Over time, holiday shopping has evolved from headache-inducing lines wrapped around your local Best Buy or pushing your way through a crowded department store to an endless scrolling of product roundups. Shopping behaviors are steadily shifting toward online platforms and, when you boil it down, Black Friday and Cyber Monday alike can drive some serious revenue back to your brand’s e-commerce website - and quickly.

Just because shopping habits are changing doesn’t mean they are slowing. In fact, according to studies, 69% of people will shop online for Black Friday, while only 32% will shop in-person - creating a sense or urgency that is unmatched throughout the rest of the year. We have seen this number steadily increase year over year!

All of this said, it's more important now more than ever to settle on a strategic marketing plan ahead of when the real wave hits. (In a perfect world, we are talking late August/early September!) As preemptive as this sounds, the media landscape is vastly changing, and as print publications slowly but surely wither away, online editorial calendars are becoming more and more backed up.

This marketing plan should include settling on an overarching deal to offer your consumers (preferably your biggest of the year!), optimizing SEO, self-promotion on owned channels and, most importantly, implementing PR.

Believe it or not, consumers are more likely to browse articles and roundups looking for the best deals on major moments like Black Friday and Cyber Monday than to act on a pre-planned shopping strategy. This means spending a great deal of time scrolling gift guides and deal compilations to discover new brands and new products that pique their interest in the moment.

According to a 2022 study, 45% of consumers say they spend time looking for the best deals, particularly in the US, a statistic that is even more relevant now that budgets are tightening nationwide. Consumers are going to wait for the opportune moments (ie: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Prime Day) to sift through gift guides and deal roundups to find what makes sense for them this holiday season.

So show them what they want.

If your deal or offer is strong enough, and if you have the right relationships, popular online media outlets will gladly include you in high-performing consumer product articles that will drive major clicks back to your website or preferred retailer. Talk about maximizing impact!

Curious about how to maximize your Black Friday/Cyber Monday potential and make your earned coverage work for you? Let's talk about it: hello@hannahcranstonmedia.com.