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Top 5 Black Friday ad mistakes

Ryan Johnson
Marketer @ SegMetrics
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If you want to score big on Black Friday, avoid these common ad mistakes.

Mistake #1: Expecting people to just show up without advertising

We get it…Black Friday is a busy time. With every business cranking up their ads and shouting their special offers, how can you stand out above the noise? Is it even worth it?

Yes, Black Friday is still worth it, even though it’s more competitive than it used to be.

Also, the worst mistake you can make is thinking you don’t need to advertise at all. You can’t do nothing and assume you’ll ride some invisible tide to higher Black Friday sales. No ads → no traffic → no sales. 

You have to stay on top of mind. You want people to think of your brand first when they think about shopping. If you’re not out there waving your flag, someone else will be.

Mistake #2: Poor ad budget management

During Black Friday, ad costs skyrocket. Last year, we saw a 3x increase in ad spend

With higher costs, it’s very easy to burn through your entire advertising budget in minutes, leaving you out in the cold before the real buying even begins. Be diligent! 

  • Check your budget caps
  • Monitor your spends like a hawk
  • Make sure you’re compliant with ad platform rules — one slip up and you might be spending Black Friday with zero ads running.

Also, don’t forget to factor in Cyber Monday. If you blow all your budget on Friday, you’re going to be kicking yourself come Monday.

Mistake #3: Not buttoning up your ad tracking before Black Friday

We can’t stress this enough: If your tracking isn’t rock solid before the big day, you’re flying blind. 

We’ll say it again: Without rock-solid ad tracking, you’re marketing blind.

In the weeks leading up to Black Friday, you should be checking your pixels, ensuring every campaign is tagged correctly, and making sure your tracking tools are up to date. The worst time to find out your tracking is broken is during the Black Friday rush. (Dig deep into BF/CM analytics here.)

At SegMetrics, we make this process super simple. You’ll know exactly what’s working, what’s not, and you won’t be stuck scrambling to fix it mid sale. We offer a FREE ad attribution audit so you can make sure your data is tracking correctly and fix the gaps in your Google, Facebook and other ad platform data.

Mistake #4: Not pressure testing your ads

Black Friday is not the time to test out new ideas. Two weeks before Black Friday, you should have every single detail nailed down. This includes your offers, ad copy, creatives, targeting, everything.

This means that the time to run tests to optimize messaging or creative is before Black Friday. Optimize early, before the rush.

The last thing you want is to be caught in the middle of a sale, realizing that your ads aren’t resonating.

Mistake #5: Forgetting about refunds! 

Just because the Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear. Black Friday is a dream for scammers, which means fraud and refunds. We see this every year.

Scammers love to use the chaos of Black Friday as a cover for extra fraudulent purchases. We estimate a 20% increase in fraud hits during this period. Plus, BF/CM often attracts more people who buy impulsively only to regret it later — aka, refund-prone customers.

You can’t calculate your Black Friday profit until you’ve sifted through all of the refunds and fraudulent charge. So keep an eye out and don’t count your revenue too early.

Keep these recommendations in mind. And remember, SegMetrics is your trustworthy, single source of truth for accurate ad attribution and full-funnel analytics. Learn more about how to smash your Black Friday goals here.

 


Ryan Johnson

Marketer @ SegMetrics

Ryan Johnson is a content strategist and product marketing manager with over 15 years experience bringing brands and products to life with integrated editorial and sales collateral, value-based messaging, and GTM strategies.


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