Prepare your influencer campaigns for Black Friday 2021

Black Friday: a (highly) anticipated event

According to an infographic published by Oberlo, in 2020, Black Friday (+Cyber Monday) recorded a 86 % increase in sales in Europe compared to the average sales in October of the same year, according ParcelMonitor. While shopping increases are seen across all retail channels during the period, a Deloitte study estimates that e-commerce sales are expected to increase between 11 and 15% in 2021 compared to 2020. For advertisers, there is therefore a particular interest in boosting their online presence and activating the Influence Marketing lever during Black Week. According to a HubSpot study, consumers are 71% more likely to buy a product after seeing a positive review on social networks. Furthermore, a Facebook study shows that 75% of weekly users have made a purchase after seeing content posted by an influencer.

As we reported in our 2020 study on Black Friday and Influence, the number of engagements related to Black Friday posts doubles on a weekly basis in the three weeks leading up to the day. Brands can therefore take advantage of this period to create more effective Influence Marketing campaigns. But the right time of year also means strong competition. You have to stand out from the crowd and influencer marketing is a good way to do this. Working with influencers before and during Black Week is a way to get the attention of your target audience. It allows you to approach them in a more direct way and communicate your actions, offers and promotions through people they trust.

Influence marketing best practices for Black Friday

As we have seen previously, Black Friday is a period full of opportunities to activate your acquisition levers, but it is essential to be well prepared to create content that really stands out.

Preparing your Black Friday influencer campaign

To ensure the success of your Black Friday Influence campaign, it is important to plan ahead and define your objectives properly:

• As with any influencer campaign, you need to prepare your Black Friday campaign well. We strongly advise you to take the time to define the objectives of your campaign, the formats and content to be used, the publication calendar, the budget and to find the relevant influencers. All this information will be in your brief,
• You need to schedule the publications so that there is a timeline. First, they attract and create suspense about what you will do on the day. Secondly, they should engage your communities to see your offers. Finally, they must encourage action based on the objectives set.

Collaborations with KOLs for Black Friday

Solicited from all sides by advertisers in the run-up to the festive season, social network users and internet users, millennials in particular, are more inclined to follow the opinions of influencers in their purchasing decisions. Indeed, their content differs from traditional advertising in all media and they address their communities directly. Working with influencers is therefore a good way to boost your sales, increase your awareness or reinforce your brand image during Black Friday. Select the influencers that best fit your target (based on their audiences and communities), your brand (based on your universe, values and commitments) and the campaign in question and contact them in advance. There are several formats that are very conducive to engagement during Black Week.

The best influencers for Black Friday

The Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) you select and the formats you use should help you stand out and ensure your campaign performs well ahead of the holiday season. Here are some ideas for trending formats and examples of campaigns that worked in 2020.

Use promo codes

The use of promo and discount codes is a great way to convert during Black Friday. Used in a personalised way to influencers, they offer the opportunity to create a sense of exclusivity by offering additional discounts to the community of followers. In addition, they allow to measure the impact and commercial effectiveness of the content created by the influencer thanks to the implementation of a unique code per influencer. Thus, a close link is created between the brand, the influencer and his community. Video is a good format to promote brand promotions during Black Friday, notably through wishlists, sharing of good deals, product testing, or even haul shopping during which an influencer reveals the products purchased during a shopping session.

Offering unboxing content

This is a video format that first appeared on YouTube and is now developing on IGTV or TikTok formats. A content creator shares his or her experience in video when unboxing a product received from a brand. He comments on the different aspects of the opening, the packaging, the quality of the products, etc. It is an interesting format for previews and to generate enthusiasm around a product.

Taking a stand against Black Friday

Some brands choose this period to reinforce their brand image and affirm their commitment to the environment. This was the case for REI, for example. The outdoor clothing company chose to close its shops on Black Friday. The brand invited its customers to go out and do outdoor activities instead of going to the shop or buying online. This decision increased the number of subscriptions on the different channels where the publications were distributed.

Influence campaigns during Black Friday are therefore likely to have a good impact. But you need to know how to stand out, propose different content and choose the relevant influencers for each campaign objective. Would you like to launch your Influencer Marketing campaign during Black Friday? Contact our dedicated experts now.