13 engaging Black Friday marketing ideas to drive sales

Black Friday, the biggest retail event of the year, is almost here. It’s the moment when brands can hit major sales goals and secure a large share of annual revenue. But success doesn’t come from showing up on the day – it comes from how well you capture potential customers’ attention with the right Black Friday campaign as part of your digital strategy.  

And make no mistake: Competition is fierce. Black Friday shoppers are bombarded with offers, not just from rival brands but also from every other distraction that comes with the holiday season. Standing out means creating Black Friday promotions that cut through the noise.  

Our 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) survey of over 3,000 global consumers makes that clear: 71.7% of consumers want brands to communicate about BFCM across multiple channels. Email leads the way (56.5%), followed by websites (42.9%) and social media ads (41.9%). Meanwhile, 46.5% of shoppers want to hear from brands through at least one mobile messaging channel. Clearly, to maximize BFCM sales, you need to deliver engaging campaigns across the channels your customers use most.  

This is the moment to get your Black Friday promotions right – and turn your plans into real results. 

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the U.S., kicks off the biggest shopping event of the year. What started as a one-day frenzy now stretches through Cyber Monday and often the entire week. In 2024, American consumers spent a record $10.8 billion in online sales during Black Friday, and 70% of this took place on a mobile device. 

Most Black Friday marketing examples you might find online focus on ads and discounts. While promotions are essential, relying on price cuts or a shipping code only won’t cut it – especially if you’re an e-commerce brand looking to build lasting growth. Shoppers have seemingly endless options, so competing on price alone may leave you vulnerable to being ignored for a competitor offering the same deal. 

Effective BFCM marketing is about standing out. A strong marketing strategy uses an omnichannel approach, combining mobile, email, social, and web experiences to meet shoppers where they want to be met. And with marketing automation, you can deliver those experiences at scale – so your Black Friday marketing ideas resonate with the right people, at the right time. 

Our 2025 BFCM survey revealed what really drives results during peak shopping season. As we mentioned, omnichannel is a must – but starting early matters, too. More than a third of shoppers (37.3%) expect promotions by October 28 – a full month before Black Friday – and nearly one in five (18.6%) want them even sooner. Pair that urgency with automation and A/B testing, and you can optimize special offers and channels before competitors even launch.  

The most effective Black Friday strategies also lean into personalization and relevance. Segment your audiences based on behavior, preferences, and customer segments, and also layer in SEO and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) tactics expand your reach. For example, you could update landing pages or create new posts with seasonal keywords that align with Black Friday searches, while also optimizing for AI-driven search engines with structured data and high-quality posts. These tactics can help you capture new holiday shopping traffic while building brand loyalty with existing customers.  

AI should also play a role – with nearly half of consumers saying it makes holiday shopping easier. Top use cases for consumers include order tracking (52.9%), product discovery (43.5%), and getting after-hours support (37.9%). In short, lean into the data, refine with automation, and keep optimizing!  

Next, let’s explore some Black Friday marketing ideas to put these insights into practice and ring in those lucrative 2025 sales. 

Building a loyal customer base during BFCM starts with showing you genuinely care about your customers’ unique preferences and interests. Beyond the content that you deliver, personalization also includes connecting with shoppers on the channels they prefer. 

Our 2025 survey shows that 72.7% of consumers value personalized offers, but that’s down 7% from last year. Personalization works best when it’s useful and not intrusive.  

If you don’t know which channels your customers prefer, you can gain insights by monitoring where they engage most. For the most part, email marketing can help you set the stage for Black Friday sales, while mobile channels like SMS or WhatsApp are ideal for alerts, flash deals, and last-minute reminders. Used together, these channels can help your customers discover new products and in turn, help you increase average order value.  

Here are a few personalization tactics that resonate in 2025:  

• Countdown timer messages that build urgency ahead of Black Friday (consider time zones if you’re global).  
• Early access to Black Friday sales for your loyal customers via SMS and email that creates a sense of exclusivity. 
• Reminders of prior purchases featuring Black Friday deals on related items. 

Personalization, powered by the right data, can make your Black Friday campaigns stand out, and keep customers coming back long after the holiday shopping season ends.  

Black Friday shopping already comes with a built-in sense of urgency, but your job is to amplify it. With the right mix of mobile, email, and social channels, you can push customers to act fast before your BFCM deals disappear.  

Here are some proven tactics to spark action:  

• Send time-sensitive alerts about a giveaway or flash sale to build excitement. 
• Push out a series of SMS messages that count down the days until Black Friday. 
• Update subscribers about limited-time or special deals like free gifts, or on how much inventory is left for a hot item. 
• Use real-time updates to show dwindling inventory on popular products.  
• Promote exclusive early-bird windows, like “shop one hour early,” to drive attention before the shopping event.  

Urgency works best when it’s clear and simple. Limited-time messages, paired with perks or alerts on popular products, make customers feel like they can’t wait. And when urgency is done right, you’ll build loyalty in the long run.  

Nothing builds anticipation like a preview. A sneak peek of a new product or curated product bundles before your big Black Friday sale gives subscribers a reason to pay attention, and act fast.  

Mobile marketing can make these teasers even more powerful:  

• Send your subscribers a push notification with an exclusive preview and discount code to drive instant app traffic.  
• Share WhatsApp click-to-chat links in Facebook or Instagram ads to start real-time conversations about Black Friday offers. Once a chat is live, you’ll have 72 hours to keep the conversation going for free. Plus, you can even set up a pre-written message that lets your customer launch the chat with one tap – and have a bot reply instantly.  
• Use RCS messaging to spotlight specific products or bundles that will be part of your Black Friday deals, giving subscribers a head start on planning their carts.  
• Test staggered reveals by sending early subscribers a glimpse of one product, then roll out more details in follow-up notifications to keep engagement high.  

By mixing channels and teasing both new product launches and exclusive bundles, you create excitement before the sale even begins. And when Black Friday hits, shoppers will be primed and ready to buy.  

Gift guides are a great way to help shoppers discover the right products faster. Send these out via channels like email, text, and WhatsApp to help people spot deals that matter and engage with your promo or deal. 

You can make your mobile marketing messages be even more engaging using RCS messaging, which allows for interactive features like video, image carousels, and more. Many consumers are open to this approach – 47% of consumers in 2025 said they’d likely engage with these types of interactive messages. That’s a big opportunity for brands to connect in a more engaging, dynamic way. 

For example, RCS makes it possible to send subscribers a high-resolution gift catalog that lights up their inbox. It can showcase multiple products at once, prompting recipients to swipe through visual product images and complete a purchase. All of this can happen within their native mobile messaging inbox on both Android and Apple devices.  

Here are some ideas to make your gift guides stand out:  

• Interactive RCS catalogs where shoppers swipe through visual product images and buy directly in the messaging interface.  
• Segmented gift guides (for kids, tech fans, or skincare lovers) that make browsing effortless.  
• Dynamic recommendations that swap in bestsellers or trending products in real-time. 

Done right, gift guides are both convenient for your customers and help drive conversion for your brand. 

People are eager to get an early heads-up on holiday promotions. In fact, 37.3% of consumers we surveyed in 2025 said they want to start hearing from brands a full month ahead of Black Friday, and 21.9% want to get deals even earlier.  

To build excitement, try these ideas:  

• Countdown timers via MMS leading up to a sale or offering.  
• Location-based offers via RCS to notify subscribers about deals when they are near your physical store.  
• Digital scratch cards or pop-ups via Rich SMS that customers can “scratch” on a digital landing page on their phones to reveal special Black Friday deals and offers.  
• Flash sales with a ticking clock to create urgency within a set timeframe. 
• Limited-time offers via WhatsApp with an image with a discount code and interactive buttons where people can copy the code and go to your website to redeem it.  

SMS marketing is ideal for spreading the word, with SMS open rates soaring around 98%! That means you can count on high engagement and quick results as your audience rushes to grab your deal, even at the last minute. 

Do you know the saying that it’s easier to sell to loyal customers than to win new ones? It’s true! Use your existing channels to drive retention by sending limited-edition offers based on past referrals. This can also encourage referrals when they have positive experiences with your brand.  

Here’s an easy way to get that done: Use MMS or RCS to send high-quality product images to subscribers who haven’t purchased in a while. Make these deals exclusive to your subscribers to maintain their interest and incentivize them to refer new customers. 

When customers have questions, they want quick replies and easy ways to continue the conversation. They also prefer to quickly find what they’re looking for, which can be a challenge for online stores. Staffing a large team for just one holiday event is costly, but you can use tools like RCS or WhatsApp to deliver a conversational marketing experience. With the quick reply buttons available in both channels, customers can get quick responses, which will help you customize their holiday shopping experience with minimal effort. 

Here are some ways you can make your Black Friday messaging more conversational:  

• Send order confirmations and shipping updates, encouraging customers to reply with questions or requests.  
• Give real-time inventory updates, allowing customers to place orders or reserve items (and if you do this with RCS, you can include images and quick replies directly in their inbox!). 
• Inform customers about in-store events, early bird sales, or promotions, letting them reply to RSVP or ask for event details. 
• Communicate loyalty program updates and encourage customers to inquire about their loyalty status or redeem rewards through replies. 
• Follow up post-purchasing to ensure their satisfaction and allow them to provide feedback if they encounter issues. 
• Use a pop-up on your homepage that opens a WhatsApp chat so your customers can chat immediately with your brand.  

For a great example, check out how frozen food retailer Picard used RCS to deliver a conversational customer experience that led to a 42% increase in customer engagement – a huge win for their holiday marketing campaign! 

Email has long made it possible to deliver exclusive, personalized content to subscribers, making them feel special with unique deals. The holiday shopping season is a great time to deliver this type of experience because you can build excitement by sharing upcoming offers.  

For instance, in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, send an email with a subject line like, “A Black Friday treat just for you, [First name].” This personal touch makes customers feel like insiders. The offer inside should give them a special discount, reinforcing their sense of being valued. If this is important to you, different email testing software can help you make your email marketing campaigns as effective as possible.  

Beyond SMS and email lists, you can use social messaging channels like Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct Messages to deliver personalized messages to those who’ve opted in. These platforms offer a more direct and personal touch than traditional social media marketing.  

When offering even more exclusive content, use RCS or WhatsApp to send videos that will help your brand stand out. 

Chatbots can help you provide customers instant, automated answers during their shopping journey, helping them find what they need quickly. AI-powered chatbots go a step further by connecting to your website and product inventory, acting like a personal shopping assistant. In fact, nearly one in two respondents in Sinch’s 2025 BFCM survey said they’d trust AI recommendations as much or more than those from a human.  

You can also integrate chatbots with conversational channels like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to let customers engage with you in the way they prefer and can get the quickest answers.  

Unlike a static web page, an interactive landing page can help you personalize your message to customers and make them feel special. For Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consider using a dynamic landing page that features deals, recommendations, and interactive elements like countdown timers or quizzes.  

Rich SMS is ideal for sending personalized landing pages to subscribers. Orange, a multinational telecommunications company, used this approach to re-connect with their customers during Black Friday. Understanding customers’ behavior and preferences, Orange created compelling offers and used an interactive landing page delivered via Rich SMS to maximize engagement. 

The result? A 12% upsell rate, which was a great boost to their sales!  

Holiday shoppers are moving fast during BFCM, which means cart abandonment is inevitable. Some shoppers get distracted, others compare prices, and many simply plan to finish checkout later. That’s why cart abandonment reminders are one of the most effective ways to optimize your conversion rate.  

Automated Black Friday email marketing campaigns can be especially powerful here. Pair your reminders with personalized incentives, like offering discounts, a coupon, or even a digital gift card, to nudge shoppers back to checkout. Targeted email campaigns consistently deliver strong ROI, and they’re less intrusive than general promotional blasts.  

In addition to a Black Friday email campaign, consider sending abandoned cart messages via a mobile channel like RCS or WhatsApp. In another global survey Sinch conducted in 2025, The state of customer communications, 54% of respondents said they preferred abandoned cart reminders sent via RCS over SMS or MMS. With rich visuals, buttons, and interactivity, both RCS and WhatsApp can elevate the customer experience and make your brand stand out.  

Using multiple channels helps capture lost sales and turn more browsers into buyers during your Black Friday push. 

Your customers want you to communicate across multiple channels for Black Friday. Email, social media, and mobile messaging all matter. The brands that connect them see the best results.  

An omnichannel experience is most effective when it’s used to build a connected journey: An email announcing Black Friday deals, a WhatsApp reminder with a countdown timer, and a retargeting ad featuring specific products. Together, these touchpoints reinforce each other and keep shoppers engaged.  

Vinomofo in Australia is a great example of this. The wine retailer layered SMS into its HubSpot email campaigns to cut through inbox clutter, automate reminders, and engage its audience in real time. The results were great, too: A 120% return on investment in just six weeks!  

Now that you have strategies for leading up to Black Friday, remember that your marketing efforts shouldn’t end once the day is over.   

Here are a few ways you can use mobile messaging for post-Black Friday follow-up:  

• Send thank you messages acknowledging their purchases. 
• Request reviews or testimonials for products purchased during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. 
• Provide tips or advice related to the products they purchased. 
• Share relevant content like blog articles related to their interests or the products they bought.  

These ideas can help strengthen your business’ relationship with customers and help you provide them with a great experience throughout their whole journey.   

Winning new customers on Black Friday isn’t just about partnering with TikTok influencers or outdoing competitors with the best Black Friday offers. Much of it is about reaching people on their preferred channels, whether that’s via email, social media, search, or messaging apps, and doing it in a way that feels timely and relevant.  

Brands that take a true multichannel approach during Black Friday and Cyber Monday will have the most success. Mix channels, test formats, and adapt your message to each touchpoint so it doesn’t get lost in the noise. Otherwise, it’s just too easy to be forgotten on the big day. 

As you’ve seen, now’s the time to refine your marketing strategies and make every channel count. Check out our conversational messaging guide to learn how you can upgrade campaigns and create an excellent customer experience this holiday season.