Best Black Friday and Cyber Monday Social Media Campaigns 2025: Top Brand Strategies

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping events of the year, and the most successful campaigns from recent years all have one thing in common: smart use of social media to grab attention and drive sales. From TikTok challenges to Instagram Reels and influencer-led promotions, brands have shown that creativity, urgency and authenticity are essential for standing out in crowded feeds.

If you’re preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, here are some of the best social media campaigns from previous years, the platforms they used, and why they worked, so you can take inspiration for your own strategy.

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Top Black Friday and Cyber Monday Social Media Campaigns 2025

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L’Occitane: Influencer Gift Guides on Instagram and TikTok

L’Occitane partnered with influencers to create holiday gift guides featuring exclusive Black Friday deals. The emphasis was on storytelling rather than hard selling.

• Platforms: Instagram Reels, TikTok
• Why it worked: Trusted influencer recommendations built credibility and encouraged higher engagement.

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MyProtein: Personalised Discount Codes with Fitness Influencers

MyProtein gave influencers personalised promo codes with urgency-driven messaging.

• Platforms: TikTok, Instagram
• Why it worked: Influencer-led codes felt exclusive, creating VIP access while driving conversions.

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Dior: Luxury Advent Calendars, No Discounts

Dior stayed true to its premium positioning by showcasing Advent Calendars through influencer unboxings.

• Platforms: TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube
• Why it worked: Maintained luxury appeal, generated FOMO, and built brand loyalty without discounting.

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Murad Skincare: Humorous Urgency Videos

Murad produced relatable, funny video campaigns tied to Black Friday discounts.

• Platforms: Instagram, TikTok
• Why it worked: Humour plus urgency made the content both shareable and conversion-focused.

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Kulakinis: UGC Carousel Posts

Kulakinis featured customer photos in carousel posts, tagging them to boost organic reach.

• Platforms: Instagram, Facebook
• Why it worked: User-generated content increased authenticity and expanded campaign reach.

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GoPro: Viral Videos with Dogs Driving Cars

GoPro launched humorous videos of dogs “driving” cars linked to promotional offers.

• Platforms: TikTok, Instagram
• Why it worked: Relatable humour created viral traction and strengthened brand love.

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Amazon: Countdown Timers and FOMO Stories

Amazon used Instagram Stories with countdown stickers and TikTok teasers to promote exclusive deals.

• Platforms: Instagram Stories, TikTok
• Why it worked: Countdown timers tapped into urgency and boosted conversions.

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Best Buy: Early Access Bundles with Shoppable Posts

Best Buy promoted early access alerts and limited-time bundles using shoppable posts.

• Platforms: Facebook, Instagram
• Why it worked: Early-bird deals motivated quick action among savvy shoppers.

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Nordstrom: Curated Holiday Shopping Guides

Nordstrom created digital holiday shopping guides shared across Instagram and Twitter.

• Platforms: Instagram, Twitter
• Why it worked: Simplified shopping for customers while keeping content seasonal and targeted.

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Target: Hashtag Challenges for Black Friday Hauls

Target encouraged customers to share haul videos with branded hashtags, rewarding the best entries.

• Platforms: TikTok, Instagram
• Why it worked: UGC drove authentic engagement, created excitement and amplified visibility.

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Effective Black Friday and Cyber Monday Social Media Marketing Strategies

The most successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday social media campaigns share a few common threads: urgency, authenticity, and creativity. If you are planning your 2025 strategy, here are the key approaches that brands have used to cut through the noise, and how you can adapt them for your own campaigns.

1. Use Urgency and Countdown Timers

Shoppers respond to deadlines. Countdown stickers, live timers, and scheduled “deal reveal” posts on TikTok and Instagram are proven ways to build anticipation and nudge quicker purchase decisions. The psychology is simple: if people feel they might miss out, they are more likely to act fast.

Tip for 2025: Use daily countdowns in Stories or pinned posts to drip-feed deals. Combine this with teaser videos showing what is “coming soon” to build hype.

2. Partner with Influencers of All Sizes

From mega-influencers with huge reach to micro and nano creators with niche audiences, influencer partnerships deliver authentic endorsements. Personalised discount codes make the offers feel exclusive and trackable, while the creator’s voice adds trust.

Tip for 2025: Focus on influencers whose audience genuinely matches your target customers. Authenticity is more important than follower count, especially during a noisy sales period.

3. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

Real customer photos, reviews, and videos add powerful social proof. Brands that showcase UGC around their Black Friday promotions benefit from increased credibility and organic reach, as customers share content with their own networks.

Tip for 2025: Launch a branded hashtag before the sales start and encourage shoppers to share their experiences. Incentivise with prizes or reposting to your main channel.

4. Focus on Storytelling Over Discounts

Not every brand wants to slash prices - and that’s fine. Luxury names like Dior have shown that aspirational storytelling and exclusivity can be just as effective as discounts. By highlighting craftsmanship, premium experiences, or limited editions, they create FOMO without lowering brand value.

Tip for 2025: If deep discounts don’t fit your brand, lean into exclusivity. Limited drops, behind-the-scenes content, or influencer unboxings can spark just as much excitement.

5. Run Multi-Platform Campaigns

No single social platform does everything. TikTok is best for viral short-form content, Instagram Reels excel at visual storytelling, YouTube works for unboxings and reviews, and Facebook offers scale and reach. The best campaigns combine them strategically.

Tip for 2025: Repurpose the same creative concept in different formats. A TikTok challenge can be reshaped for Instagram Reels, while a long-form version fits YouTube.

6. Offer Early Access and Sneak Peeks

Shoppers love to feel like insiders. Offering early Black Friday deals to loyal followers, email subscribers, or app users builds exclusivity and rewards community members.

Tip for 2025: Announce “exclusive early access” through Instagram Stories, TikTok teasers, or subscriber emails to make your audience feel special.

7. Create Interactive Content

Polls, quizzes, giveaways, and hashtag challenges keep people engaged and make campaigns fun. Interactive formats turn customers into participants, not just viewers, which helps your content spread organically.

Tip for 2025: Run a TikTok hashtag challenge tied to your Black Friday deals. For example, encourage shoppers to share their hauls or favourite product hacks.

8. Integrate Seamless Social Commerce

Black Friday is not just about attention; it is about conversions. Shoppable tags on Instagram, TikTok Shop integration, live shopping events, and AR try-ons remove friction from the buying process, allowing people to go from discovery to checkout in seconds.

Tip for 2025: Combine live shopping with limited-time offers. The urgency of “only available during this live” paired with one-click shopping can dramatically increase conversion rates.
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Getting Ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025

The standout Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns of recent years show us that success goes far beyond discounts. The brands that won attention blended urgency with creativity, leaned on influencers and user-generated content, and made full use of the unique strengths of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

As we head into Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, the key takeaway is clear: use these proven approaches as inspiration, but adapt them to your audience, your products, and the platforms where your community is most active. By combining lessons from past campaigns with fresh ideas, your brand can cut through the noise and turn this year’s shopping season into both a sales win and a long-term brand-building opportunity.

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