Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. Shoppers are looking for amazing Black Friday deals, and retailers can expect to make more money than any other time of year. But there's also a lot of noise around Black Friday. So take advantage of SMS to stand out from the competition and boost sales this year.
Text messaging has a 3.8x higher open rate than email marketing, and your subscribers typically read texts within three minutes. So it's ideal for flash sale announcements, abandoned cart reminders, and stock updates on Black Friday.
Use these nine best practices to get the most out of your Black Friday SMS messages.
1. Plan your Black Friday SMS campaigns early
When it comes to Black Friday deals, you don't want to offer a sitewide discount and call it a day. To take advantage of holiday sales and stand out from your competitors, you need to offer special deals that attract your target audience.
Consider things like free gifts, new bundles, and holiday-exclusive products. Then craft your Black Friday text messages around these offers, so you're ready to go on the big day.
Get more Black Friday marketing tips to boost holiday sales this year.
2. Encourage signups with exclusive deals
Give subscribers a clear incentive to join your SMS list by offering exclusive Black Friday deals. This could be early access, special discounts, or even giveaways for subscribers only.
Update your opt-in form with these deals to encourage signups on your website. And convert people on your email list to your text program by promoting your SMS subscriber deals to them, too.
3. Include a call-to-action (CTA)
Your Black Friday text messages should have a clear CTA to encourage subscribers to take advantage of your offers. This could be a link to shop your Black Friday sale or even a keyword to text back for a personalized discount code.
For example, you could run an SMS campaign that says, "Reply with BLACKFRIDAY for 20% off your purchase!"
4. Personalize your messages
Marketing personalization isn't just about making subscribers feel special. It's about making them feel seen. Use your first-party data (including purchase history, preferences, and interests) to recommend products in your sale that they're likely to be interested in. And while you're at it, take customer behavior into account when you're creating your deals.
For example, say you sell potted plants and have two segments of customers. One segment buys a few potted plants. The other typically buys one large plant at a time. For small plant enthusiasts, consider sending them a link to shop your small plants collection. Maybe you offer a bundle deal, too, since they tend to buy in multiples.
For your large plant lovers, feature your latest beautiful giants in your SMS marketing messages. Offer a deeper discount on a single plant since they're less likely to buy more than one.
5. Reduce the time window on your behavioral flows
On Black Friday, shoppers make decisions quickly. So consider reducing the time window on your behavioral flows to send out timely reminders on products shoppers showed interest in.
This can be as simple as sending an abandonment flow within an hour instead of 24 hours after they've left items in their cart or browsed your Black Friday sales page. And remember, since your subscribers are reading texts within three minutes, there's a good chance you'll reach them in a timely manner.
6. Consider MMS to stand out
With SMS texts likely filling up subscribers' inboxes on Black Friday, consider adding a little visual interest with MMS (multimedia messaging service). Add product photos, gifs, and even videos to your Black Friday text messages to capture attention.
Additional media can be especially helpful for showing off new products if you're launching new SKUs over the BFCM weekend. Seeing a dazzling new color or a fancy new product feature in action can get customers excited to shop your site.
7. Keep messages short and sweet
Your subscribers want to see the deals they care about, not an essay. So focus on keeping your Black Friday text messages short and to the point.
Include the details shoppers need to know to take action -- including when your sales end, so there's an urgency to act now!
And make sure to always include a CTA for the next step in the purchasing journey -- whether replying for a discount code or clicking to shop your sale.
8. Complement your email efforts, don't repeat yourself
Black Friday will also be a busy time for your email marketing efforts. And many of your SMS subscribers are likely subscribed to both lists. So consider using SMS to complement your email campaigns rather than just repeating the same information.
For example, if you want to include more information in your Black Friday announcement than can fit in a text, consider teasing that email by text with something like, "Black Friday deals have just landed in your inbox. Check your email to shop now!"
Or, send a text with early access to your Black Friday deals before they're announced in your email campaigns. You can also follow up on your Black Friday email with exclusive discounts and promotions for SMS subscribers.
By considering how email and text messaging work together, you can drive excitement and conversions without overwhelming subscribers with too many similar messages.
9. Connect your SMS program to your customer service platform
With the increased traffic on your site, you'll undoubtedly see more customer service inquiries come through, too. While email may be the typical go-to for customer support, when you start sending out texts to customers, there's a chance they might text back! So it's essential to have someone available on the other side to maintain fast response times.
Many customer support platforms have integrations with SMS messaging so your customer service reps can manage all your customer support tickets from one platform.
Boost BFCM sales with a platform made for ecommerce
Text messages can be an excellent asset to your Black Friday marketing strategy to increase sales and engage loyal customers. But SMS can become a consistent source of revenue for your ecommerce shop year-round, not just during the holiday shopping season. All you need is the right platform to support your SMS marketing strategy.
Emotive is a best-in-class SMS software that helps ecommerce brands scale. Automate messages based on customer behavior. Segment your list to send targeted marketing messages. And automate two-way conversations to convert customers right in the text thread.
What's more, you can get your SMS program up and running in minutes with easy setup, and pre-built conversation flows for successful SMS campaigns. So even if it's already November by the time you read this, you can still take advantage of the benefits of text message marketing this holiday season.
Learn how Emotive can make SMS your next best revenue channel.