Marketers: it’s time to think about Black Friday

Q4 Reset & Black Friday/Cyber Monday Strategy

Key Concepts:

• Q4 Reset: Taking stock of goals and adjusting strategy for the final quarter of the year.
• BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday): Extended period of sales and promotions, often spanning weeks in November.
• Content Calendar: Scheduled plan for content creation and distribution across various platforms.
• Email Marketing: Utilizing email campaigns to promote offers and drive sales.
• Customer Support Plan: Strategy for handling customer inquiries and issues during high-volume sales periods.
• Google Analytics: A web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
• Pixels: Code snippets placed on a website to track user behavior for advertising purposes.
• Lead Magnet: A free offer used to attract potential customers and build an email list.

1. Introduction: Q4 Mindset and BFCM Overview

• The speaker emphasizes the importance of using the fall season to reassess goals and strategize for Q4.
• She acknowledges being behind on her own goals and announces a free "Q4 Reset" strategy session.
• The focus shifts to Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM), noting its evolution from a single day to an extended period.
• It's highlighted that participating in BFCM is optional, but it can be a good opportunity to test new offers or give back to the community.
• BFCM is also presented as a final push to reach sales goals before the typically slower month of December.

2. Step 1: Plan Your Offers

• The first step is to determine what products or services to offer at a discount.
• Two approaches are suggested:
  • Leverage Best-Sellers: Discounting popular, validated products with existing assets (e.g., the speaker's "Social Media Management Toolbox").
  • Test New Offers: Using BFCM as an excuse to offer a new product or service at a beta rate (e.g., the speaker's initial launch of "Journey Social," now "Social Media Management Roadmap").
• The speaker advises offering significant discounts (e.g., hundreds of dollars off, 50% off) to attract customers in the current economy, as smaller discounts (10-15%) may not be as effective.
• Regarding services, the speaker generally advises against discounting them, as it involves working more for less money. However, she mentions the possibility of offering limited, low-ticket services like asynchronous audits.

3. Step 2: Audit Your Website and Checkout

• This step involves thoroughly testing the website and checkout process on various devices (mobile, desktop) and browsers (iPhone, Android, Mac, PC, Safari).
• The goal is to identify and fix any broken links, checkout issues, or display problems.
• The speaker recommends seeking external feedback from friends or business contacts to identify potential usability issues or areas for improvement.
• Example: A landing page checkout button not working on Android devices.
• Importance of mobile optimization is emphasized due to the increasing prevalence of mobile website access.

4. Step 3: Implement Website Tracking

• This step focuses on setting up tracking tools to monitor website traffic and user behavior.
• The speaker uses Google Analytics with Squarespace to gain granular insights into page views, time on page, and traffic sources.
• Google Analytics allows assigning revenue numbers to track conversion rates and revenue per traffic channel.
• The speaker acknowledges not using Google Analytics to its full potential but utilizes it for quick insights into user behavior.
• The importance of installing pixels for advertising platforms (Facebook Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads) is highlighted, even if ads are not immediately planned.

5. Step 4: Build Your Content Calendar

• This step involves creating a content schedule to promote BFCM offers.
• The speaker recommends analyzing data from Google Analytics or other analytics tools to understand audience demographics, content performance, and traffic sources.
• The content calendar should be planned in reverse, starting with the end date (Cyber Monday) and working backwards.
• A ramp-up period is crucial to warm up the audience before the main sales period.
• Example: If offering a YouTube course, create a free lead magnet related to YouTube marketing to build an email list.
• The speaker's Google Analytics data reveals that YouTube is a primary traffic source, indicating the need for a strong YouTube strategy in November.

6. Step 5: Plan Your Visuals

• This step focuses on creating visual assets for BFCM promotions, such as videos, graphics, and ad creatives.
• The speaker emphasizes the importance of batching content creation to avoid last-minute stress.
• She suggests creating shareable graphics for Instagram Stories, YouTube Community posts, and ad assets.
• The speaker believes that videos may not always convert as well during BFCM due to information overload, making concise graphics more effective.

7. Step 6: Plan Your Email Marketing

• This step involves creating a series of emails to promote BFCM offers to the email list.
• The speaker advises writing emails in advance to avoid rushing and potential errors.
• She emphasizes that email marketing is a primary driver of sales during BFCM.
• The speaker uses Flow Desk as her email service provider, highlighting its unlimited plan (sending unlimited emails to unlimited contacts).
• She encourages starting an email list if one doesn't exist, as it's a crucial tool for BFCM success.

8. Step 7: Create a Customer Support Plan

• This step focuses on preparing for customer inquiries and issues during the high-volume sales period.
• The speaker recommends anticipating common questions and creating a document with pre-written answers.
• She suggests using saved responses on social media platforms or within tools like Metrical.
• The importance of assigning responsibility for customer support is emphasized, whether it's the speaker herself, a VA, or a team member.
• The speaker acknowledges that providing adequate customer support may require additional resources or staffing.

9. Sponsor Mention: Metrical

• The speaker promotes Metrical, a platform she uses for content calendar management, publishing, and analytics.
• She offers a discount code "Latasha" for a 30-day free trial of any premium plan.
• Metrical features mentioned:
  • Scheduling polls for LinkedIn.
  • Integration with Google Drive, Canva, and Adobe Express.
  • Post library for saving ideas.
  • Reuse content button for rescheduling top-performing content.
  • Social media manager calendars per country.

10. Conclusion

• The speaker encourages viewers to ask questions and seek further clarification on any of the topics discussed.
• She reiterates the importance of supporting the sponsor, Metrical.
• Links to the free Q4 training and the "Down to Business" community are provided.
• The speaker concludes by expressing her goal of entering Q4 with intention and a clear strategy.

Main Takeaways:

The video provides a comprehensive guide to preparing for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, emphasizing the importance of planning, preparation, and data-driven decision-making. Key steps include defining offers, auditing the website, implementing tracking, building a content calendar, creating visuals, planning email marketing, and establishing a customer support plan. The speaker stresses the need for significant discounts, mobile optimization, and proactive customer service to maximize success during this high-volume sales period.