Black Friday has evolved into one of the most significant events on the e-commerce calendar, hitting a record $9.8 billion in online sales in 2023 alone.
And despite the fact the cost-per-mille (CPM)—the price advertisers pay for every thousand ad impressions—is, on average, 58% higher in Q4 than in other quarters, a significant boost in sales makes the investment worthwhile for many businesses.
Rising above the competition during this high-stakes period is no small challenge. Fortunately, there are proven strategies to position your app for success.
In this post, we’ll walk you through the key steps to prepare your app for Black Friday marketing success. From effective App Store Optimization (ASO) strategies to smart CRM tactics, we'll show you how to make your app stand out as shoppers hunt for the best Black Friday deals.
1. Maximizing Black Friday search visibility
2. Black Friday-themed creatives that convert
3. Holiday copywriting: Descriptions that resonate
4. CRM tactics to engage and retain holiday shoppers
1. Maximizing Black Friday search visibility
Firstly, you need to ensure you maximize your app’s visibility for Black Friday search terms by optimizing your app store listing.
Start by incorporating high-intent seasonal keywords like "Black Friday deals," "holiday offers," or "exclusive Black Friday discounts" into your app’s metadata.
Strategically place these keywords in the key areas such as the app title, subtitle, and keyword field. These terms can boost your app’s visibility, but make sure they still align with your app's products or services.
Tools like App Store Connect or third-party ASO platforms can help you find trending Black Friday keywords to enhance your app's ranking.
2. Black Friday-themed creatives that convert
Your app's icon, screenshots, and promo videos are key conversion elements and ones that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Make sure to update your screenshots to spotlight exclusive Black Friday deals and promotions, using bold text overlays with phrases like "Limited Time Offer" or "Black Friday Exclusive" to create urgency.
Visuals that reflect Black Friday branding—such as dark tones, price tags, and discount percentages—can further attract users.
Invest your time and effort in creating a variety of creative assets for both ASO and paid campaigns.
Diverse creatives allow you to test different messaging and visuals, helping you identify what resonates most with your audience during high-traffic periods and avoid creative ad fatigue. Here are some great examples of well-designed ad creatives.
3. Holiday copywriting: Descriptions that resonate
Your app description is a perfect place to feature Black Friday-specific deals prominently. Here are some top tips to follow:
- On Android, keywords at the beginning of your long description carry more weight in Google's Natural Language algorithm. This means placing your Black Friday-related keywords at the start of your description can significantly enhance the app's discoverability, improving its chances of ranking higher in relevant searches.
- Keeping the description easy to read and using bullet points to list your key features and deals will ensure users are engaged.
- Making use of action-driven copy (“Unlock Black Friday savings,” “Shop 50% off Black Friday,” etc.) will provide users with the clear value they can gain during the Black Friday period. This creates a strong incentive for them to download your app and take advantage of the offers.
In Charlotte Tilbury's Apple Search Ads (ASA) example (below), the app’s long description includes a promo code, which Apple can dynamically pull into search ads.
This strategy is ideal for Q4 holidays like Black Friday. By adding offers like "Use code BLACKFRIDAY20 for 20% off," your app becomes more relevant to users searching for Black Friday deals, increasing visibility, conversion potential, and, essentially, sales.
4. CRM tactics to engage and retain holiday shoppers
Building your email list before Black Friday is crucial for maximizing the impact of your email marketing.
Encouraging users to sign up or register within your app or website ahead of time allows you to "warm up" your email list, ensuring users are engaged and familiar with your brand by the time the holiday period begins.
A well-prepped email list not only increases the likelihood of successful email delivery but also boosts the chances of higher open and conversion rates during Black Friday.
So, how do you go about it?
Generating Black Friday hype with waitlists
To generate excitement leading up to Black Friday, consider creating a waitlist for early access to discounts and offers.
This tactic builds anticipation and gives users a reason to sign up and engage with your app or website. Here are some examples:
The events app Fever effectively utilizes this strategy by offering a Black Friday waitlist, promising users early access to exclusive deals on events. This approach helps them capture initial interest and create a sense of exclusivity, driving higher conversions when the promotions go live.
In another example, online beauty retailer Look Fantastic builds momentum via email communications a week before Black Friday by introducing a sense of urgency around their deals.
The concept here is that the discount declines every couple of hours.
By creating a sense of urgency with a declining discount, they motivate customers to act quickly.
This use of time-sensitive offers encourages immediate purchases and generates excitement before the main event, effectively driving early sales and engagement.
Using Black Friday offers to drive app downloads
Promoting your app alongside Black Friday discounts is a powerful way to boost downloads this Q4, with many brands offering exclusive or early access to deals through their apps.
Retailers like Zara and Pull & Bear effectively use this strategy, encouraging customers to download their apps for first access to limited-time Black Friday deals; see the examples shown below.
This approach not only increases app installs but also drives engagement and sales during the period.
Building your basket early on the app offers users added convenience, especially during busy Q4 sales like Black Friday. Highlighting this feature in ad messaging can drive downloads by showcasing the app as the easiest way to shop and secure deals quickly.
To use another example, the Oh Polly Black Friday campaign strategically intertwines app promotion with discounts to boost customer engagement, (see image below).
By offering app-exclusive deals, such as a 35% discount compared to the 25% offered on their website, the brand incentivizes users to download and shop via their app.
This creates a seamless blend of product promotion and app growth, capitalizing on the heightened shopping activity during Black Friday.
Additionally, the staggered messaging across multiple days builds anticipation, urging customers to act quickly to secure the best deals, with all CTAs linking to the app or landing pages.
Boosting Black Friday app installs through paid ads
Another way to boost installs this Q4 is by running paid campaigns ahead of Black Friday. By testing different creatives, audiences, and bidding approaches across platforms like Meta, Google, Snapchat, and TikTok, brands can identify what performs best and scale their acquisition efforts.
These learnings allow for fine-tuning campaigns before the peak shopping period, ensuring maximum effectiveness and return on ad spend during Black Friday.
Retargeting campaigns further enhance this by re-engaging potential customers who showed interest but didn’t convert, using personalized offers to drive them back to the app for limited-time Black Friday deals.
Bringing it all together for Black Friday success
As Black Friday approaches, combining ASO, CRM, and paid media strategies can make or break your app's performance during this high-stakes shopping season.
By refining keywords, enhancing visuals, crafting compelling descriptions, and running targeted paid media campaigns, you set the stage for success.
Incorporating a thoughtful CRM strategy ensures that you attract new users and build long-term loyalty.
With Q4 in full swing, now is the time to fine-tune your approach and maximize the opportunities Black Friday deals bring. Aligning all these elements will position your app for sustained growth, making this holiday season your most successful yet.
