holiday of the year is almost here, which can only mean one thing: It’s time to polish off your social channels and start promoting your Black Friday deals.
If you haven’t yet thought about your BFCM social media campaigns, now’s the time to start. It is a great opportunity to reach new customers, engage with your existing audience, and drive traffic to your Black Friday ecommerce deals.
Each year, more brands get creative with their Black Friday social media strategies, whether that’s on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook.
14 successful Black Friday social media posts
1. MeUndies’ a “deal a day” offer
MeUndies shared a vibrant, eye-catching TikTok video last year to build excitement for its Black Friday sale. The brand used the video to introduce its audience to some of the top deals about to drop—and there were lots. MeUndies offered a brand new deal every day, which encouraged customers to return daily to take advantage of the latest discounts.
MeUndies leveraged its more than 45,000 TikTok followers to promote its Black Friday deal and reach some new customers in the process.
2. Gymshark's influencer campaign
Gymshark is known for only having two sales per year, one of them being on Black Friday. Just because of that, the brand had built-in hype for the November season. They worked with influencers KSI and Behzinga to promote the upcoming sale, using the hashtag #BigDealEnergy to keep people engaged and returning for more.
3. Old Navy’s giving back campaign
Old Navy is renowned for spreading goodness on Black Friday, and this social media post is no different. The brand advertised the famous $1 sock deal it runs every year, but it also promised to donate $1 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for every pair of socks bought. The added incentive of donating to charity is a great way to help shoppers feel like they’re doing something good when spending their cash.
4. Bath & Body Works’ ultimate BOGOFF offer
Everyone loves a good buy one, get one free offer, but what about buying three and getting three free products? That’s exactly what Bath & Body Works did with this Black Friday campaign. Using a scroll-stopping picture of its colorful product line, the brand reminded shoppers of the excellent deal they could nab during the biggest shopping holiday of the year.
5. Murad’s Black Friday free gift
Cosmetic brand Murad incentivized customers to shop with it on Black Friday by offering a free gift with every purchase, plus free shipping. The brand uses a bright image to capture attention, before highlighting all the key details about its Black Friday offer in the caption.
6. Nintendo’s limited edition Black Friday bundle
Nintendo took to Twitter (now known as X) to promote its Black Friday deal—a limited edition bundle. By grouping together a selection of new and existing products, the brand took the opportunity to introduce customers to more of its product line. As well as sharing an unboxing video to go with the offer, the brand added hashtags to make its social post more visible.
7. The Balm’s Black Friday giveaway
The Balm Cosmetics used a two-pronged approach to its Black Friday social media campaign. The beauty brand partnered with another brand and ran a giveaway at the same time. Customers could enter the competition by following the two brands and tagging a friend—a great way to increase exposure for the brand on Instagram. It then updated its post to share the winners of the giveaway, which adds trust and credibility to the promotion.
8. Billie’s persuasive Instagram Stories
Shaving brand Billie created a series of beautiful, minimalist Instagram Stories to promote its Black Friday offers. Customers could swipe up to grab 50% off the brand’s bestselling razor. Note the brand’s use of a solid call-to-action (CTA) to encourage followers to redeem their offer.
9. Kohl’s Black Friday sweepstakes
Kohl’s took Black Friday as an opportunity to engage its Twitter (now X) followers with a fun challenge. A sweepstakes contest encouraged customers to share their answers to a trivia question for the chance to win a $500 gift card. As a result, the brand generated lots of likes and shares, which increased the visibility of the social media campaign.
10. Steve Madden’s early bird offer
Steve Madden gave early birds the chance to cash in on its Black Friday deals before the holiday started. This is a great way to reward existing loyal customers and generate extra sales in the lead-up to the actual Black Friday shopping event. By directing Twitter followers to sign up for its email list, Steve Madden grew its subscriber base and created a buzz around its upcoming offers.
11. Anastasia Beverly Hills’ exclusive Black Friday collection
Anastasia Beverly Hills built excitement for Black Friday among fans by launching an exclusive collection. It announced the product drop with a fun, stop-motion teaser video of the new product collection. The social post introduced followers to the exclusive range in an engaging way while listing the price and other details in the caption.
12. GoPro’s reminder to get outside
For many brands, Black Friday presents the perfect opportunity to share their values around consumerism. GoPro is a staunch advocate of adventure and doesn’t back down on this sentiment during the most prolific consumer event of the year. For Black Friday, it used an Instagram post to encourage customers to upgrade their equipment while also sharing an important reminder to get outside. The inspiring post was also an easy lift, making the most of user-generated content by sharing a fan’s breathtaking image taken with one of its cameras.
13. Colourpop’s storewide price slash
Colourpop Cosmetics announced its Black Friday sale to its 10 million Instagram followers with this short, punchy post. In an attention grabbing promotion, it reduced all its products to the same price. It proved to be a huge hit with its customers, judging by the 82,000 likes on the post.
14. REI’s anti-BFCM campaign
When you think of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, do you think of over-enthusiastic crowds trampling their neighbors in big-box stores at 4 a.m.? Everyone knows BFCM has evolved beyond that, but the image still comes to mind for a lot of people.
Outdoor clothing and gear brand REI decided to boycott BFCM. It suspended all retail activity, including online sales on Black Friday. On the most popular shopping day of the year? Unheard of.
It even paid more than 12,000 employees to take the day off so they could enjoy the outdoors.
This campaign started as #OptOutside. Holding true to the brand, it encouraged customers to skip the lines and get outside.
Why social media is important for your Black Friday strategy
Amplify your reach
Spread the word about your Black Friday deals by using social media hashtags, trending audio, and shareable graphics.
Engage existing followers
Social media is a great way to start and continue conversations with your followers. Use your social channels to ask questions, encourage shares, and open up a dialogue.
Attract new customers
Black Friday is a great time to attract and retain new customers—your social channels provide the perfect platform for reaching and converting more shoppers.
Build trust and loyalty
The social nature of social media lets you share your brand personality, promote your values and mission, and build brand credibility.
Getting the basics right this Black Friday
There are a few things to keep in mind as you navigate the busy season and try to cut through the holiday noise. While these Black Friday campaigns are all from popular brands, you don’t have to have thousands of followers to see success this holiday season. Follow these tips for a successful BFCM social media campaign.
Have (and promote) reliable, inexpensive shipping
Timeliness matters more than ever this time of year. Some 80% of shoppers expect free shipping when ordering a certain amount, while 66% expect free shipping on all online orders.
Prepare for mobile buyers
Predictions show that by next year, almost half of online orders will be made via mobile. Even though more people are turning to mobile when shopping online, mobile conversion rates continue to lag behind. Consider what might motivate or encourage shoppers to make purchases on mobile. More product reviews? Better images? Free shipping thresholds? Prepare your site now, so it’s ready for the shopping season.
Choose the right social networks
It’s super easy to get carried away and divide your time between too many social networks. Focus on one to two social networks that generate the most revenue and have the most engaged communities. You don’t have to be everywhere.
Start preparing and executing early
Don’t expect to swoop in at the last minute with a killer social media campaign. Stop procrastinating and put in the work ahead of time to plan the campaigns. What’s your goal? What’s your success metric? How are you going to reach the right audience? We all know BFCM extends to the weeks before and after, so come prepared.
Create dedicated landing pages
If you’re promoting BFCM sales on social media, go ahead and create a dedicated landing page or two for the occasion. For example, here’s the BFCM landing page for Amazon, and here’s Home Depot’s dedicated landing page. Dedicated landing pages allow you to match the message you send on social media to the message you send on your site more closely, allowing for an improved conversion rate. You might even have different BFCM landing
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Make your Black Friday social media posts a hit
Go beyond starting a hashtag or tweeting about your biggest sales this Black Friday Cyber Monday. Social media is ripe with opportunities around the holidays. Start with powerful Black Friday email campaigns and our top Black Friday apps to get the best results.
You don’t need a huge social following to have a successful BFCM, but it helps if you plan your social strategy in advance. Take inspiration from these big brands doing great things on social media to create your own equally powerful Black Friday social posts.