What Would Free Advertising Do For Your Business On Cyber Monday?

Monday, November 11th, 2013
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Every marketer on the planet understands the importance of Cyber Monday for their online business, but the smartest ones will leverage this fact and convert it to free advertising.

How you ask? By simply creating an appropriate coupon that can easily be shared. Customers have been “trained” to expect the best discount of the year on Cyber Monday so now is the time to really think about what your promotion will look like. But, instead of simply having your store apply that promotion, consider using a coupon instead. A coupon has a distinct advantage in that it can be shared. If you run an appropriate promotion, your customers will share your coupon for you and this free word of mouth advertising can rival anything that you would otherwise have to pay for. Many people respond well when they are “in the know” and they often like to share what they know, so make it easy for this behavior to happen.

Here are a few tips to consider:

  1.  Be sure to email your current customers at least twice with details of your sale and the coupon code. A few days before the event, and then a reminder on Monday morning is probably best. This will ensure that your promotion does not get lost in the “noise” and that your customers have time to share your email with their friends (and online forums)
  2.  Also be sure to include a big mention of your promotion on your website and on many (if not all) of your online store pages. The coupon code should be highly visible, and easy to type. Do not assume that all customers will land on the same page in your site or store so make sure that no matter what they can see and share your promotion.
  3.  If your eCommerce system includes tools for social sharing your coupon, (Nexternal includes this as native functionality) be sure that you have this enabled. Facebook and Twitter can be fantastic sources of new customers.

Cyber Monday is December 2nd this year, which is late by historical standards. The compression of the holiday shopping season is sure to make Cyber Monday the biggest yet. Now is the time to start working on your coupon promotion and the marketing messages that will accompany it. Do this well and the resulting free advertising will work wonders. Your customers and your sales will thank you.

Craig is the VP of Sales at Nexternal and is known in the industry as an expert in eCommerce, systems integrations, and online marketing. Craig has been with Nexternal since 2000 and his passion and experience are apparent to all who work with him.