The holiday retail deals around Thanksgiving have become almost as important as the Thanksgiving turkey. In fact, not only are people looking for deal around this time, they are also booking travel for the rest of the year. Here are some proven strategies to capitalize on all of these opportunities.

Strategy #1: Build Buzz & Anticipation During The Suite Spot

Determining when to start marketing a big promotion like Black Friday/Cyber Monday is as important as the offer. You want to find the balance without cannibalizing current or evergreen promotions and rates while still conveying some level of exclusivity to consumers who may convert. Consumers are already in the mindset of time-sensitive promotions this time of year with the holidays on the horizon, so they’re trained to act more in the moment out of fear of a deal expiring before they can pull the trigger.

A few weeks before Black Friday you’ll want to figure out the following:

• What is the offer going to be?
• What assets do you need to create for this? (ex. Ad creative, landing pages, etc.)
• What channels do you want to run on?

Once that is all sorted, go live with the campaign 7-10 days ahead of Cyber Monday. Again, this lead time is the suite spot giving a significant amount of runway to build momentum across channels.

Strategy #2: Start With Your Loyalty Program Members

Effective targeting is the key to any successful campaign, including BlackFriday/Cyber Monday. Of course, reaching new consumers is always crucial. However, the adage “Repeat consumers are one-fifth the cost of converting new ones” should be in everyone’s mind.

Focusing on past guests, who don’t already have future reservations booked, will be a surefire way to capture the lowest-hanging fruit. These people already know your brand/property, have experienced the level of hospitality you provide and should have a higher propensity to convert. So let them then be the megaphone for this offer across their social networks and open up new audiences for your property, expanding your reach without increasing your budget.

Strategy #3: Create A Compelling Video Series

Standing out in the midst of all the holiday hype requires a little something special. Get creative using any sort of motion format. Video is worth the extra effort as it helps grab attention. It also ensures wider distribution as social platform algorithms prioritize video.

There are a variety of interesting ways to get moving on the motion picture video ahead of your promotion.

• 1. Instant Experience Ads take over a user’s entire screen and features an immersive mix of dynamic content to keep them engaged.
• 2. On your IG Business Page, Pinned Posts allows you to create a series of 3 featured videos–your own little mini-series–where each episode reveals more details on your promotion.
• 3. In all cases, remember to activate event features so your community can opt into being reminded about your sale when it goes live.

Strategy #4: Create A Creator Partnership Promotion

In a busy shopping season, you need to pull in the heavy hitters, and that could include Creator partnerships. Also remember that influencers and creators wield just as much, if not more, trust than friends and family. They harness incredible power over our behavior and actions because of their authenticity and personal connection to their communities.

Creators get the job done, providing authentic content quickly and with the power to influence purchasing decisions. They also increase the chances of your content being picked up by new audiences and building the buzz of a promotion. Amazon Prime Day was a great example of activation. With plenty of partners sharing their finds and recommendations for the best things to purchase, people were exposed well ahead of the promotion and started to wish list what to add to their cart.

With new features like Collab Posts, partnerships can be even more valuable in tapping into established audiences for both parties to create a win-win juggernaut.

Strategy #5: Don’t Launch An Offer At All

What if you zigged when everyone else zagged? One smart stealth move might be to save your offer for after the hype. You’ll avoid all the noise. And besides, for some ultra-luxury properties, and their clientele, Black Friday just isn’t on brand. This could be a great opportunity to let your values shine by skipping Black Friday. Brand decisions like this can go a long way in building stronger sentiment and loyalty, especially with more and more generations building and showing an affinity for brands that align with their values. As a bonus, marching to your own beat lets you offer a promotion during a different window. Less noise to cut through and more opportunity to drive up consideration.

We hope you agree that adding a Black Friday/Cyber Monday program to your rotation increases revenue now, and builds momentum through the end of the year. Of course, if you’d like an opinion on which strategy best suits your objectives, we’re here to discuss.