Black Friday, the shopping frenzy we all know and love, has morphed into an annual opportunity for brands to fight to catch shoppers' attention with irresistible deals. In the era of social media dominance, influencer marketing has become the go-to secret weapon for brands wanting to connect with their audiences, reach new ones, and make their mark during the busiest retail season of the year.
In this article, we're going to be diving into our biggest insights for 2023 and offer top tips and crafty tricks to master influencer marketing and supercharge your Black Friday campaigns. Whether you're a marketing guru or a newbie in the influencer game, these findings will help you stand out in this year’s holiday shopping chaos, boost your sales, and craft strategies that create a memorable experience for consumers. Get ready to level up your Black Friday game!
Why use influencer marketing for Black Friday?
The answer is simple – statistics show it’s the best way to reach your audience on social media.
When taking a look at 2022’s Black Friday results, it’s clear that, while brands were more active in posting about Black Friday deals through their Instagram accounts, influencers achieved engagement rates that were over 3x higher.
| Posts | Accounts | ER | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 389,601 | 195,752 | 0.50 |
| Influencers | 97,990 | 65,652 | 1.08 |
| Brands | 275,012 | 124,626 | 0.29 |
Instagram posts with hashtags related to Black Friday sales made in November 2022
When’s the best time to post?
The most active promotion period begins on November 15th, rising to reach its peak on the main sales day, which in 2022 was Friday, November 25th. In 2023, it will be Friday, November 24th. Another prominent peak is on Cyber Monday, which occurs after the Black Friday weekend. Historically, Cyber Monday referred to the online sales day, but much of the main Black Friday buzz has shifted online in recent years.
Number of Instagram posts related to BlackFriday made each day in November
Other stats at a glance
While the United States still dominates as the biggest region for Black Friday hype globally, it is followed closely by Brazil, and then the UK, Spain, and Germany, respectively.
| Position | Country | Influencers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USA | 25.4% |
| 2 | Brazil | 19.2% |
| 3 | UK | 4.5% |
| 4 | Spain | 4.0% |
| 5 | Germany | 2.6% |
Top countries by number of posts with Black Friday promotion
Furthermore, there has been a shifting trend to work with smaller influencers in recent years, as seen by nano-influencers and micro-influencers creating 79% of the total amount of Black Friday posts.
| Tier | Size | Participants |
|---|---|---|
| Nano | 1k-10k | 42.0% |
| Micro | 10k-50k | 37.0% |
| Mid-tier | 50k-500k | 18.9% |
| Macro | 500k-1M | 1.2% |
| Mega | over 1M | 0.9% |
Distribution of influencers promoting Black Friday by tiers
Finally, trends can be observed in terms of the most popular categories for Black Friday promotions; Beauty tops the list, with a huge variety of categories following thereafter.
| Position | Category | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beauty | 16.70% |
| 2 | Clothing and Outfit | 11.10% |
| 3 | Music | 10.20% |
| 4 | Shopping and Retail | 9.40% |
| 5 | Family | 9.20% |
| 6 | Fitness and Gym | 8.60% |
| 7 | Accessories & Jewellery | 8.60% |
| 8 | Fashion | 6.50% |
| 9 | Lifestyle | 6.50% |
| 10 | Other | 13.20% |
Distribution of influencers promoting Black Friday by category
8 Tips to make your Black Friday campaigns count
1. Agree on multiple posts with influencers
When collaborating with multiple influencers who share a common audience, it creates a sense of anticipation and incredible excitement for your audience, making it an unmissable event. This strategy is known as a launch. In the modern era of digital distractions, it's essential to reinforce a single concept multiple times to ensure it resonates with consumers and sticks in their minds. Have one post for the announcement a week before Black Friday and another post during Black Friday to help build momentum and let consumers know there are deals to be found.
NovaKids example
2. Collaborate with brand ambassadors
If you have a team of brand ambassadors, make sure to actively involve them in promoting your Black Friday deals! This is a common practice used by prominent brands with their ambassador networks. Their role is to have a natural association with your brand, so take full advantage and get them to kickstart the hype train.
GymShark Example
3. Use more Reels
Reels are a highly-recommended format for collaborating with influencers since they typically reach a broader audience compared to regular posts or carousels. When it comes to influencers promoting Black Friday, the majority of them opt for Reels. For brands, however, traditional posts remain the most popular format due to their relatively easier production process. When looking at one of the most popular fashion brands in the world, Shein, Reels constituted 49% of all posts promoting their Black Friday deals.
Influencers
| Content type | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Reels | 42.7% |
| Image | 37.0% |
| Carousel | 20.3% |
Brands
| Content type | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Reels | 28.7% |
| Image | 52.3% |
| Carousel | 19.0% |
Instagram posts types with hashtags related to BlackFriday sales made in November 2022
4. Create a unique name for your Black Friday promotion
Stand out among the thousands of brands that sell on Black Friday by coming up with your own catchy name for your sales event. This can conveniently be used as a hashtag as well, making it easier to keep tabs on your posts and make them uniquely identifiable.
PrettyLittleThing did not explicitly promote Black Friday; instead, they introduced “Pink Friday.” The brand equipped its army of ambassadors with the hashtag #pltpinkfriday, getting them to make hundreds of posts about the brand’s original sales promotion.
5. Equip influencers with a keyword, hashtag, or emoji for posts
First and foremost, it’s important to empower influencers with creative freedom, as they possess a deeper understanding of their audience. At the same time, we highly recommend providing them with key phrases, emojis, and hashtags that all influencers can use. This will improve recall among a broader influencer audience, making your promotion more memorable and creating a sense of unity among all branded and sponsored content.
Pretty Little Thing
@yazminoukhellou: 💗🦄pink friday incoming🦄💗
@Yasminepierards: 💗🦄 the pink friday countdown is on🦄💗
@Xoobruna: 💗🦄pink friday is here🦄💗
NovaKids
@tolliverboyz: doing the impossible... again!
@mia_rios414: ‼️🥰 doing the impossible... again! get 50-90% off
@leon_chima: doing the impossible... again! get 50-90% off sitewide
6. Be transparent about discounts in the description
When influencers create a post, they need to be crystal clear about the discount, showing the exact percentage or the amount of money people can save. This isn't just about grabbing attention; it's about building trust. Specific numbers make the deal real and allow customers to see their real benefits, which makes them more interested in the product or service. Avoid vagueness; concrete numbers make your message convincing and reliable, increasing the chances that your followers will make informed decisions and take action.
7. Let influencers showcase products in real scenarios
Giving audiences a glimpse at the very products that they can purchase at discounted prices is a great way to give them a practical look at offers. It also creates a greater sense of trust in the product, rather than it seeming like a fly-by promotion.
8. Update the link in bio
On Instagram, there are two methods for sharing links: posting a link in stories or placing it in your bio. Notably, 23% of Black Friday promotional posts utilize the "link in bio" option. This approach provides a convenient way to share a link and track the effectiveness of an influencer's advertising efforts.
9. Ask influencers to share deals in their Stories
Instagram’s Stories feature is a great way to share content with audiences without needlessly clogging their feeds; it can be used for time-sensitive information and is perfect for sharing Black Friday promotions. Influencers can share their own posts, incorporate your brand posts into their Stories, or do both!
Black Friday Campaign Checklist
Agree on multiple posts with influencers
Collaborate with brand ambassadors
Use more Reels
Create a unique name for your Black Friday promotion
Equip influencers with a keyword, hashtag, or emoji for posts
Be transparent about discounts in the description
Let influencers showcase products in real scenarios
Update the link in bio
Ask influencers to share deals in their Stories
Conclusion
Planning and executing your marketing strategy for Black Friday can seem daunting, but with the right approach, it can be exceedingly rewarding for your brand – both in terms of reach and your bottom line. If influencer marketing is a key component of your brand’s 2023 holiday strategy, incorporate our best tips and tricks to maximize your potential. And if influencer marketing isn’t on your agenda, then perhaps it may be time to dip your toes in the water.
6 Influencer Marketing Musts for Black Friday
Watch this webinar to get a step-by-step guidance on how to run a successful influencer marketing holiday campaign based on our experience and data!
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