On Cyber Monday 2017, US retailers expect to haul in $3.81 billion in sales revenue. How much of that lands in your pocket depends in part on how well you prepare your Cyber Monday marketing plan. In this article, we collected some useful trends, facts, and marketing tactics that will help you boost your eCommerce store’s sales this year.
Here is what we know about Cyber Mondays and modern shoppers:
- Amazon is the most popular cyber shop for buyers ?
- More men than women shop on Cyber Monday ?
- Americans spend 4.7 hours per day on their phones, much of it researching items to buy or e-shops subscribe to ?
- 2B people around the world use Android devices ?
- Shoppers will buy more than $1 billion using their mobile devices?
With that information and insights in mind, here are five tips to rock your Cyber Monday Marketing.
1. Finetune your Cyber Monday Email Marketing Strategy
Since Cyber Monday is one of the most popular and important days of the year for every eCommerce business, it is “obligatory” to get the most effective marketing channels, ready (Remember: Email Marketing is the acquisition channel with the biggest ROI in eCommerce) . Plan, create and schedule your email sequences accordingly to get the maximum result between, brand awareness and email conversions. Our guess? Schedule the following 3 newsletters:
- the first 7 days prior (co-promoting Black Friday and Cyber Monday),
- the second 1 day before and
- the last one when Cyber Monday starts!
2. Use Your Email List to Do a Drip Campaign
Apart from the traditional and necessary email marketing approach, you can further boost your email sales with marketing automation. Just schedule a series of automated emails before your Cyber Monday sales start. Kick off the first email by letting your regular customers know about the biggest steals they can get. Your next emails can include free gifts, coupons for exclusive deals, or a video teaser about a brand-new product.
Release your last 2-3 emails in the 48 hours before Cyber Monday sales launch. These can feature a behind-the-scenes look at how you’re preparing for the big day, interviews with your company’s C-suite executives, or even a clever commercial. These are great materials to fortify your branding. Just be sure to add a link to your website on each email to capture the traffic.
Don’t forget the afterglow email, which should land in inboxes just after the clock strikes Tuesday. It can be a ‘thank you’ for the customer visit and your desire to serve them again during their upcoming holiday shopping.
This type of email sequence can be planned in advance. You will need a marketing automation tool, such as ContactPigeon, to achieve that.
3. Get in on Google AdWords
Google AdWords lets you attract geo-targeted customers with optimized online advertising. Dig deep, and involve a seasoned SEM specialist, copywriter, and designer, to put out high-quality advertisements.
Plan and test multiple versions of ADs to find out what entices the most clicks and generates the most buyer traffic. You can set up static text ADs or ones that change based on date or keyword. Over time, AdWords will start displaying only the best performing ads within an AdGroup. That information is super helpful for your social media strategy, too.
4. Maximize Your Website and Social Media
Engaged followers will share your content. According to salesforce.com, one company hosted a small live-streamed event: Twenty people watched. Then they posted the video to their page and asked viewers to share the video, and 16 did. Thanks to the shares, the live stream had a total reach of over 3,000 people and over 800 views over a short period of time.
Social media is also a great place for well-placed paid advertisement. It can cost about $30 to get a sale or lead through the paid Facebook AD. If that fits your budget and margin expectations, get your designer and your copywriter started on creating ads right now.
5. Live Stream
Ok, we are thinking a bit out of the box here. But live streaming works in China. As the world’s largest and most active online market, China has much to teach us about how to use the internet. A recently released report examined what’s working in China’s booming live stream universe. It said:
- Find a balance between business goals and budget constraints, especially when investing in high-profile celebrity hosts.
- Livestream events need enough hype to attract viewers.
- A broadcast should not be a one-off event, but rather a part of a broad and cohesive marketing campaign.
Live streaming is easier than you think. A camera, an idea, and access to Facebook Live are all you need to get started. Videos are the sizzling hot trend in content now, expected to double in the next five years. Live streaming is simply an immersive, immediate, and emotionally engaging video experience. Try it. If you can get a social influencer with the right reach to participate as well, the results will be more than surprising! Which leads us to the next tip.
6. Consider Influencer Marketing
A quick peek at China once again: The Red Card + Report states that 65% of Chinese football fans intend to buy products promoted by their club’s official sponsor. Chinese fans also viewed their chosen club’s social media channels as more trustworthy than mainstream news outlets.
Tom Elsden, the senior client manager at Mailman, says “We always knew China was an icon market.”
Well, so is the US. Grapevine data shows a 24.6% increase in conversions when clients used YouTube videos, most featuring influencers, as part of their holiday marketing strategy. Remember that an influencer doesn’t have to be a high-paid celebrity, just a trusted and recognized figure. Chinese influencers are often nationally known, but in the US, you can get good mileage through a micro-influencer from Instagram.
Last but not least, the most important tip for Cyber Monday Marketing- optimize ALL your marketing for mobile.
Start designing your Cyber Monday Marketing Plan
Cyber Monday is undoubtedly one of the biggest days of the year. This doubles as an opportunity for any eCommerce brand to stand out, both in terms of sales and buzz around brand awareness. Be creative and invest some time in planning your Cyber Monday marketing strategy, your email marketing, your paid campaign and generally, all of your brand touchpoints with your customers/visitors, because it will pay off since it’s one of the very few days that consumers are more than eager to spend.
Good luck!
