Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the two biggest retail events of the year, a perfect opportunity for businesses to boost sales before the year ends. However, this presents a strategic dilemma: should you run the same digital strategies for Black Friday & Cyber Monday or create distinct offers for each event?
Extending Black Friday offers through to Cyber Monday
One of the most popular strategies is to run the same promotion throughout the Black Friday weekend, extending it through to Cyber Monday. This approach is appealing for several reasons:
- Simplicity for consumers and brands
Keeping the same offer for both events reduces confusion among your customers. They won’t need to decide whether to make their purchases on Black Friday or wait for a better deal on Cyber Monday. This can encourage higher conversion rates over the four-day shopping period.
- Maximised learning for ads
Digital ads take time to optimise as platforms like Facebook or Google Ads need time to learn from your audience’s behaviour. If you run a single promotion over an extended period, you give your ads more time to optimise. When ads are performing at their best, they can deliver higher returns, which may not be achievable with separate promotions over shorter timeframes.
- Cost-efficient
By extending your Black Friday offers, you avoid the need to set up new campaigns for Cyber Monday. This reduces the risk of high ad spend during Cyber Monday while still capitalising on the peak buying interest over the weekend.
Separate offers on Cyber Monday
While running the same promotion through the entire weekend has its advantages, offering something different on Cyber Monday can be an equally effective strategy. This approach has several unique benefits to consider as well:
- Standing out from the crowd
Cyber Monday often becomes an afterthought for consumers who have already splurged on Black Friday. A fresh and exclusive offer can reignite consumer interest, giving you a competitive edge. When everyone else is running a similar discount, offering a new promotion may be the push your audience needs to shop with you rather than your competitors.
- Higher engagement
If you’ve already captured customer attention during Black Friday, offering a new deal can generate renewed excitement and lead to additional purchases. Customers who might have hesitated or missed the Black Friday sale could be swayed by an exclusive Cyber Monday offer.
- Addressing different audiences
Black Friday and Cyber Monday attract different types of buyers. Black Friday tends to appeal to in-store and omnichannel shoppers, while Cyber Monday is more focused on the online shopper. Tailoring your offer specifically for the online market on Cyber Monday could lead to better targeting and conversion rates, particularly with a younger, tech-savvy demographic.
Will separate promotions dilute your advertising impact?
One of the key challenges in running separate offers is that your advertising campaigns may not have enough time to reach optimal performance. Ads need a learning phase to target the right customers, and a short Cyber Monday-only campaign may not reach full effectiveness before the event is over. This could lead to lower returns on your ad spend compared to running a longer Black Friday campaign that lasts through the weekend. Therefore, it may be more appropriate to consider an alternative approach e.g. email marketing only.
Setting up new campaigns for Cyber Monday can also add to your workload and budget, without necessarily guaranteeing higher returns. For many smaller brands, sticking with a single campaign may deliver more consistent results while minimising the risk of underperforming ads.
Consider early access Black Friday ads
An increasingly popular tactic is to start your Black Friday ads early. This gives your campaigns more time to learn and perform optimally by the time Black Friday weekend arrives. By promoting “early access” deals to customers, you can encourage email sign-ups and grow your database.
Building a robust email list early allows you to re-engage a captive audience during Cyber Monday and beyond. Email marketing is often one of the highest-converting channels during these shopping events, especially when paired with targeted ads to an already engaged audience.
The verdict: One strategy or two?
Ultimately, the decision depends on your business goals and resources. If you’re looking to maximise efficiency and avoid overcomplicating your strategy, extending your Black Friday promotion through Cyber Monday may be the best option. It allows your ads more time to learn and optimise while giving customers clarity and consistency in your offers.
On the other hand, if you’re confident in your ability to create excitement around a new deal and you want to stand out in a crowded marketplace, launching a separate Cyber Monday promotion could drive additional sales. Just ensure you have a solid plan to target the right audience and give your ads enough time to perform.
For most brands, a hybrid approach may be the strongest play, rather than different digital Strategies for Black Friday & Cyber Monday. Run an extended Black Friday promotion to capture the initial surge of shoppers, but consider offering a bonus or additional incentive on Cyber Monday for customers who might have missed the first wave. Don’t forget to leverage email marketing by encouraging early sign-ups and retargeting your audience throughout the holiday season.
