1. Prepare your marketing lists
Leading up to the big campaign, get your email marketing lists and custom ad targeting audiences in tip-top shape. This makes sure your Black Friday email campaigns are hitting the right customers at the right time.
Check to ensure things like your Meta Pixel is tracking accurately, and that analytics and other customer data sources are accurate and syncing everything they need to be.
Plus, encourage people to subscribe well before Black Friday to beef up your lists and build anticipation with sneak peeks of upcoming deals.
Simple tactics like a homepage banner or a timed popup offering early access to your best deals can grow your list quickly without wrecking the customer experience.
2. Warm up your audience before the big day
Black Friday marketing doesn’t start on Black Friday — and it doesn’t even start the week of. The warm-up period is where a huge amount of demand is created.
As expert ecommerce Email Marketer Emiel Dingemans advises:
“In the week leading up to Black Friday, focus on stress-free shopping and that everything is still in stock. If you combine that with a buy one, get one free offer or special bundle deal, you’ll already generate a ton of revenue before Black Friday actually hits.”
Source: Emiel Dingemans
Think of this as your teaser phase: build hype, hint at limited-edition bundles or new products, and give people a reason to watch your channels before the sale actually starts.
Leading retailers already do this. Amazon pushes its best deals in October with its Prime Day event, Macy’s drops gift guides well ahead of Black Friday, and Target rolls out “Deal of the Day” promos throughout November.
3. Map your Black Friday content across every channel
Once Black Friday week hits, social moves fast. If you’re trying to plan posts on the fly, you’re already behind.
A content calendar keeps everything aligned so your organic posts, influencer posts, and paid campaigns don’t trip over one another. It also gives your team a clear look at where your coverage is strong, where you’re repeating yourself, and where you’re missing easy wins.
And yes, your team could manage all that in a spreadsheet. But it’s not recommended.
This is where a tool like Hootsuite saves your team’s sanity. You can plan Black Friday content across every platform in one place, see gaps at a glance, schedule everything ahead of time, and instantly adjust when your promo sells out three days earlier than expected.
Plus, a solid Black Friday calendar also makes it easier to repurpose content for SEO, email, and paid retargeting, instead of reinventing the wheel for every channel.
4. Encourage email sign-ups with teasers
Build up your email list for your upcoming Black Friday promotions by teasing what’s to come.
You can hint at what your discounts will be, or use it as an opportunity to make your campaign even more successful by asking your audience what they’d most like to see on sale this year.
Source: Princess Polly
5. Align online and offline Black Friday marketing campaigns
Connect the dots between your ecommerce campaigns and in-store offers to maximize sales from in-store shoppers. Over half of U.S. Black Friday shoppers who went to a store looked up product reviews or information online first.
Glossier is known for including real customer messages and feedback into their social feed. This carousel post rounds up employees’ favorite products, keeping the same community feel to their Black Friday marketing posts, while still promoting the sale.
Source: Glossier
6. Automate customer service with a chatbot
It goes without saying the busiest online shopping week of the year will deliver, most likely, the highest web traffic of the year. Instant, helpful customer service can prepare for the influx and capture lost opportunities.
Using an AI chatbot for customer service on your website can be the difference between someone getting the answer they need and checking out, or bouncing off to a competitor—especially during the frantic pace of Black Friday shopping.
Wow customers with an AI chatbot that can:
- Automatically answer common FAQs, like your shipping info or business hours.
- Recommend products.
- Answer queries like, “Where’s my order?” by looking up tracking or account information.
- Intelligently reply to complex questions using natural language processing.
Continue the quick service by automating your social media inbox replies, too. With Hootsuite Inbox, you can assign and answer DMs and comments across all your platforms right inside your Hootsuite dashboard, and save time with automations. Set up auto-responses and one-click saved replies and smart collaboration tools to ensure your team doesn’t miss any replies, or reply to the same message.
7. Create gift guides
Last year, 86% of shoppers made gift purchases over the five-day Thanksgiving–Black Friday weekend. Make their jobs easier — and the likelihood they’ll shop with you higher — by creating curated gift guides.
You can do this with social media content or by adding them to your website navigation.
Source: Goop
A few ideas for gift guides could be:
- Gifts for moms, dads, brothers, sisters, etc
- Gifts under $25, $50, $100
- Host/hostess gifts
- Stocking stuffers
Plus additional guides tailored to your products. For example, skincare brands might build “glow set” bundles, while bookstores could curate lists by interest, such as “Gifts for home cooks” or “Gifts for history buffs.”
8. Work with influencers
Influencer campaigns can be a powerful addition to your Black Friday marketing strategy to get you in front of new audiences.
Take Canon’s Explorers of Light program. Canon works with pro photographers and creatives who share their gear setups, creative process, and favorite tools — and Canon shares those stories on its official Instagram account.
Source: Canon
The key: work with creators who genuinely align with your brand and give them the freedom to make content their followers actually care about. Authenticity always travels farther than ads.
9. Share your values
Most Black Friday campaigns are price-focused. If you can’t (or don’t want to) compete on price, compete on values instead. Remind your customers why they should choose you vs. “the big guys” in all your Black Friday marketing efforts.
If your products are handmade, show your process. You don’t need to bad-mouth mass-produced brands, but top quality always justifies a top price for buyers interested in supporting artisans.
For example, sustainable clothing brand Tentree allows customers to sell pre-loved clothing via their website for cash back. Focusing on this unique program, and the values behind it, is enough to lure eco-conscious customers away from other brands.
Source: Tentree on Instagram
10. Plan ads strategically
There are a lot of things that go into creating a successful Black Friday ads strategy, including budgeting. While costs vary widely by platform, format, and business category, one thing is a given: ads cost more in Q4.
Meta’s own reporting shows the average price per ad climbed roughly 14% year over year in Q4 2024.
Part of why costs are higher in Q4 has to do with competition and intent. More advertisers are running ads during the last quarter, so it costs more to compete with them.
As for intention, we know 200 million people in the U.S. alone plan to shop Black Friday sales. Chances are if they see an ad for a deal they can’t refuse, they’ll click it.
Just because ad costs are higher shouldn’t dissuade you from trying them. Black Friday ads can be extremely powerful with the right strategy, creative assets, and audience targeting. Before jumping in, make sure you’ve dialed in those three factors first.
Then, use retargeting to stay in front of people who have already visited your site or added items to cart, and reserve your bigger bets for audiences that have shown strong intent during past shopping seasons.New to ads? Start with the tips in our guide to social media advertising.
11. Offer long-time customers a special deal
Offer your loyal customers and long-time subscribers something extra for Black Friday. Make them feel valued by offering an attractive loyalty program, an additional discount, or early access to shop your deals, like this email sent by PRESS Foods.
Source: PRESS Foods
12. Optimize for mobile
Mobile shoppers are expected to drive the majority of Black Friday revenue again in 2025.
Most browsing, decision-making, and “add to cart” moments now happen on a phone, which means your social content has to shine on small screens first. This is why optimizing for mobile almost always lifts conversion rates.
A mobile-first approach means focusing on:
- Short, skimmable content that communicates value fast
- Readable text and captions that don’t disappear on a five-inch screen
- Vertical-first video for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts
- Clear CTAs that guide people to the next step
Mobile shoppers move quickly, especially during Black Friday. If your content is built for how people actually scroll, your offers will land better, travel further, and convert more consistently.
On top of that, a buggy or difficult checkout process is enough to turn your customer toward a competitor instead, or at the very least cause frustration.
The first rule of Black Friday marketing club is, “Do not forget to test your website and checkout process on mobile.” The second rule? “Do NOT forget to test.”
13. Offer “buy now, pay later”
Buy now, pay later has officially graduated from “nice perk” to “expected feature.” Shoppers are projected to put nearly $20 billion on BNPL this holiday season, a 9% jump from 2024.
And here’s the real headline: BNPL customers don’t just convert more, they spend more. On Black Friday, the average BNPL shopper spent 48% more than those paying with cash or credit. That’s a big lift for simply offering an option people already love.
If you already offer BNPL, make it obvious on your site. Show the Klarna or Afterpay logo on your homepage and product pages, in your footer, and anywhere people make purchase decisions.
Source: Vistek
14. Use SMS marketing
If you already text your customers (known as SMS marketing) then great, work your Black Friday deals into the mix.
If not, it’s time to get on board with this high reach, high engagement channel. Black Friday is a great opportunity for this as deals and shoppers are both moving quickly, with bags in one hand and their smartphone likely clutched in the other.
Consider offering your SMS subscribers a super special discount or gift for Black Friday, or switch your abandoned cart emails to text messages instead to capitalize on quick action.
15. Target abandoned carts
Obviously you always want to be recovering abandoned carts, but planning your Black Friday campaign is a great time to retest and make sure cart abandonment emails (or texts) are going out properly, and say what you want them to.
Try experimenting with personalization options, like showing the actual products the user left behind, to increase conversions. Or offer a special Black Friday “come back” bonus deal.
Source: Vistek
16. Create special bundles
If you offer a Black Friday deal similar to sales you already run throughout the year, people will be less likely to take you up on it since there’s so much more competition.
Create something totally new that’s only available on Black Friday: a bundle of several products at a discount, your lowest price of the year on popular items, or even a value-add: buy X, get Y for free.
Source: HelloFresh
Be sure to communicate the exclusive nature of the deal and how it’s only available on Black Friday… and stick to it! That sense of urgency drives a “fear of missing out,” also known as FOMO.
16. Offer limited-time deals
Try offering a different promotion for each hour of Black Friday, or each day of the five day “Cyber Weekend,” which starts on Thanksgiving and ends with Cyber Monday.
B&H Photo’s DealZone offers deeply discounted products for one day only sales, making a purchase a no-brainer for someone interested in that item.
Source: B&H Photo
17. Offer extra bonuses
If you’re not discounting prices, or in addition to doing that, consider offering a value-add like a free gift with purchase or extra loyalty rewards points.
You can also offer a gift card to use for a future order. Set a specific time customers can use the gift card, such as in January when sales tend to be slow.
Layering in a simple referral reward can turn those post-Black Friday buyers into a steady stream of new customers, long after the sale ends.
Source: Drunk Elephant
This strategy encourages customers to spend more and doesn’t cost you anything extra right now. Chances are it may not cost you anything at all: studies have found about half of consumers lose a gift card before they have a chance to spend it.
19. Follow up
Black Friday marketing doesn’t end at midnight, Cinderella.
Use the influx of new customers as a chance to nurture both new and old relationships, both immediately after an order and in the weeks post-Black Friday/Cyber Monday. This is where retention happens.
A few follow up ideas:
- Send order confirmations immediately, then follow up with shipping/tracking information.
- Send an email to those who didn’t purchase with a special offer, or extended Black Friday deal.
- For new subscribers, send a welcome email thanking them for subscribing and introduce your brand.
Ask for a product review to build up social proof.
Black Friday social media post examples from 2025
Here are some of the smartest Black Friday posts from 2025, along with quick ideas you can make your own.
1. Glossier’s only sale of the year
Source: Glossier
Cosmetics brand Glossier famously doesn’t offer sales very often, except for Black Friday. This helps build momentum for it and encourage customers to shop since getting a deal is so rare. Since Glossier typically features customer comments as social media posts, their Black Friday Sale announcement is both unusual for a brand and perfectly on-brand for them.
Steal this idea:
- It takes a lotta brand equity to not discount. Read up on what people want from brands on social media to build that equity.
2. Princess Polly’s exclusive Black Friday promo
Princess Polly kicked off Black Friday by announcing a limited-time promo that was exclusive to their social media followers. They paired it with a high-style visual (and a mountain of shopping bags) to make the offer feel special and insider-ish.
Source: Princess Polly
Moral of the story: if you want your audience to actually follow you, give them something they can only get by being there.
Steal this idea:
- Offer a promo code that only exists on social. Bonus points if you make the creative irresistible so people stop scrolling long enough to actually save the code.
3. Australia Post’s behind-the-scenes video of the Black Friday chaos
AUS Post posted a playful video of their staff stretching and “warming up” before tackling the Black Friday shipping surge. It was funny, relatable, and surprisingly effective at reminding people that real humans handle their orders.
Source: Aus Post
Steal this idea:
- Show your team prepping for Black Friday — packing orders, organizing inventory, setting up displays. People love seeing the humans behind the brand.
4. 437’s deals at a glance
437 turned its entire Black Friday week into a single, clean calendar graphic that mapped out new drops, daily discounts, early access windows, and the big sitewide sale. It was the kind of post people screenshot immediately.
Source: 437
- Steal this idea:
- Design a “Black Friday week at a glance” graphic and pin it. Make it clear which days have the biggest moments so customers know exactly when to check back.
5. Home Depot’s carousel gift guides
Instead of shouting “SALE!” into the void, Home Depot spent the weeks leading up to Black Friday posting carousel gift guides on Instagram.
Source: Home Depot
Think Gifts under $100, Gifts for DIYers, Gifts for new homeowners, Gifts for entertainers — all framed around real use cases, not random markdowns.
Steal this idea:
- Build carousels around budgets, hobbies, or gifting personas so people can quickly imagine who each item is perfect for.
6. Simple sale reminder from Dick’s Sporting Goods
Source: Dick’s Sporting Goods
Just like the above example, making social media videos doesn’t need to be complicated or even include a human being. This few second long Reel can be shot and edited in minutes right from your desk.
Steal this idea:
- Simple can be effective. Have a clear point to the video and make it relatable. This one works as it’s showing someone ready to shop with their gift budget list pulled up alongside the Dick’s website.
- Use bold text to get the point across quickly. Bonus: this can be the cover photo for your Instagram feed too.
Need more Black Friday marketing campaign inspiration? Check out 20+ fresh social media post ideas for 2024.
FAQ: Black Friday marketing ideas
How do brands create high-converting Black Friday campaigns on social media?
High-converting campaigns focus on clarity, urgency, and timing. Brands that perform best tend to:
- Prime audiences with email/SMS opt-ins
- Use clear value props (discounts, bundles, exclusives)
- Use creators to build trust and reduce purchase hesitation
- Keep the path from discovery to checkout as short and mobile-friendly as possible
The goal is to remove friction at every step, not shout louder than everyone else.
How do I plan a Black Friday content calendar that drives sales?
Start before November. Break your content into clear phases so your audience sees the right message at the right moment.
Here’s an example roll-out:
Phase 1 (early Nov): list building, teasers, early-access sign-ups
Phase 2 (mid Nov): gift guides, creator content, product education
Phase 3 (Cyber Week): daily drops, promo reminders, urgency posts
Phase 4 (post–Black Friday): follow-up offers, loyalty perks, retention content
Tools matter too. A scheduling platform like Hootsuite keeps everything organized, aligned across channels, and consistent — especially when things get chaotic.
What should I post for Black Friday on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook?
Buyers respond to content that helps them shop smarter and faster. A strong mix includes:
- Black Friday offers, early-bird sneak peeks, and gift guides
- Social-only promo codes
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Fast-paced updates during the week of Black Friday (think: timed drops, stock alerts, and flash deals)
For all three platforms, mix in teaser posts, creator content, and quick reminders about your best deals so potential customers never forget what you want them to click on next.
What are the most effective Black Friday engagement tactics?
The tactics that consistently move the needle include:
- Fast responses via automated DMs, chatbots, and unified inbox tools, like Hootsuite’s Inbox 2.0
- Giveaways, flash sales, and simple referral prompts (“share this with someone who needs a hint”) also work well to build hype
- Running polls, countdown timers, and Q&As to surface buyer intent
- Launching creator-led product walkthroughs
- Offering exclusive deals to your most engaged followers
The more interactive and immediate the experience feels, the more likely shoppers are to convert while the intent is high.
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Build excitement for your Black Friday marketing campaign with Hootsuite. Schedule and measure the ROI of organic and paid social media together, manage ads, reply to DMs and comments, and spy on your competitors—everything you need for Black Friday social media in one easy-to-use tool. Try Hootsuite free today.
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