Running your Facebook advertising campaigns at the end of the year can be challenging, especially with so many e-commerce marketers running their own branding initiatives. Still, by looking at last year’s Facebook insights, we can better understand auction dynamics and allocate budgets efficiently.
Since November Facebook ads tend to have lower ad saturation and more efficient auction performance, this should allow you to increase your custom audiences for retargeting in December.
Here are a few things to keep in mind as you escalate Facebook campaign activity this month.
Your Strategic Checklist
Even if your ad campaigns are already up and running, you should review several key items to make sure everything’s optimized for maximum views and clicks. And, if you’re just out of the gate, these tips will help you craft a successful effort going forward.
- Focus on conversion campaigns and retargeting.
- Make sure you have clear, results-focused volume and cost per acquisition (CPA) targets.
- Develop a library of creative assets, in case you need more ads to scale your performance. Ensure your creatives are eye-catching. Aim directly for conversion to take advantage of low CPAs.
- Ensure staff is in place to provide the best customer service to match the increased conversion volume (orders, purchases, etc.).
- Make sure your website is stable, with fast loading times despite increased site traffic
November Trends Influence December Behavior
By now, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday behind us, last-minute shoppers are looking for online deals. Mobile device in hand, they’re more open than ever to snatching up the incentives that your ad campaigns are offering.
If you haven’t already, increase your ad spend to reach these shoppers where they are. Make sure your creatives are fully designed for conversions.
With increased November CPCs most likely due to lower CPA and the spike in conversion rates, this higher conversion volume will offset your acquisition and retargeting-focused ad spend increase. So, despite the CPC jump, keep calm and carry on!
Now’s the Time to Bring It On
Now that December’s here, your competition will increase more each day until the wrapping paper’s in the recycling bin. Your increased ad spend this month will help outdo your rivals in auctions.
Note that Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve tend to be the quietest days for conversion campaigns. So, you may want to decrease ad spend on these days.
Ringing in the New Year
After the New Year starts, conversions start picking up, well into the first two weeks of January. This is the perfect time to apply the previous months’ learnings to your conversion campaigns.
The end of the year can be hectic for Facebook advertisers. But, if you’re prepared and you’ve done all of your homework, the season can bring you lots of gifts—in the form of more conversions.
