Running a business means you still get to look forward to holiday seasons, but for different reasons than you used to. You rub your hands with glee at the prospect of Halloween because it means you’ll get more traffic, and you literally can’t wait to see a huge boost in sales at Christmas.

Last year, around 134 million Americans said they planned to shop on Black Friday. Those numbers aren’t expected to get any lower this time around, which means only one thing – you need to take advantage.

But with so many other businesses competing for the same customers, how do you keep your focus and stay on top during one of the biggest shopping days of the year?

In this article, we uncover the 6 best ways to sell more on Black Friday and Cyber Monday with the help of online marketing. They are:

Plan Your Inventory Management

Without a strong plan, the evening of Black Friday will swing around and you’ll realize that you’ve made even less sales than usual.

What?!

It all starts with a plan. What deals do you want to promote? What trends can you hijack this year? What is going to sell well? How should you price things up? What are your competitors doing?

Key to your plan should be an inventory app. An app will help you stay on top of your inventory across all sales channels so that you don’t run the risk of running out of products, losing track of products – or getting overwhelmed with stress.

If you run an online store and have to physically distribute items yourself, the mad rush of Black Friday can be overwhelming. It’s a good idea to get more people on board so that you don’t disappoint your customers.

Start Early

Did you used to get annoyed when you saw retailers advertising their Christmas wares in September? Now that you’re in business yourself, you should understand that starting early is key. How early?

Considering that over half of shoppers start to research gift ideas for Christmas as early as October, you should probably be making a start on your campaign as soon as the first leaves fall off the trees.

However, exactly when you start to sell depends on your audience as well the type of products you’ve got. Sell too early, and you might be left with stock that isn’t emptying.

You don’t need to worry about selling just yet – all you’re concerned with is getting people interested in what you’ve got by rolling out your promotions early and getting people excited.

Below you can see a company that sells gun stickers promoting a 25% discount code for halloween:

This will help you to build up momentum before the big day so that you’re at the forefront of shoppers’ minds when Black Friday comes along.

Make Noise On Social Media

Following on from the above point, you can only build momentum if you create awareness of your store and your Black Friday promotions – and the best way to do that is by making a noise on social media.

The likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are powerful distribution channels that help to create some much-needed word of mouth. You could run promotions and contests on your platforms and build up interest as we move towards Black Friday.

Below you can see Amazon.com promote Black Friday on Facebook:

Make sure that you’re excited as you post on social media. Your excitement will be infectious. Create sharable content, too.

Make Your Website Mobile Responsive

More and more of us are making purchases online with our mobile phones. Last year in the UK, 50% of online purchases were made on our phones for the first time ever.

And when we’re not purchasing with our phones, we’re at least researching products and services.

This means that you need to optimize your website for mobile phone conversions. Your site needs to be mobile responsive so that shoppers have a seamless experience, and you should also consider integrating mobile-friendly and mobile-specific technology, such as click-to-call, push notifications from apps, and one-click checkout.

Promote Your Deals Via Email

Got an email list? It’s time to start those announcement emails about your Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.

Email is a great way to let your customers know what you’ve got in store for them this coming Black Friday Cyber Monday. It’s a great way of building that all-important momentum and raising awareness.

Good announcement emails need to be clear, and they should tell your customers:

  • What’s in store for them on Black Friday
  • Why they should care
  • What they should do about it

It’s important that your emails are enthusiastic, and that it’s clear that you’re super excited about what’s coming up. Make your enthusiasm contagious. For example:

“I’m so excited to share with you this coming Black Friday …”

Describe to your customers what exactly they can expect – what great deals and discounts they don’t want to miss out on.

Then, end with a strong call to action that lets them know exactly where you want them to be this Black Friday.

Spread The Word On Deals Websites

A really easy way to get noticed on the noisiest shopping day of the year is by posting your deals on deals websites.

Customers know that businesses will be offering great deals on Black Friday Cyber Monday, so they flock to deals websites to find them. RetailMeNot is one of the most popular that lets you post deals and coupon codes, and it’s ideal for smaller businesses.

Other deals websites include PromoPros, which is a great place to catch customers who are looking for the latest and greatest coupon codes.

Conclusion

These are 6 ways to sell more on Black Friday Cyber Monday. Remember to plan early, promote your deals on deals site, and spread the word on your email lists and social media. If you’re excited about this, your excitement will rub off on your customers.

About the Author: Michelle Deery is a content marketer for Heroic Search in Tulsa. She has a passion for writing about SaaS and eCommerce. Follow her on Twitter @MichWriting.