Black Friday Social Media Strategy: 20 Ideas for 2026

As a business, it’s important to capitalize on the times of year when shopping intent is at an all-time high. While there are certain months where stores will see a spike, nothing boosts sales more than the end-of-year holiday season, in particular Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

To garner the most success out of the Black Friday deals you’re promoting, you’ll want to develop a strong social media strategy for using your brand’s social channels to promote discounts, reach new shoppers, and drive traffic to your store during the BFCM weekend.

Shopify store owners generated a record $14.6 billion in sales over Black Friday Cyber Monday in 2025, a 27% jump from the year prior. Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook help surface deals to new audiences, strengthen customer loyalty, and send shoppers directly to product pages when they’re ready to buy. 

This guide covers the most effective Black Friday social media post ideas, with examples from store owners who have implemented them in their own marketing strategy.

20 Black Friday and Cyber Monday social media post examples

• The Oodie’s last-chance Black Friday signup
• Bath & Body Works’ “type of shopper” Instagram carousel
• Sephora’s last-chance Black Friday discount tier reel
• Glossier’s staff picks Black Friday campaign
• White Fox’s “What kind of Black Friday shopper are you?” TikTok
• Billie’s persuasive Instagram Stories
• L’Occitane’s influencer campaign
• Oodie’s top team products
• Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ Black Friday savings
• GoPro’s mega Black Friday event
• ColourPop’s sitewide sale
• REI’s #OptOutside campaign
• Verve Coffee Roasters’ Cyber Monday sale
• Ruggable’s product reveal TikTok
• Hismile’s “Sorry not sorry” Black Friday campaign
• Everlane’s Black Friday Fun partnership
• Gymshark’s influencer campaign
• Breeo’s multichannel Black Friday campaign
• Blume’s Black Friday giveaway Reel
• Typo’s members-only early access sale

1. The Oodie’s last-chance Black Friday signup

The Oodie built anticipation with a fast-paced Instagram Reel showing two team members preparing for the sale. The caption reminded followers that the brand’s $1, £1, and €1 products sold out in 30 seconds the previous year. It then directed viewers to the link in the brand’s bio for a final chance to sign up.

2. Bath & Body Works’ “type of shopper” Instagram carousel

Bath & Body Works’ three-slide carousel organizes their BFCM gift picks around shopper identity rather than product category. Each slide targets a different mindset, like the early bird, the online deal-hunter, and the bulk gift buyer, making it easy for followers to self-select and shop what’s relevant to them.

3. Sephora’s last-chance Black Friday discount tier reel

Sephora’s closing-hours reel uses a talking head to deliver the final nudge: Time is running out to claim your Black Friday discount. The tiered structure offers 20% off for Gold members and 15% for everyone else.

4. Glossier’s staff picks Black Friday campaign

Glossier’s BFCM carousel turns their own team into a trusted source of gift recommendations. Each slide spotlights a single product alongside a screenshot of a staff member’s personal take, giving the post a word-of-mouth feel.

5. White Fox’s “What kind of Black Friday shopper are you?” TikTok

White Fox took their Black Friday marketing campaign off-screen, hitting the street to ask strangers how they shop the sales. The caption then does the selling, nudging viewers to join the VIP waitlist before Black Friday deals go live.

6. Billie’s persuasive Instagram Stories

Shaving brand Billie created a series of minimalist Instagram Stories for its Black Friday promotions, offering social media users 10% off the brand’s bestselling razor. The brand included a clear call to action (CTA) to encourage followers to claim the discount. 

7. L’Occitane’s influencer campaign 

L’Occitane tapped influencers to promote their BFCM sale through personal product recommendations. Rather than running a single brand-wide Black Friday campaign, each creator brought their own audience and product preferences to it, like this video from Ariana Biermann. 

8. Oodie’s top team products 

Oodie’s BFCM reel features their own team member showing off favorite picks from the collection. Putting a face behind the brand rather than a model or influencer gives the format a behind-the-scenes feel that feels natural in a feed full of polished sales content.

9. Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ Black Friday savings

Jeffree Star Cosmetics used its BFCM Instagram to announce an early Black Friday sale, partnering with beauty influencers to share a selection of the brand’s products. 

10. GoPro’s mega Black Friday event

GoPro lays out its Black Friday in the caption of a Reel showing a biker navigating a game-style course. The brand promotes its limited-time deal, plus discounts on subscriptions, bundles, and shipping. Listing out offers in one post gives viewers a clearer look at everything up for grabs and helps them plan their shopping strategically.

11. ColourPop’s sitewide sale

Cosmetics brand ColourPop announced its Black Friday sale to its nine million Instagram followers with a quick, punchy post. In an attention-grabbing promotion, it reduced all products to the same price. Customers loved the straightforward approach, giving it more than 2,000 likes. 

12. REI’s #OptOutside campaign

Since 2015, outdoor clothing and gear brand REI has boycotted BFCM by shutting down all retail activity, including online sales—unheard of on the most popular shopping day of the year. The brand has even paid more than 12,000 employees to skip work and spend the day outdoors.

This Black Friday marketing strategy became known as #OptOutside. True to the brand’s ethos, it encourages potential customers to head outdoors too, even going as far as to encourage donations to relevant nature-related charities. The post proved to be a huge hit with the brand’s followers, garnering more than 14,100 likes. 

13. Verve Coffee Roasters’ Cyber Monday sale

Verve Coffee Roasters’ Cyber Monday sale is a strong example of how to share multiple discounts at once. The brand uses an Instagram carousel to showcase different promo codes (e.g., GIFT15, SUB25, CYBER20), with a design that is cohesive and easy to read. 

The brand also adds a sense of urgency into the caption, stating: “There is limited supply! Don’t miss out on this once-a-year sale! Offer ends today, 11/27 at 11:59 pm PST.” This encourages viewers to act fast and snag Black Friday deals before they’re gone. 

14. Ruggable’s product reveal Facebook video 

Ruggable’s BFCM Facebook post capitalizes on creativity, employing a simple visual trick to gain attention: a woman’s crossed legs act as the transition point, with a different rug appearing each time she moves. It’s a clean, scroll-stopping format that lets the products do the talking.

15. Hismile’s “Sorry not sorry” Black Friday campaign

Hismile’s BFCM TikTok opens with a mock apology to anyone who paid full price because the product is now $1. The tongue-in-cheek format reflects the brand’s overall personality, and the limited stock callout gives it urgency.

16. Everlane’s Black Friday Fund partnership

As part of its Black Friday event, sustainable clothing brand Everlane visited farms where its products are made. The aim was to show viewers the benefits of climate-conscious agriculture. This narrative ran alongside Everlane’s yearly Black Friday sale, which offered shoppers up to 70% off all products.

17. Gymshark’s influencer campaign

Gymshark teamed up with popular fitness influencers for its Black Friday 2025 sale, including Analis Cruz. The series of influencer marketing reels showed influencers wearing Gymshark gear and promoting the brand’s 70%-off site-wide sale. Shoppers could also get an extra 10% off by using the influencer’s affiliate code at checkout. 

18. Breeo’s multichannel Black Friday campaign

Firepit brand Breeo shared its campaigns across channels, including an Instagram Reel of someone using its products and an email sharing more details about the brand’s Black Friday campaign.

19. Blume’s Black Friday giveaway reel 

Blume’s BFCM Reel uses a giveaway to turn viewers into promoters. By asking followers to tag a friend and share the post, each entry extends the campaign’s reach, making the giveaway itself drive awareness for its Black Friday event.

20. Typo’s members-only sale

Australian brand Typo gave its most loyal fans a head start on Black Friday with an exclusive members-only sale. Teased via a playful Instagram post featuring bold text and celebratory visuals, the campaign invited Typo Perks members to “get in early” before the crowds. 

The caption hyped limited stock and deep discounts on the brand’s signature quirky stationery, gifts, and homeware. By rewarding email subscribers and brand loyalty lists with first dibs, Typo built anticipation and drove early conversions. 

Black Friday social media post types that convert

If you want your Black Friday posts to stand out and actually drive sales, you need more than a generic “20% off” graphic. Instead, tap into emotion, urgency, and community. Here are some post types that consistently perform well, driving both engagement and conversions.

Countdown and urgency posts

Urgency tactics work across the full BFCM window, from early teasing through to final-hours pressure.

Before the sale, use Instagram Story “Guess the deal” polls to hint at what’s coming without revealing it. 

At launch, use a story countdown sticker and a pinned Reel on your profile to give first-time visitors immediate context about the sale without them having to dig through your feed.

During the sale, use low-stock updates (“Only 12 left”) and post these as stories so they expire naturally, rather than cluttering your grid.

In the final hours, use an evening reminder (e.g., “Five hours left to shop”) to catch followers who saw the launch but didn’t convert. Pair it with a bio-link update pointing directly to the sale page.

Step-by-step guide

1. Plan your countdown window. Map out your content calendar to kick off countdown posts three to seven days before Black Friday, increasing urgency as the day gets closer.
2. Create visuals with countdown messaging. Use bold text like “Three days to go” or “Ends in four hours!” Add visual timers or story countdown stickers to reinforce urgency.
3. Highlight what’s at stake. Call out specific Black Friday deals, low stock alerts, or limited-time bundles to encourage followers to act.
4. Use the Countdown Timer Bar by Hextom. Add a live timer on product or homepage banners.
5. Use stories, reels, and pins. Post urgency content across multiple formats, especially Instagram Stories (with countdown stickers) and pinned posts to keep the message top-of-feed.
6. Update regularly. Post reminders leading up to and throughout Black Friday to catch people at different times.

User-generated content campaigns

A good way to spark interest in your products is to show real people using them. In a 2025 Sprout Social survey of consumers in Australia, the UK, and the US, 38% of shoppers cited user-generated comments and 35% cited influencer recommendations as trusted sources of holiday gift inspiration on social media. For Black Friday, consider creating a unique hashtag, encouraging unboxing videos and reviews, or resharing customer photos.

Step-by-step guide

1. Create a branded hashtag. Make it simple and memorable, like #My[BrandName]Haul or #BlackFridayWith[BrandName].
2. Invite customers to post. Ask followers in a post or story to share using your hashtag. Offer a reward, such as a feature on your feed, giveaway entry, or discount code.
3. Collect and curate content. Save tagged posts and Stories to repost throughout the campaign.
4. Reshare with context. When reposting, include the customer’s name, a quick quote from their caption, and a CTA, like “Shop their pick here!”
5. Tag products in UGC posts. Use Shopify Collabs or Instagram Shopping to tag products directly in feed posts or stories to streamline purchasing.
6. Keep the campaign going post-BF. UGC is evergreen. Keep repurposing top-performing posts during Cyber Week and into December.

Giveaway and contest posts

Black Friday giveaways provide followers with a reason to engage before your sale goes live, and can help spread the word to potential customers outside of your everyday audience, especially if you ask giveaway participants to tag a friend or share the post as part of their submission.

The entry mechanic determines what the post does. Asking followers to tag a friend prioritizes new audience reach; asking them to share prioritizes volume; asking them to comment with something specific (like a favorite product or a GIF) drives more comments, which tells the social platform that the post is worth showing to more people.

If you’re running a giveaway that involves an influencer or a creator you’ve paid or gifted a product to, the FTC requires that any material connection between the creator and your brand is clearly disclosed. 

Step-by-step guide

1. Set a clear goal. Decide what the giveaway will be for before choosing how participants can enter. 
2. Choose an entry method. Ask followers to tag a friend to reach new audiences, share the post to increase volume, or comment with something specific to drive more comments and signal to the platform that the post is worth showing to more people.
3. Pick a prize. Go for something fairly universal, like a product bundle or a store credit tied to your Black Friday sale.
4. State the rules clearly. Include the end date, how the winner is chosen, and any eligibility requirements in the caption or a linked page.
5. Disclose any influencer involvement. If a creator is promoting the giveaway after receiving a free product or payment, the FTC requires a clear disclosure where it can’t be missed.
6. Announce the winner publicly. Use a tool like ViralSweep to manage entries and pick a winner at random. 

Creator and influencer collaboration posts

A creator sharing their genuine picks puts your products in front of people who are already in a buying mindset, and helps your brand capitalize on the trust your chosen creator has developed with their audience.

The Facebook and Instagram by Meta sales channel lets you sync your product catalog directly to Facebook and Instagram, and is free on all Shopify plans. Once products are synced, creators can tag them directly in posts and stories, so viewers can tap through to buy without leaving the app.

You can also use Shopify Collabs, which connects you with creators through direct invites, open commission programs, or a store page where creators can apply to work with your brand. You can then send gifts, issue discount codes, track affiliate sales, and manage commission payments from the Shopify admin.

Step-by-step guide

1. Identify the right creators. Look for creators whose target audience matches your customer profile.
2. Brief them early. Share your sale dates, key products, discount amounts, and any brand guidelines well before BFCM. 
3. Send products in advance. Use Shopify Collabs to send gifts directly from your store. Creators can then select what they want to feature without you having to coordinate shipping details manually. 
4. Set up affiliate links and codes. Give each creator a unique link or code so you can track which posts are driving sales.
5. Sync your catalog to Instagram and Facebook. Install Facebook and Instagram by Meta from the Shopify App Store to publish your products to Facebook Shop and Instagram Shopping. Ask creators to tag products directly in their posts so followers can check out without leaving the platform.
6. Track Black Friday social media performance. Monitor affiliate sales and commissions through the Shopify Collabs dashboard and compare which creators and content formats drove the most conversions.

Exclusive early access offers

Early access posts work on two levels, rewarding followers already engaged with your brand, and giving everyone else a reason to sign up before the sale starts.

Shopify Forms is a free lead-capture app that lets you add pop-up or inline sign-up forms to your store, with the option to attach an exclusive discount code as the sign-up incentive. Set one up in the weeks before BFCM and promote it on social media.

Once followers are signed up, Shopify Discounts lets you create discount codes for a percentage off, a fixed monetary value, a buy X get Y offer, or free shipping, each of which can be shared exclusively with subscribers ahead of your public sale.

Step-by-step guide

1. Choose your VIP group. Email list? Loyalty program? Instagram followers only? Decide who gets to be a VIP, then use Shopify Messaging or Klaviyo integration to create a VIP list.
2. Create a teaser campaign. A few days before access starts, tease the upcoming Black Friday deals with behind-the-scenes glimpses or hints about discounts.
3. Post a clear early access CTA.Note the date/time, what’s included, and how to get in (e.g., “Check your inbox” or “Use this code”).
4. Use urgency alongside exclusivity. Make it clear this is a limited-time head start before the general sale opens.
5. Follow up with reminders. Post again when the offer is live, and again right before it ends to drive last-minute clicks.

Bundle and gift guide posts

Bundles and gift guides give followers a ready-made decision, helping them suss out both what goes together and what it costs. Before promoting anything on social media, the products need to exist as bundles in your store.

Shopify Bundles is a free app that lets you create fixed product bundles and multipacks directly from the Shopify admin. For more complex bundling needs (like mix-and-match or subscription bundles), Bundler - Product Bundles covers cases Shopify Bundles doesn’t.

If you’re on Plus or Enterprise plans, you can also use Shopify Combined Listings to group separate products into a single storefront listing connected by a shared option, like color, size, or model, each with its own title, description, URL, and image gallery.

Step-by-step guide

1. Curate bundles or themed sets. Use Shopify Bundles to create fixed bundles and multipacks directly from the Shopify admin. Group two to five products together at a discounted price under a name like “For the skin care lover” or “Your cozy night-in kit.” For bundling needs that Shopify Bundles doesn’t cover, Bundler - Product Bundles is a third-party alternative.
2. Design gift guide visuals. Create a clean, scroll-stopping carousel, reel, or story walkthrough. Label each item and highlight the value. 
3. Add easy-to-skim captions. Write short, benefit-driven descriptions, including prices wherever possible. 
4. Post with gifting language. Use language like “Gifting made easy,” “They’ll love this,” or “No wrapping stress required.”
5. Pin and reshare often. Keep guides accessible by pinning them prominently in your feed or Stories.

Cyber Monday follow-up posts

BFCM doesn’t have to end on Monday. Follow-up posts keep the momentum going for shoppers who saw your deals but didn’t convert, and give loyal customers a reason to come back before the holiday season wraps up.

Step-by-step guide

1. Post a "last chance" reminder on Cyber Monday evening. Share a simple post stating when the sale ends with a direct link to your store to catch shoppers who have been sitting on the fence.
2. Identify your best-performing posts. Check which products, formats, and captions drove the most engagement and clicks during BFCM. Use that to inform what you promote next.
3. Extend select deals for high-intent shoppers. If certain products got strong engagement but lower conversions, run a short post-BFCM extension to give those shoppers a second window to buy. 
4. Reshare UGC from the sale period. Reshare content customers posted about purchases during BFCM.
5. Tease what’s coming for the holidays. Share a post pointing toward new arrivals, gift guides, or December promotions keeps your store front of mind.
6. Send a thank you post. Acknowledge the weekend to re-engage followers before future campaigns.

Black Friday marketing tips

Marketing is one of the harder parts of running a store. In a Shopify survey of store owners conducted in Q4 2025, 37% said it was their top challenge in year one.* 

There are a few things to keep in mind as you navigate the busy season and try to cut through the holiday noise. While these Black Friday campaigns are all from popular brands, you don’t need thousands of followers to see success this holiday season. Follow these tips for a successful Black Friday social media campaign.

Have and promote reliable shipping and discount details

Timeliness matters more than ever this time of year. In fact, 66% of shoppers expect free shipping on every order. Given that cross-border orders represented 16% of all global orders last year, promoting attractive shipping options can help you tap into this lucrative segment.

Prepare for mobile buyers

During Cyber Week 2025, mobile devices drove 70% of online orders both globally and in the US. Check that the following mobile best practices are in order ahead of BFCM:

• Tap targets and buttons. Calls to action need to be large enough to tap without zooming. 
• One-tap payment options. Mobile wallet usage grew 31% year over year in the lead-up to Cyber Week 2025. Shoppers expect to check out with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Shop Pay without re-entering their card details.
• Checkout speed. Compress images, reduce redirects, and test your store on a phone beforehand.
• Product images sized for small screens. Check how product photos render before the sale goes live.
• Reviews visible without scrolling. Pull star ratings and key reviews higher in the layout.

Choose the right social networks

Don’t spread yourself too thin across every social network. Focus on one to two social platforms that generate the most revenue and have the most engaged communities. You don’t have to be everywhere.

A 2025 KPMG survey of around 2,000 US consumers found that about one-third purchased after seeing content on social media, with platform influence for holiday gift purchases breaking down as follows:

Plan your BFCM campaign timeline.

Don’t wait until the last minute to launch your BFCM social campaign. Define your goal, your success metrics, and how you’ll reach the right audience before the season starts. For many store owners, BFCM extends to the weeks before and after, so come prepared for the whole season.

Match social posts to landing pages and checkout

If you’re promoting BFCM deals on social media, the shopper experience shouldn’t stop at the post. A Google-commissioned Ipsos survey of US holiday shoppers found that 64% said their searching, streaming, scrolling, and shopping behaviors were blended during the prior holiday season. 

That means that the discount shown in an Instagram post needs to match the headline on the landing page. The product featured in the TikTok video needs to be the first thing visible when someone taps the link in your bio. 

A dedicated BFCM landing page makes this easier to control. Rather than sending social traffic to your homepage, a focused page keeps the deal front and center, removing navigation distractions and giving you a single place to match the creative and copy running across your channels. If you have distinct product categories, you can go further with separate pages for each (e.g., one for gifting, one for bundles, one for a specific collection).

Measure performance and pace paid social

Once BFCM wraps, pull the data to understand what actually drove revenue. Organic social is where you look at reach, saves, profile visits, and link clicks by post type. Which formats (carousels, reels, stories) sent the most traffic to your store? Did engagement hold through the campaign or drop off mid-weekend? 

For paid social campaigns,look at cost per click, cost per purchase, and return on ad spend by creative and audience. If you ran Black Friday ads against organic posts, compare which versions converted at a lower cost. In a 2025 Shopify survey, 31% of store owners with $1 million or more in revenue cited paid advertising as their most effective growth strategy.

Creator partnerships should be measured alongside both paid and organic campaigns. According to IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report, US creator ad spend reached $37 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year, with nearly half of all creator ad buyers now treating creators as a must-buy channel alongside paid search and social. That means tracking affiliate link revenue, promo code usage, and assisted conversions from creator content. 

Once you have the full picture, use that to inform your post-BFCM December push and carry the findings into next year’s planning.

Make your Black Friday social media posts a hit

A strong BFCM social campaign comes down to four things: a clear offer, the right channels, a posting schedule, and a way to measure what worked.

1. Offer. Define your deal before you build anything else. You can consider a variety of options, like a percentage discount, a free shipping threshold, a bundle, or early access for subscribers. 
2. Channels. Pick one or two social media accounts where your audience is most active and go deep on those rather than spreading thin across every network. Use the campaign timeline in this guide to plan what goes where and when, and make sure your bio link, landing page, and checkout all reflect the same deal.
3. Schedule. Map posts to the four phases: pre-sale teasing, launch day, Cyber Weekend, and final-hours urgency. Build the content before the campaign starts so you’re not creating under pressure mid-sale.
4. Measurement. Decide upfront what a successful campaign looks like. Check numbers during the campaign and, if something’s working, put more budget behind it. 

*Based on a 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with two or more years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.