3.10.2023
This year, Black Friday sales have started earlier than ever before, with beauty brands using early access tactics to get their tempting discounts noticed. It’s a trick that works in two ways: not only does it mean there’s less sales ‘noise’ to shout above, but they’re also ensuring their offers are ready for the media’s Black Friday round-ups. The question is, where are the biggest opportunities for visibility over the sales period? And how do you maintain momentum through December? Here’s what your beauty brand needs to know…
Online publications are pushing out the most Black Friday mentions
The mmi team has been tracking beauty brand media mentions in the context of Black Friday since the start of the year. By November 10th, 177 brands in the UK had already received coverage. This indicates that not only are beauty brands teasing or launching their sales early, but publications are pushing out Black Friday articles sooner to keep their readers in the know.
The top 10 most mentioned brands over this period were:
A huge 95% of the overall Black Friday beauty mentions came from online publications, where sales content has been shown to thrive year on year. This is, in part, because digital journalists can react fast to new or changing offers by keeping round-ups regularly updated. Plus, affiliate linking offers them an added incentive to create bumper Black Friday guides, meaning there’s a benefit for brands, consumers and publishers. It’s common practice for e-zines to compile their Black Friday lists early to increase their SEO performance, so beauty brand’s PR teams should be sharing sales info in advance to secure their space in these articles.
How to maintain presence beyond Black Friday
If your brand is enjoying a high level of presence – and, in turn, revenue – in the lead-up to Black Friday, you might be wondering how to maintain strong sales through December. There are industry-wide worries that consumers will shop for most of their gifts in the discount period, and visibility will decrease over the festive period. To keep boosting presence, brands should look to:
1. Create a smooth customer journey
Ahead of the Black Friday rush, ensure your customer journey has been optimised, so shoppers are guaranteed an enjoyable user experience. If the path to purchase is easy and seamless, beauty lovers will be more likely to return to your store for last-minute Christmas purchases. Review product descriptions, images and even ‘thank you’ emails now to increase customer satisfaction.
2. Build excitement on social media
Keep the conversation around gifting and self-gifting going all through December. This is a good time to put your focus on Instagram and TikTok trends, and find ways to join key conversations. Use popular backing music for your Reels, tag posts with #tiktokmademebuyit, and create fun, festive, informative videos that put your products at the centre (for example, ‘how to wrap your [brand] gift set like a pro’).
3. Introduce new promotions
Consumers expect to see your biggest brand discounts over the Black Friday period, so don’t dilute that by bringing costs down any further. This could annoy shoppers who thought they were getting the best deal. Instead, look at ways of repackaging offers throughout December. Possible tactics include:
- Bulk buy offers: Consider a 3 for 2 promotion on gift sets or other specific items to entice those who were pleased with their Black Friday purchases and may want to stock up more.
- Gifts with purchase (GWP): December is a good time to introduce a GWP offer. Consumers might be paying more than they did over Black Friday, but a covetable gift may be enough to tempt them back.
Looking for advice to elevate your digital strategy through December 2022? Find out how you can boost your Christmas co-op ads.
