Cyber Monday and Black Friday ideas for small businesses

By Hayley Dorney
Inspiration
A black woman tries on clothes in a store and checks her reflection in the mirror

For businesses and customers alike, shopping and gifting is a central part of the festive season.

This led to the creation of Cyber Monday. Originally a retail holiday that concludes the Thanksgiving to Black Friday shopping weekend, Cyber Monday is now a global event for businesses big and small.

In 2021, there were seven million global Tweets about Black Friday1 and over 900K Tweets about Cyber Monday2.

To create profitable Cyber Monday (November 28) and Black Friday (November 25) promotions, review how your campaign performed last year to inform your 2022 campaign, and use our tips below to help drive sales on #CyberMonday and #BlackFriday.

How to prep for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Advertise early 

Consumer shopping behaviors have changed, and Black Friday deals are sometimes exclusively online — essentially turning Cyber Monday into Cyber weekend.

Rococo Chocolates (@rococochocs) advertises their Black Friday deals in plenty of time before the day itself. 

In a Twitter study, we found that around 85% of people on Twitter expect to shop around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, compared to around 75% for people not on Twitter.3 About three in five people on Twitter would like to begin hearing from brands about these shopping holidays during early November or sooner, while highlighting gift ideas in their messaging.4

To stand out amid all the competition, think about who you really want to reach. Create offers and Tweets that will resonate with them and start showing off your deals early.

Top tip: Run any promotions or contests well in advance to allow a buzz to build around it. It also means your winners can Tweet about their excitement and receive their prize in advance of Christmas, NYE or the celebration you are promoting.

Think mobile-first

We’re living in a digital age where online shopping has never been easier, thanks to smartphones. It’s important to think mobile-first when planning Cyber Monday and Christmas campaigns on Twitter. Test any creatives on your phone (or better yet, multiple devices) and make sure they’re clear and have a direct call-to-action (CTA).

If you’re using text on your images or video make sure it’s legible on different screen sizes and accessible for all too. For some good creative inspiration have a look at the video and image Tweets used in our success stories

Update your online store 

20% of people on Twitter said they would be buying online earlier this year than last year.5

To prepare for increased volumes of online shopping this year, make sure your website is up to date with all your latest products, services, and promotions. 

People will start researching their Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping lists well in advance, so make sure your online store makes your brand an easy choice.

Fashion label, Telfar (@TELFARGLOBAL) shares their restock details for a popular bag for Black Friday. 


Top tip: Converting to a Professional Account on Twitter is a great way to grab the attention of your customers to drive them to your online store. Professional Accounts provide businesses, creators, publishers, and developers of all industries and sizes a space on their profile to showcase and highlight their content, products, and services for free.

Don’t have a Professional Account yet? Set up your Professional Account now.

Increase your social media activity

A brand’s social media presence is more important than ever. Instead of browsing through a mall, your audience will be browsing through their social feeds to learn about deals, products, gift cards, and services. 

Start Tweeting now and interacting on Twitter so you can grow your followers and build momentum. Your customers will be using hashtags like #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday to find out about the best sales, so make sure you include them in your hashtag rotation. It’s good to include exact start and end time for your special promotions – so your followers know if there is a time limit to your promotion and can take action in time. 

Irish beauty brand, Sculped By Aimee (@sculptedbyaimee) shares their Black Friday promotion using the hashtag #BlackFriday, while creating a sense of urgency for customers to take action.

Top tip: Don’t want to create an entire ads campaign for Cyber Monday and Black Friday? Use Quick Promote to turn any of your Tweets into an ad with a few simple clicks on Android and desktop.

Suggest gift ideas on Twitter

In a Twitter study, 85% of people on Twitter surveyed expect to shop on Cyber Monday and Black Friday6, and much of this shopping will be for gifts for others. One in four people said they use Twitter to inspire gift ideas7 – making it the perfect platform for your brand to suggest gift ideas for friends, co-workers, kids, and partners.

@MentedCosmetics shares their holiday gift guide on Black Friday.

Check out our Q&A with Mented Cosmetics to learn how they connect with Twitter's beauty community. 

For example, you can make your brand’s own Cyber Monday shopping guide or Christmas gift guide and distribute it to your audience a few weeks before the Cyber Monday deals begin.

Keep in mind, people on Twitter plan to shop a wider range of categories for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday than non-Twitter users8, so many verticals can benefit from creating gift guides and lists.


For more tips and best practices, follow us @TwitterBusiness or check out our Small business resources page.

1. Source:  Twitter internal data, global, 1/1/21-1/1/22, data retrieved September 8, 2022. 
2. Source:  Twitter internal data, global, 1/1/21-1/1/22, data retrieved September 8, 2022. 
3. Source: Twitter survey, exploring expected changes in gifting behavior for the upcoming winter season and the role of Twitter and other platforms in gifting. Surveyed were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292, Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media. Survey was fielded May 6th-May 16th, 2022.
4. Source: Twitter survey, exploring expected changes in gifting behavior for the upcoming winter season and the role of Twitter and other platforms in gifting. Surveyed were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292, Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media. Survey was fielded May 6th-May 16th, 2022.
5. Source: Twitter survey, exploring expected changes in gifting behavior for the upcoming winter season and the role of Twitter and other platforms in gifting. Surveyed were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292, Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media. Survey was fielded May 6th-May 16th, 2022.
6. Source: Twitter internal data, survey conducted from May 6th-May 16th, 2022. Respondents were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292 Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media.
7. Source: Twitter internal data, survey conducted from May 6th-May 16th, 2022. Respondents were social media users in the US aged 18+ who plan to celebrate gift-giving/ shopping holidays. n=292 Twitter Users n=506 Non-Twitter Users who use some other form of social media.
8.  Source: Sparkler, Twitter Insiders US 2022 Holiday Insights | May 2022 Q12. Which of the following categories do you plan to purchase gifts for each shopping holiday? Please select all that apply for each. Base: Insiders (n=292), Non-Twitter Users (n=506).

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